These 3 Rare Pennies From Over 20 Years Ago Are Worth a Ton Now
Written by
Nicholas Morine
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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When it comes to valuable coins, pennies aren’t often what first comes to mind. With that being said, there are several pennies that are worth a fortune, though they are generally considered to be great rarities among numismatists.
So, which pennies from over 20 years ago are worth a fair chunk of change? A list of some interesting selections follows.
1943-D Lincoln Wheat Penny
While most wheat pennies are worth only a small amount over face value (and, given that the face value is a single cent, that may not be saying a lot), this particular coin is extremely rare — and extremely valuable.
As USA Coin Book detailed, the 1943-D Lincoln Wheat Cent is actually an error coin. Pennies minted in this year were supposed to be struck in steel, although a few copper examples managed to find their way out of the mints. With the D in this case standing for Denver, there is only one known coin of this type known to exist.
According to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), a MS64 graded example of this coin sold for $840,000 in 2021 via Heritage Auctions. Despite that, PCGS currently places a book value on this item of $1,050,000.
1864 Indian Head Penny, ‘L’ on Ribbon
With an unusual L placed on the coin’s obverse to denote the influence of the designer, James Longacre, this coin is both historically important and hard to find. As BullionShark pointed out, Indian cents from 1859 to 1864 are usually bereft of such markings, although in this case, the L was added at the very end of the year it was minted, creating further rarity.
In excellent condition (MS66) and with its initial red luster mostly intact, one of these coins (of two known to exist) sold for $36,000 during a 2021 Stack’s Bowers auction. BullionShark estimated the value at much more than this figure ($92,000), and PCGS placed a book value on the coin of $81,500.
1856 Flying Eagle Cent
There’s certainly an interesting story behind this penny, as The Spruce Crafts outlined. The price of copper was so high in 1856 that it was no longer feasible to make a standard-sized penny without actually losing money in the process.
In response, The United States Mint dropped the previously bulky size of the penny to something resembling its modern iteration. This plan required congressional approval, however, so 800 of these Flying Eagle pennies were minted as prototypes and offered up to lawmakers. Given the extremely low mintage, any of these coins is valuable — uncirculated or otherwise.
However, an extremely well-preserved example, graded MS66, sold for $172,500 in 2004 via Heritage Auctions. That represents just over $288,000 in today’s currency.
Are Any More Common Pennies Valuable?
The best way to tell if a standard, circulated penny could be valuable is to check it for errors, key dates or strange mint marks, as BullionShark suggested. If you could stockpile enough Lincoln Wheat cents and Lincoln Memorial cents, you could end up multiplying face value by a bit. However, this process could be tedious.
Lastly, almost all pennies minted in 1982 and after are worth relatively nothing (outside of a few rare instances) due to the usage of lower-cost materials — far less copper being present, for example.
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