It has been suggested that they are unauthorized pieces made by mint employees. Another possibility is that bronze planchets were left in a hopper or cart that later was filed with steel planchets for the 1943 cents, and when the blanks were dumped into the machinery the copper ones went along. But the most likely and accepted story was that some bronze blanks had gone too far into the machinery to be retrieved at the end of 1942. When the works started up in 1943 these were struck first and escaped into circulation through normal channels. Most 1943 copper cents are fake. Estimates show around 8 to 10 real ones were made. copper-plated steel cents have been popular since 1943 when they were found. Professional magicians used them in tricks to fool their audience.  But what if you find or are offered a 1943 copper cent? First, you want to keep it quiet and look into how to tell if one is fake or real. If it's fake then take it into a coin shop and have them stamp it as fake. If you suspect it is real then take it into a coin shop and have them give their opinion and if they say it is real send it off to be graded by NGC or PCGS. But don't waste your time hunting for one to little exist in the world.                                                                                       (unless we are talking about fakes then there are tons of them in the world.)