Find out which old pennies, KEY DATES, and pennies with ERRORS & VARIETIES to look for when searching PENNY ROLLS!
RELATED VIDEO: VALUABLE pennies in CIRCULATION
RELATED ARTICLE: What To Look For When Searching Penny Rolls
Searching penny rolls is a fun hobby! I’ve been collecting coins for over 30 years, and it’s STILL one of my favorite budget-friendly ways to find valuable pennies. (Almost doubled my money searching through this 1 roll of pennies alone!)
I Bought: 1 roll of pennies for 50 cents
I Found: AT LEAST 45 cents worth of pennies in this 1 roll
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⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 – Why We’re Doing This Video
00:43 – We Bought 1 Roll Of Pennies For 50 Cents
01:10 – The Pennies We’re Looking For
02:50 – 1974 Lincoln Cent
03:07 – Why Pre-1982 Pennies Are Valuable
04:01 – 1979 Lincoln Cent
04:47 – 1982 Lincoln Cent
05:06 – How To Tell Copper vs. Zinc Pennies
06:24 – Post Mint Damaged Coins
07:00 – 1970 Lincoln Cent
07:32 – 1981 Lincoln Cent
08:12 – 1999 Lincoln Cent
08:45 – 1984 Lincoln Cent
09:58 – 1995 Lincoln Cent
10:31 – 1977 Lincoln Cent
11:32 – 1971 Lincoln Cent
11:54 – Copper Penny Totals (15 x $.03 = $.45!)
12:11 – 1995 Lincoln Cent
12:36 – 1999 Wide AM Penny Error
13:18 – 1992 Close AM Penny Error
13:52 – 1990 No Mintmark Penny
15:49 – Summary Of Our Penny Roll Searching
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi I’m Josh with The Fun Times Guide. And I have my wife over here, Jeanine. And we’re here to go through a roll of pennies. Now I have done various videos before on pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, even half dollars – and going through rolls. But never actually going through the rolls on a video. So I thought why not do it right now? Right. So my wife loves coins as well. (A whole bunch.) And so we have a shared interest in coins – and that’s why we’re here together doing this.
So we ended up going to our local bank and ended up buying one roll of pennies. 50 come to a roll – 50 cents to buy a roll. And we thought ONE roll because first of all… we don’t want to have an 18-hour video going through a box of pennies. But also, it’s more realistic that you might go to a grocery store or a bank or whatever and pick up a roll or two. So we thought this might be more relatable to those who are going through rolls of coins on a more casual basis. So I think without further ado… we should go through this roll and see if there’s any good coins in here or not. Let’s do it.
Now what are we looking for? The copper pennies for sure. The pre-1982 pennies. And wheat cents. Oh wheat cents… yes yes. Like the very first coin I ever found that got me involved in the hobby was a 1941 Lincoln wheat cent that I got in my allowance change. (They really sealed this roll pretty well. Well, let’s go ahead and bang it on the table – and we almost cracked it. We have a little tear going on here. Is that seriously how you have to do it? Well, it depends on the kind of roll. You know what I’m going to do? Not as fun, but I’m going to tear this off…)
Alright, we have a little handy dandy table here in front of us. We’re going to just dump these coins out of the roll. And… Oh I do see some copper in here already. That’s a good start. You know it’s important when you get a roll of coins – if you’re looking for old dates and such – that hopefully you don’t score a roll of all uncirculated late date coins like from last year or from this year. Unless you’re looking for new varieties and such – that has a purpose too. But if you’re looking for old dates, you want to look for a privately assembled roll. Or one that the banks put together.
So, anything standing out to you so far? I see a couple of goodies in here at least. Do you have a magnifying glass? A magnifying glass? What for? Because I can’t see. You know what, I didn’t happen to bring a magnifying glass with me. So since my vision might be a little bit sharper, if you want you can go ahead and give those pieces you’re unsure about to me.
So what I find so far is we have a 1974 Lincoln cent. Now, circulated Lincoln cents really from 1959 on aren’t worth much in terms of value – unless they’re uncirculated. But having said that, we keep an eye out for the pre-1982 Lincoln cents. Now, why pre ’82? 1982 was the year the US Mint went from using a 95% copper composition to basically a zinc core that’s plated with copper. And because copper prices have gone up in the last number of years, any pre-1982 Lincoln cent (EXCEPT for the 1943 steel cents), they’re worth money because of their copper value alone. And as of this recording, in mid 2024, you’re looking at about 3 cents, more or less, for any pre-1982 copper cent. I see you’re pulling out some coins there. What do you have over there honey? I’m just pulling out the new coins. Okay, we have a 1981 Lincoln cent – the cusp of the copper era. So I know it’s not an old coin because of the new Union Shield. Yeah the Union Shield. A 1979 Lincoln cent – another copper find there. And I don’t see any Wheat cents yet. Here’s another 1979. This ’79… actually if you can tell here on camera… is… it’s circulated. But it’s actually pretty lightly worn. Has some luster to it. So we have 4 copper cents. This looks like it has chemical damage. A third 1979 Lincoln cent. But with chemical damage. Oh yeah, zinc cents – they’re notorious for their corrosion issues. Let’s see, we have a 1969 Lincoln cent over here. So another copper era Lincoln cent.
