Have a SILVER penny? A 1943 or 1944 STEEL penny? Or a SILVER LOOKING penny from another year? Find out how much your silver pennies are WORTH! All about steel cents, zinc cents, and silver penny ERRORS.
⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 INTRO: Silver Pennies
00:54 1943 steel cent value if well worn
01:54 1943 steel cent value if lightly worn
02:30 1943 steel cent value if uncirculated
02:52 1943 steel cent value in excellent condition
03:04 Are 1943 steel cents RARE?
04:18 Are 1944 steel cents RARE?
04:41 1944 steel cent values
05:02 Rule of thumb for 1944 steel cent values
05:41 How to tell if your silver penny is made of steel
06:04 Silver penny struck on a dime planchet ERROR
06:38 Rare penny struck on dime planchet error value
07:32 How to tell if you have a cent struck on dime error
08:06 1982 and later “silver penny” values
08:59 1982 and later silver penny ERROR value
10:02 SUMMARY: Silver Pennies
============================
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey everybody, this is Josh from The Fun Times Guide. And today we’re talking about silver penny values.
Now, I’m not just talking about the values of steel cents — like this one right here from 1943. But actually ALL pennies that look like they’re made from silver, including those that actually ARE made from silver.
So, find out what YOUR silver penny values are as you watch this video…
So, we see here a little grouping of 5 coins. One of them is NOT a penny. And I’m gonna give you a hint which one that is… [beep beep]
And one of them is not a silver penny… at all. And I think you know which one that one is! That’s right.
I’ll show you why these two are here in a minute.
But first, let’s talk about silver pennies (or “silver pennies”)…
Most cases when I get a question on Coins.TheFunTmesGuide.com or here on YouTube, the penny in question typically is a 1943 steel cent — which looks kind of like a silver penny. I get it. You know, I mean look at this…
This is a 1943 steel cent. It’s basically a steel core with a zinc coating on it to help reduce the chance of rusting (which didn’t always work out).
Oh, and by the way, I should apologize. My hands look a little bit dirty. I tried to wash them like 10 times. I mowed the grass this morning and pulled some weeds and of course that entails soil. So please pardon that. I never said I was a hand model.
But getting back to the issue at hand here, the steel cent…
This well worn darkened 1943… what is this we have here?… A San Francisco? Yep — just making sure! This steel cent is worth 5 to 10 cents in most cases right here.
We go up to this next 1943 steel cent… This one being a Philadelphia Mint example. This has light wear. It’s probably AU. You can see some very light wear on Lincoln’s cheek and some of the hair detail and the ear. This is probably an AU 50-55. You can tell it’s been worn. Look at just the kind of the discoloration and patination on the coin there. And just very light wear on the design. An example in this condition is worth maybe 25 cents — 30 cents on a good day.
And then we go to this 1943 Denver steel cent right here in Mint State condition. No evident signs of wear. Pretty much a full cartwheel effect (or full luster effect) as you tilt the coin to different angles. Obverse and reverse here as well. Same thing… nice luster. Generally speaking, these are $1 dollar to $2 dollars in this condition.
Now, I will say that a very nice Mint State 66, 67, 68 steel cent… THAT can garner much higher prices. I mean, in many cases at the very top echelons and we’re talking thousands of dollars.
But these are NOT rare coins. In fact, across the 3 Mints at the time (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco), over 1 billion (with a B) steel cents were struck! So, these are NOT… these are not uncommon coins.
They’re hard to FIND these days in circulation, but they’re in many many collections. They’re in hordes. There are plenty to go around.
Now, in many cases when I get a question about a steel or a silvery type of cent that’s NOT a 1943, it usually involves people who HOPE they have a 1944 steel cent!
What are these?
Well, while the Mint was supposed to strike steel cents for just 1 year in 1943 to help preserve copper for the war effort to help make shell casings for ammunitions and for other purposes… by ’44 it was determined that steel cents were not that popular. People were mistaking them for dimes. They were rusting up very quickly. The public did not like steel cents in general at that time.
So in 1944 the U.S. Mint went back to a copper-based composition. However, there were a few steel cent planchets left in the hoppers across the 3 Mints — as we see here. These are very rare and also very valuable coins.
We’re looking here at just a variety of them on Heritage Auctions (ha.com). I LOVE their auction website because they have over 2 decades now of Mint… or rather of auction records of coins that they’ve sold over the years. So, it kind of gives you an idea as to what coins are worth over the ages.
We see here prices across the gamut really for 1944 steel cents. Some as high as, in this case here, $373,000… $750,000… $408,000 right here for a 1944-S struck in 2021 in MS66.
