Rare Pennies You Should Hold Onto... Including The 1943 Penny

I get a lot of queries for the following: 1943 wheat penny, 1943 steel penny, 1943 silver penny, 1943 Lincoln penny, 1943 copper penny, and 1943 penny value. Geesh... I guess you all have a bunch of 1943 pennies in your possession!

I did a little research... What follows are a number of rare pennies you should hold onto if you ever come across them in loose change or coin collections.

Let's start with the 1943 penny:

1943 Penny

In recent years a "1943 S" (San Francisco Mint) copper coin has gone for about $60,000 dollars at auction. I remember the prices from the P (Philadelphia) mint ranging from around $10,000 many years ago to $73,000 in recent times. There are many counterfeits of this coin. Source

The easiest way to determine if a 1943 one cent is made of steel, and not copper, is to use a magnet. If it sticks to the magnet, it is not copper and is worth about 50 cents. If it does not stick, the coin might be of copper and should be authenticated by an expert. Source

Is your penny a copper or zinc cent?

1943 penny. Only forty 1943 copper-alloy cents are known to remain in existence. Coin experts speculate that they were struck by accident when copper-alloy 1-cent blanks remained in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies. Source

1974 Penny

In 1974, as a test, there were 1,579,324 Pennies made of pure Aluminum struck (produced) by the U.S. Mint. These were never circulated and most were later destroyed. Source

1955 Penny

Sometimes a penny is worth more than a penny. If you think you're seeing double, save that coin. A 1955 penny has a "double-die date." In uncirculated condition -- not a blemish on it -- it's worth about $27,000. Even in less than perfect condition it'll fatten your bank account to the tune of $570. Source

1936 Penny

In uncirculated condition, it would be priced at $6-$10 retail, but even the slightest wear is going to drop the value down to about 25 cents. Source

1924-S Penny

If the coin is circulated, it is worth between 25c and $10. If it is in mint condition, it could be worth $100 or more. Source

1909 Penny

Lincoln pennies made from 1909 to 1958 were designed by Victor D. Brenner. His initials V.D.B. were on a limited quantity of the 1909 pennies making it one of the most sought after pennies for collecting. Source

1877 Penny

The 1877 is considered the most crucial key date of the Indian Head cent series. The coin has demonstrated moderate to strong gains in just about every condition over time frames short and long. Source

1856 Penny

The inaugural small cent, the 1856 Flying Eagle cent had a mintage of only 1000. The addition of an 1856 cent in any acceptable condition is a prudent buy. Source

1844 Penny

A "Braided Hair Large Cent" was just an everyday penny back in 1844. If it is circulated, it is probably worth between $7 and $80. Source

1793 Penny

The most "expensive" penny is a rare one minted in 1793. Only four are known to exist today and their worth is estimated at more than $275,000. Source

1792 Penny

The chocolate-colored penny, the ninth known example of its type, bears the date 1792, an inscription "Parent of Science & Industry: Liberty" and the likeness of a woman's head representing Miss Liberty. Source

About Silver Pennies...

1943 silver penny

Authenticating silver pennies

1919, 1943, 1985, 1988, 1971 silver pennies

How To Find The True Value Of YOUR Penny:

1. Check online:

Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers

Professional Coin Grading Service

2. Check a coin pricing guide:

RELATED:
Rare Lincoln-Kennedy Penny

Rare U.S. Coins: Which Nickels, Pennies, Dimes & Quarters To Keep

Jane

hi i have a 1919 penny but iam unsure what marking it needs to have and how to find out if it worth anything could you please help me.

JoshuaTheFunTimesGuide

Hi Jane,

All 1919 Lincoln cents, regardless is they have the D mintmark (Denver), S mintmark (San Francisco), or no mintmark (Philadelphia) are very common and worth about 10 cents to $1 in typical circulated grades.

flkeyesgirl

hi, I came across several rare coins and was wondering if they are of any value. The first one is a large penny dated 1819 copper with a man wearing a Liberty headband. The second is a regular size copper penny dated 1864 with an indian with feathers on his head. The third is regular size copper penny, very worn I think the date is 1868 looks like a flying eagle. The first dime is dated 1914, has a D on the back, on the head side the head has a ribbon coming off the nape of the neck and spikes at the top front of the head. The second dime is dated 1866 the back has III in Roman numerals. The third dime much smaller dated 1857 and has an O on the back and reads half dime. There is also a coin that I believe to be a quarter because of the larger size although it does not state a denomination anywhere on the coin, dated 1883 and has a Roman numeral V on the back. Thanks for your assistance.

JoshuaTheFunTimesGuide

Hi, Flkeyesgirl --

What a nice coin collection! Before I list out the approximate values of your coins, please know that the prices here are are averages for coins that are not damaged (cleaned, bent, corroded, holed, etc.) and in at least the collector grade known as Good -- much wear but the most basic element of the design, like the design profile, maybe one or two major aspects of detail, and most and all the lettering and date are intact.

All these prices come from the 2010 Guide Book of United States Coins. These are retail prices. Coin dealers, however, tend to pay between 50% to 75% of these prices.

*1819 Matron Head Large Cent $20 and up.
*1858 Flying Eagle Cent (none were made in 1868) $28 and up
*1864 Indian Head Cent $20 and up for the 4.67-gram version and $12 and up for the 3.11-gram cent (weighs as much as virtually all 1909-1981 Lincoln cents)
*The coin dated 1866 with the Roman numeral III is actually a 3-cent piece! That's worth $18 and up.
*1857 Seated Liberty Half Dime is worth $18 and up.
*1883 No-Cents Liberty Nickel is $6 and up.
*1914-D Barber Dime is worth $2.50 and up.

Here's some more info on that 3-cent piece if you're interested in learning more about what coin collectors call odd denomination coins: http://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/2008/02/two_c...

wonderperson

hi,
i have a 1941 penny that is silver, does anyone know how much it is?

JoshuaTheFunTimesGuide

Hi Wonderperson,

The U.S. Mint didn't strike 1941 Lincoln cents in anything but the usual bronze format, so your coin was plated or coated in something.

Mercury is commonly used in coating pennies to look that way, and it's quite possible zinc, pewter, or silver were also used to achieve that effect. In any respect, your coin unfortunately has no value to most collectors because it's deemed as altered.

Augusta

I have two wheat pennies with no mint stamp and I am unsure of the value. The dates are 1939 and 1945. What are the values?

JoshuaTheFunTimesGuide

Hi Augusta,

Your 1939 and 1945 Lincoln cents are made in Philadelphia (because they have no mint mark, and one-cent coins don't have a P mint mark). Assuming usual wear and no damage, each of your coins is worth between 3 cents and 10 cents.

jim

My name is Jim, can somebody please tell me what a doubled sided wheat penny is worth.

JoshuaTheFunTimesGuide

Hi Jim,

Actually, such double-sided coins are virtually always intentionally made by private individuals as novelty coins. Assuming such is the case with your coin, it's likely worth a couple dollars to people who collect such coins.

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