So we definitely found some copper. That’s a good… that’s a good start for one roll of pennies. Now we have a 1982 Lincoln cent. Now that’s the year like I was saying a minute ago that the Mint went from going from a copper-based composition to a zinc-based composition. But about half (more or less) of those pennies from that year are copper. And the other half (more or less) are zinc. So how do you tell a copper 1982 cent from a zinc 1982 cent? Well, we can tell by the use of a couple different ways. If we had a gram scale in front of us – which I actually have one, but it’s in a different room. I don’t want to get up and all that since I’m here in front of the camera. We would be able to weigh the 1982 cent and see if it weighs about 3 to 3.1 grams. If it weighs 3 to 3.1 grams, it’s a copper cent. If it weighs 2.5 grams (more or less), it’s a zinc cent. Another way you can tell though is if you drop a copper penny on a hard surface, it’ll have like a slight ring to it. Whereas zinc cents have a clicking sound upon contact with a hard surface. So I’m going to drop it now – just to show you an example. So here’s a zinc cent right here. Okay, when I drop it on this hard surface, it’ll make a kind of a clicking sound. Hear that? Now here is a known copper cent – it’s from 1970… was it 3? Yeah. Maybe you should do it over here because you can’t see it well. Well that’s actually a good point. See that’s why I married her. She’s very smart. This will make a ringing sound when it hits a heart surface. Hear that? Very distinctive. Let’s see if this ’82 cent makes a ringing sound or a clicking sound. Hear that? That’s copper. That’s a copper 1982 cent. So that’s definitely a keeper.
Any more finds over here hun? Well, I found this one got… it looks like it got ran over. Oh my gosh. So I know that when you ask… Show everybody that penny. I will. So when you ask people. Or when people on The Fun Times Guide ask questions, I know that sometimes they’re excited because they have these marks and stuff. This one’s evident. It’s like… Yeah, that look like it was dropped in acid or ran over a thousand times and then scraped. Oh my gosh. Yeah that’s… you’re lucky if that’s worth face value there. A 1970 copper cent. So we’re finding some really cool copper cents. What about this one? This one has like… Let me see that one… This is really dingy. A 2003… Are you serious? Lincoln cent. I mean it looks… it looks unusual. And some folks might think it might be an error – because it’s like all scratched up or whatever. But it’s just heavily post-mint damaged. I don’t think… if you can see it there on the camera or not… You can see the green. But yeah, you can tell it’s corroded. And it has some pitting issues. So it’s definitely worth face value and nothing more unfortunately. Is this an ’81. That is an ’81. That’s the very last full year of copper production. Your birth year. That’s my birth year. Happy birthday. Thank you. I just turned 23. (ha ha… hello!) No I did not. It’s an ’81 Lincoln cent. So we have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8… we have 9 copper cents so far out of 50. This would be an ’82. Let’s go ahead and drop it and see what it sounds like.
I hear a ring. Oh I do too – I hear a ring. Yeah that’s copper. Pretty cool. This is 1999? Um let me see. Or 1994? That is 1999 – my senior year of high school. I was in 7th grade. You were not… when I was a senior in ’99. No I was in 7th or 8th grade. Yeah I robbed the cradle when I married her. Not by much. We met in our 30s. Yes we did. I can’t read this… 1997? Let me see… Now I will say… Let me see… We have a 19… a 2007! Close. I didn’t read them.
We have an ’84. Now the 1984 Lincoln cent… keep an eye on. Because there is a known double die with ’84 Lincoln cents. You’re looking for a doubled ear. And the way you would tell a doubled ear on a 1984 Lincoln cent is if you look at the lobe of Lincoln’s ear, you would see that there’s like a doubling – like a second lobe hanging down. I can tell off the bat that this is not a doubled ear. But, go to The Fun Times Guide. Look up 1984 Lincoln cents. And I explain all about the ’84 double dies and what to look for and what they’re worth. But this unfortunately is not an ’84 double die. So we can go ahead and spend that at the store next time. Is this?… That is a 2000… Let me see… 2007. That’s our second ’07? Another Shield cent. We’re almost out of pennies already. A 1969 Denver Lincoln cent. And another just.. dirty damaged one. Ugh – dirty damaged. Dirty damaged.
I wish I could find a rainbow one. 1995… Rainbow toning? Yeah those are pretty. Yeah, but not chemical rainbow effects (patina). 1995 Lincoln cent. You’re looking for a doubling in the inscription of Liberty and in God We Trust. If I know anything… And I can tell off the bat – I don’t see doubling. Okay, he’s been speaking a lot. He knows a lot. I’m Irish… “gift of the gab.” You already were gabbing. I know. Okay, so everything I know about coins I learned from him. Whoa. But I’ve been with him for 8 years so. There’s a little bit of time to learn. Look it’s 1977. That’s the year that BOTH of our sets of parents got married. Yeah. His were in July. (July 7th) Mine was in May… mine was May 7th. You’re learning our whole life story. I know I know. And… that 1977 Lincoln cent looks like it was just struck yesterday. It is beautiful. I keep… Love that… I know. I’m like looking at it a whole lot. Isn’t it beautiful guys? You see the luster on that penny – just the cartwheel effect – is incredible on that. Oh it’s upside down. Well, I’m sure they get the idea. Close enough. There we go. It’s very pretty. Very pretty AND it’s a copper coin. So we’ll keep that. I think this is my favorite coin this far. I agree. My favorite number is 7 so…
Looking through here… There really are no other keepers. We’re looking for any dates of significance that involve varieties. 1971 Denver Lincoln cent – there is another copper cent right there. I think we’re near the end of the road with our roll. Any coppers over there? There’s a copper. 1977. Is that a copper? So, 1999? No that’d be about 17 years after the last copper circulating cents were made. And all the rest are zinc. Yep. So we found 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 copper cents out of 50 pennies in that roll – really isn’t too bad. Here’s a 1995. 95? See with 1995 you want to look for double die obverse diagnostics. And this is actually Denver. And there were no significant double dies from the Denver Mint that year. Is that the 1999? That would be an ’84. That’s the one that we looked for that might have had the doubled ear, but unfortunately no. ’99 another ’99. 1999? But what I will look for on a ’99 is a Wide AM which means… So on the reverse of Lincoln pennies from the 1990s there are some variations in how close or far the base of the letters A and M in the word America are. And in the case of 1998 1999 and 2000 pennies, on the reverse… If you see like a really wide gap at the base of the A and M in the word America, they’re keepers because that’s a type of die – or a design rather that was struck by a die not intended for circulating Lincoln cents during those years.
Now conversely in 1992… (You can see me now…. I know!) The Close AM penny would show almost no gap between the base of the A and M in the word America. And those are all… those are worth thousands of dollars! But they’re very very rare. So… I write about those also on The Fun Times Guide. You can look them up via 1992 Lincoln cents on Google. Type in Fun Times Guide. You’ll get right to the article that explains all about the Close AM pennies and also the Wide AM pennies from 1998, 1999, and 2000. As well as their values. What do we have there honey? I’m trying to figure out. I think these are the last two. (The last two.) I just sifted through all the ones and put them right here. I see. 1990…
This is a good chance to talk about the 1990 no mintmark pennies. Do you know how many questions I’ve received over the years about 1990 pennies that have no mintmark? People know that they’re worth something because they’ve come across it online and they want to find out for 1990 pennies that have no mint mark like this one – which I hope you can see. We need to get a zoom lens on this. Anyway, there’s no mintmark under the 1990 date on this ’90 penny. And a lot of folks will ask me if they have THE 1990 No S Penny. Now, I can tell you that yes THIS 1990 penny and the 1990 No S Penny of great value might look kind of the same – because they don’t have a letter under the date. But this is a Philadelphia Mint struck 1990 penny. And there are millions and millions upon MILLIONS of 1990 pennies out there that don’t have a mintmark under it. They’re very common. They’re worth face value. The 1990 No S Penny comes in proof sets – and they look super shiny, the design of Lincoln has like a frosted look to it, and the lettering also looks frosted. You can tell a 1990 no s proof penny from a 1990 Philadelphia Mint struck penny if you look at the two online. Actually, in my article on 1990 pennies, I talk all about the no-mintmark variety – what to look for, what they’re worth.
So… great example coins to talk about here tonight. And we made some good finds with copper pennies. Alright… This is a 1995… and I just want to show you how nice and shiny… It’s really hard to find older zinc Lincoln cents that look that good because corrosion is a big – like I said – a big problem with zinc pennies. But I’ll tell you what, this was a good set of finds. Nothing super extraordinary. We’re not going to pay the mortgage off with the finds tonight. But I think we did a good job. 14 right? 14 copper cents. And uh bunch of spending money there for our next penny roll run! So again Josh with The Fun Times Guide. My wife Jeanine. And we thank you for watching our video. We hope you like it. If you do, please click “Like.” Hit “Share.” Comment below. We’ll be back in the future with more. And tell us how we can do better on these because this is totally our first time. So thank you for watching. I know half our heads were on the screen sometimes but… Half my head’s always off anyway so! No…. Have a good day guys. Take care. Thank you.