I would say a good rule of thumb for 1944 steel cent value is in most cases you’re talking about a $25,000 to $50,000 coin at a minimum — and then on up from there based on condition.
I know that’s kind of a broad value range. I know you see this one here for $5,405. This is also a coin that sold in 1998. So, that was a different time in the marketplace in 1944 steel cents. Though still considered rare and valuable in those days, they were not worth what they are today. So, just keep that in mind.
That’s why I kind of like the historic element to looking at these auction prices realized.
But yeah, if you found a ’44 steel scent and it actually verifies as steel in that it sticks to a magnet and weighs about 2.7 to 2.8 grams, you’re talking about a multi-thousand dollar rare coin.
So, if you found one, congratulations! Let me know in the comments below if YOU found a ’44 steel cent OR found another penny from a different date that looks like it’s made from silver.
I’m about to address another very common type of question I receive about silvery pennies. And that would involve coins struck on… yes folks, silver OR copper nickel clad dime planchets — which is a possible kind of Mint error.
Sometimes these dime planchets which are smaller than the cent planchet by a little bit slip through the cracks if you will and get struck with Lincoln cent designs. And therefore you’d have a silver penny — one struck on a dime planet!
These are also very rare and valuable coins. We’ll see here another Heritage Auctions page for “cents struck on dime planted errors”. Look at these prices everybody! We’re talking here again… many thousands of dollars!
1964… This is in 2002, mind you! This is a long time ago. Still garnered over almost $5,000. You know, we see here some more recent listings here from the 20-teens and 2022… a 1959-D Lincoln cent struck on a silver dime planchet MS61 sold for $1,050. Not a bad payday for the one who happened to find this coin — perhaps in pocket change or roll searching.
Like the ’44 steel cent folks… I mean, the values range across the board. But it’s safe to say that you’re looking at a very valuable and rare coin if you happen to find an actual “cent struck on dime planchet error”.
Now, the way you would tell you have a “cent struck on dime error” would be by checking the coin out to make sure it does NOT stick to a magnet — because either silver or copper nickel clad compositions are NOT magnetic. So (A).
And then (B), you’re looking for a coin that weighs what a dime planchet weighs. In the case of the 90% silver dime planchets of yesteryear… those weigh about 2.5 grams. Whereas the copper nickel clad dime planchets are closer to 2.2 to 2.3 grams (based on tolerances).
Now, sometimes folks ask about 1982 and LATER silver pennies and they want to know what THAT would be…
We see here a 20… What year did I get here? A 2020 zinc-based copper coated cent. So essentially this is a copper coating on a zinc core. Okay? Now, if any part of that copper coating wears off, you’ll see the silvery colored zinc underneath. Some folks think that’s an error. In almost every case, it’s just post-Mint damage or post-Mint alteration. Those are worth face value.
There’s a very common type of school experiment that involves removing the copper coating through the use of acids. I will not explain how it’s done — because I don’t want to encourage people to get their hands on dangerous and caustic materials. But you can look it up online and find out for yourself. Those are ALSO worth face value.
Now, there is a type of error in which the planchet itself is never coated with copper. Those are worth $50 to $100 (more or less) based on the condition of the coin, the piece itself, and the market. You would need to have somebody to actually examine the coin in hand and make sure that it’s not an acid influenced surface or another type of post-Mint alteration to ensure that you actually have a real non-copper coated zinc cent error. But if you find one that looks like a candidate, it’s worth getting checked out professionally.
Please let me know in the comments below if you have found a zinc error or 1982 and later Lincoln cent (or Lincoln penny) that looks silvery in color. I’d love to know more about it. Maybe help you find out what you have and maybe what it might be worth.
But that’s it everybody. I mean, you get kind of the idea here of the different types of silver pennies that you’d find — at least among U.S. coins anyway. And as you see, it could be worth face value to… in some cases, many thousands of dollars. Pretty cool stuff.
Well, there you have it everybody. That is a gamut of silver penny values ranging from steel cents to zinc cents to actual silver pennies (or “silver pennies” if you will) — those that were struck on silver dime planchets.
I would love to know if you have ever found ANY of the coins I mentioned in this video or OTHER ones that look like they’re struck on a weird metal or have an odd coloration. I’m always happy to help answer questions the best I can.
But in the meantime, this is Josh with The Fun Times Guide signing off and thanking you for watching. And I hope you have a silver penny worth lots of money in your collection! (Or is it a steel cent? Ah, that’s the question…)
