Whatever the origin of the 1943 copper pennies, they are considered by the Professional Coin Grading Service to be the most desirable and valuable of all Mint errors and are highly sought-after by U.S. coin collectors. Sold: January 2006; Heritage Auctions, Orlando, FL, FUN Signature Auction. Similar to the 1972 penny mentioned, the 1971 S penny has a doubling error on both sides. While the original edition pennies from 1909 can have significant collectable value, other editions of the Lincoln penny can be highly desired by coin collectors as well. All Rights Reserved. Its also one of my favorite coins! 3) Large One-Cent Pieces, Flowing Hair, Wreath Reverse 1793 S-NC-2 Strawberry Leaf PCGS MS-63 Value: Change 3 Mo 1 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr 15 . Sold: August 2014; Heritage Auctions, Chicago, IL, ANA US Coins Signature Auction. There are a few different varieties of the 1873 Indian Cents, with all of them being rare and quite valuable, theres the open 3, and the closed 3, but the most valuable is the doubled Liberty. While a circulating coin typically lasts 30 to 40 years, some lucky collectors have found pennies minted in the mid-1900s in their pocket change. As opposed to the 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent, where thousands of them are known, there are only three 1958 Doubled Die Lincoln pennies known to exist. 1922 No D plain Lincoln Wheat Penny, $2,050 Repairs to a damaged coin die left the 1922-D cent without any visible trace of its mint mark, leaving a coin that many thought back in the mid 1920s was a typical unmarked penny from the Philadelphia Mint. But two zinc-plated steel planchets somehow ended up in the coining press in the San Francisco mint. We offer reliable real coin melt conversions and hand written stats on each and every coin in our database. Be careful not to scratch the coin however. Copper Lincoln Memorial pennies made in 1982 (These weigh 3.11 grams versus 2.5 grams for the pennies made from copper-plated zinc) 43 Most Valuable Pennies By Date So now that you have a good idea of which types of pennies to keep, you're probably wondering about specific dates. Why It's Worth So Much: Created at the San Francisco Mint, this was a happy accident for collectors. Many citizens hoarded gold, silver, and copper coins as a store of wealth. Most valuable penny and Lincoln coins revealed - and one piece sold for $11,128 Anthony Russo Josephine Fuller Published: 7:45 ET, Oct 16 2021 Updated: 15:34 ET, Sep 2 2022 YOU'VE likely come across plenty of pennies in your life - but rare ones from the 1900s and before then are selling for a ton of cash online. Feb 2016 - AU58 $280,000. The standard for the 1940 era would be something akin to a MS-65 RD. Be sure to check your change for this one! While there are very few guarantees in the rare coin industry, you can always count on nice, problem-free coins yielding better returns on your investment than coins that have been cleaned or have nicks, dents, scratches, and holes. In 1944, Lincoln pennies were reverted to the original bronze alloy made of 95 percent copper and 5 percent tin. The initial cost to get started is just $25.00 and your time. Coins Nostomania's 100 most valuable U.S. These coins in circulated condition are also valuable, but uncirculated coins are extremely rare. To hold an 1877 Indian Head Penny in uncirculated condition is an extreme rarity given the poor economic conditions of that year. This is one of the most exceedingly rare and intriguing Lincoln cents. We have discounted proof coins, error coins, as well as any "special strikes", to create a clean list of pennies you have a higher probability of finding from the current pool of circulating United States currency. Coins that are in higher grades, come under suspicion that they may have been helped by a mint employee. These rare examples can fetch up to $375,000 in excellent condition, according to Coin Trackers. But the rarest of all is this single known pristine example from the Denver mint. Here's a list of the top 25 most valuable pennies: 1943-S copper Lincoln Wheat Penny, $185,000 - The 1943-S copper cent is the one of the most valuable small cents, with one example having sold for a cool $1 million at an auction in 2012. steel planchets were left in the machines. 1955 doubled die obverse Lincoln Wheat Penny, $1,900 Its estimated that some 24,000 Lincoln Cents from 1955 were struck with a doubled die. In this case, the wide "AM" version is just as sought after as the close "AM" version. A 1933-D, for example, may be valued at $2.30 or more. This coin is considered a key date in the series, and one of the more valuable non-error pennies. 1958 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Penny - About $336,000 The 1958 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Penny is one of the most valuable pennies in the world, considered as the holy grail by many coin collectors . The other variety of this rare penny stamped the letters closer together, nearly touching. Those coins are hard to come by, but if you have one, you may be in line for a real financial windfall. This was the first cent to have a mintage over 10 million, making it quite common and much easier to find than some of the other Flying Eagle Dates. Planchets are stored in bins, and just a few copper ones were hidden in the bottom and covered up with loads of steel planchets. Source: PGCS.com. These are in order with the newest being on top. The penny features the letters VDB on the bottom of the back of the coin, which are the initials of designer Victor David Brenner. Lots Of Rare Pennies And How Much Theyre Worth Today (Most Are Worth $500+). Only 2,000 1856 Flying Eagle Cents were minted, making this quite the rare coin! This penny is the rarest date of all the Indian Head pennies ever minted. The 1944 steel to copper/bronze transition of pennies involved the inclusion of leftover zinc-coated steel. If you want to know what your U.S. penny is worth, then read on! 24/100 - Rare Heavily Played Pokemon EX - Sandstorm . We have discounted proof coins, error coins, as well as any special strikes, to create a clean list of pennies you have a higher probability of finding from the current pool of circulating United States currency. Wondering which pennies are worth more than face value? If you are investing money in rare pennies, buy coins that are in the best condition you can afford, and always focus on purchasing coins that display original color and are in nice shape overall. In 1864, the Civil War was dragging on, and the United States economy was extremely fragile. Because of the increased pressure bronze examples of the 1943 Cent should in general be in better condition than most copper pennies from the 1940's. This is an indication that they were not "helped" by some unscrupulous mint employee. For instance, Denver only minted seven of the 1944 steel pennies, making it the second rarest mint mark out of all three mints. Its important to note that there are two varieties of this coin: one has the normal date (Sheldon-189) and the other has an overdate (1799/8). Only 1,194 of these proof coins were struck at the Philadelphia mint before the Treasury Department dictated that the designer's initials be removed from the coin. However, a steel planchetleft over from 1943 must have found its way into the coining press. Of all the 1943 copper pennies, only one Denver-minted copper cent is believed to exist, making it one of the rarest U.S. coins to date. Well here you go a list of the most valuable pennies, each worth more than $1 apiece! As a rule, 1873 open 3 Indian cents are more common than the closed 3 variety. While a circulating coin typically lasts 30 to 40 years, some lucky collectors have found pennies minted in the mid-1900s in their pocket change. In 1943, pennies were made from steel planchets coated with zinc, but some copper planchets from the year before were left behind, and the coins were struck on those. In 2017, an MS66+RD graded coin (pictured left) sold for $19,975. The 1856 Flying Eagle cents were initially struck as presentation pieces and given to members of congress and other dignitaries,according to the eBay listing. The list above also doesnt include proof Lincoln cents which you wouldnt ordinarily findin circulation. This rare penny is pulling in values of up to $500 in mint state condition, and with almost 4.5 billion pennies produced at the Denver Mint in 1992, there's a good chance that these are still in circulation.. The bins of steel planchets were fed into machines and the handful of left over copper planchets overlooked. For this list, we are only including small cents: Flying Eagle Cents, Indian Head Pennies, Lincoln Wheat Pennies, Lincoln Memorial Cents, and Lincoln Shield Cents. The top 100 penny stock listTop 10 Rare Canadian Pennies! "However, since the Denver Mint was under extreme pressure to produce cents for that year, there was a lot of sloppiness in the production process.". (Psst! We are using our database of nearly every US coin ever produced (6,000+ coins) based on year, rarity, mint mark, major varieties, errors and their associated price values to come up with a list of the top most valuable coins known. The 1943 pennies made of steel were officially a one-year-only production, as the mint switched back to a bronze alloy (95% copper and 5% tin) in 1944. This coin was first discovered in 1970 and was reported by Coin World on the front page in its July 8, 1970 edition. However, what is known for sure is that the 1922 no-D penny is quite scarce and in high demand among coin collectors. This penny was minted in Philadelphia, and letters on both side of the coin make it one of the rarest pennies you can find today. Why is this coin so rare? Read on to find out what makes these 16 coins the most valuable U.S. pennies, based on over 250,000 public records and auction sales figures. Share to help us grow . We will notify you each week there's a new article posted! And some coins are made more valuable simply by being unintentional, as with the 1943 Lincoln pennies that were mistakenly made with bronze rather than steel. 1944-S copper Lincoln cent: 283 million minted, worth between 3 and 5 cents 1944-D over S copper Lincoln cent: worth $100 or more 1944 steel penny: 15 - 20 minted, worth $100,000 or more 1951 Wheat Penny Value Over 1 billion wheat pennies were struck in 1951. In 2004, an MS66 graded coin sold for $172,500. If you find a 1983 penny with everything doubled, the Lincoln Memorial Building included, save it for a rainy day. This 1999 S penny looks almost identical to the last one on this list, except, you guessed it, the A and the M are closer together. There has been talk in recent years of doing away with the pennyas we move toward a more cashless society, but we're not quite there yet. The 1914-D Wheat Cent is a great addition to anyones collection. This coin should've had a "D" for its Denver mintage, but the space on this coin is blank. These are coins you can find in your pocket change. Most recent sales of the 1944 Zinc coated steel penny sales. As these anomalies have become more known, more and more specimens have come to light. That said, we realize that some people might still be using these pennies to buy things without realizing their value. These are the ones you want in your collection, 1856 Flying Eagle Penny: $25,000-$170,000, 1943 Copper Wheat Penny: $85,000-$370,000, 1944 Steel Wheat Penny: $110,000-$180,000. Because of their uniqueness, theyre remarkably valuable. Five coins were confiscated and destroyed before they were acknowledged as being genuine. Our most valuable pennies list includes coins starting in 1856 up to the present (2023) - including rare penny errors and rare varieties that could still actually be found in pocket change. 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