This Penny Is Worth a Record-Breaking $26K
Written by
Vance Cariaga
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Justice Petersen
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Let’s face it: Pennies are an annoyance to many Americans. Their main value as a currency is to help provide exact change, and most wind up in a drawer or jar and quickly forgotten about.
But before you go tossing your pennies out, take the time to inspect them closely. If you find the right one, it could be worth more than your car or house.
A Penny for Your Thoughts (About Getting Rich)
The most valuable U.S. cent is the 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny, which was minted in error during World War II, when copper was needed for the war effort and most pennies were made of steel. One of these pennies sold for $1.7 million in 2010. Today, it’s valued at about $2.3 million in mint uncirculated condition.
But you don’t need to go back 80 years to find pennies worth a lot of money. One from 1983 recently sold for a record $26,000 at auction.
The $26K Coin
That penny was a 1983 Lincoln Cent struck on a bronze planchet. It sold on July 28, following 49 bids, CoinWeek reported. The final price included a $3,250 buyer’s fee, pushing the total purchase amount to $29,250. As CoinWeek noted, this particular high-grade specimen was first discovered in 2006. Since then, “only a handful have been found.”
The coin was graded by Professional Grading Service as MS-65 Red — a Mint State grade that makes it “extremely rare,” according to Numismatic News. The auction company, Great Collections, described the penny as “the finest known” of its kind “by a wide margin.”
Lincoln pennies struck from 1963 through around mid-1982 have a solid brass composition made up of 95% copper and 5% zinc, Numismatic News reported. They’re usually referred to as “bronze” by collectors because that was the traditional alloy used from 1909 to 1962.
Most pennies minted since mid-1982 are struck on planchets made up of a solid zinc core with only a trace of copper. This is what $26,000 coin should have been struck on.
“But somehow it got struck on a bronze planchet left over from 1982 or earlier,” Numismatic News’ Ken Potter wrote in a July 29 blog.
This so-called “transitional error” can lead to high values for collectors lucky enough to come across one. According to CoinWeek, the first 1983 Lincoln bronze penny to be discovered sold for $23,500 at Heritage Auctions in late 2013.
A second specimen (certified Genuine-Not Gradable) was discovered four years later. A few more have been discovered since them, either “rescued” from penny rolls or found in pocket change.
More Pricey Pennies
While a $26,000 penny would be a welcome addition to any coin collection, it’s still not nearly as valuable as the priciest pennies. In addition to the 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny, here are nine other 1-cent pieces worth a pretty penny:
- 1944-S Steel Wheat Penny: $1.1 million
- 1793 Strawberry Leaf Cent: $862,500
- 1943-S Lincoln Cent Struck on Bronze: $282,000
- 1909 VDB Matte Proof Lincoln Penny: $258,000
- 1958 Doubled Die Obverse Cent: $224,831
- 1856 Flying Eagle Cent: $172,500
- 1864 Indian Head Penny “L” on Ribbon: $161,000
- 1914-D Lincoln Penny: $159,000
- 1926-S Lincoln Penny: $149,500
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