A penny worth around $200,000 is most likely a rare 1943 bronze Lincoln penny, an unintentional error coin made from copper instead of steel during World War II, with a few examples selling in that range, though rarer ones have sold for over $1 million; other potentially valuable error pennies include 1955, 1969, 1972, and 1992 double dies or wide AM varieties, though usually worth thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
It's from 1999 and could be worth $4,500 thanks to a little-known error on it. What you want to look for is a 1999 penny with no mint mark, which means no letter under the year on the heads side. As for the tails side, that's where you have to look closely.
A few accidental copper pennies were minted in 1943, making them some of the most valuable coins, worth up to $100,000 or more at auction. 1955 Double Die Wheat Penny: A famous error featuring clear doubling of the date and lettering, this coin can command $1,000 to $20,000, depending on grade.
For example, the 1909-S VDB Wheat Penny is one of the most sought-after, often selling for thousands of dollars. Other valuable dates include the 1914-D, 1922 No D, and 1955 Double Die pennies, which can fetch hundreds to thousands depending on condition.
The coin features errors including extra lettering, an indent, and a column on the reverse side. It was minted in Denver and is uncertified. This is a rare 1999 D Lincoln Memorial Penny from the United States. It is a circulated small cent coin made of copper with a red color.
Verified 1970 double die pennies have sold in auctions for $25, 000 to $35, 000 depending on condition. Compared to a penny's face value of one cent. This represents a return of hundreds of thousands of percent. High grade uncirculated coins are especially valuable because they are extremely scarce.
As a general rule, 1982 Large Date pennies are made of copper and do command a dollar or two from collectors, as they are some of the “old-style” pennies. The new pennies are therefore Small Date pennies and are likely worth little more than their face value.
1. 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny — $2.3 million. Designed by Victor D. Brenner, this is one of the highest-value pennies in circulation today.
Take the 1910-S Lincoln Cent, for instance. At first glance, it's just a tiny copper coin — the humble one-cent piece many of us toss into jars or piggy banks. But among coin collectors, this early Wheat Penny is considered a true gem, commanding prices as high as $250,000 in pristine condition.
Simpson, co-chairman of the Texas Rangers baseball club, paid $1 million for the finest known 1943-S Lincoln Wheat penny on a bronze planchet. All 1943 Lincoln cents were supposed to be made of steel planchets coated with zinc. However, some bronze planchets left over from 1942 slipped into the 1943 production process.
Top 10 Most Valuable Pennies
If production stops, the value of these pennies could increase significantly. The 2019 Lincoln Shield pennies in excellent condition are typically valued between $12 to $15 each. That's not bad at all!
It's a transitional mint error — struck on leftover copper planchets when the Mint had already switched to zinc. What is the value of a 1982-D Small Date Copper penny? Depending on grade, examples have sold for $10,000 to $25,000+ at major auctions.
Here are five common(ish) pennies that could pay off big later:
A 1943-S bronze Lincoln cent sold in August 2007 for $1 million to a collector. This sale was a private transaction rather than an auction. Another 1943 copper penny from the Philadelphia mint was sold by Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, New Jersey, for $1.7 million in September 2010.
💰 1983 Penny Value & Errors: Rare Lincoln Cents Worth Up to $7,000!
What is the average selling price of a 1953 D Wheat Penny? Circulated coins often sell for around 15 to 30 cents, while uncirculated coins can sell for a few dollars or more.
The most valuable pennies, which are rare but possibly still in circulation, are 1943 copper Lincoln wheat pennies, a few of which were produced accidentally as the U.S. mints were supposed to use zinc to save copper for the World War II effort, said John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet.