A LINCOLN penny renowned in the collecting world has sold for an astonishing $336,000 at auction due to a highly sought-after minting error.
The 1943 coin, with a face value of just one cent, is a prize piece for collectors – and you may just have one in your pocket change.
One of these rare Lincoln wheat pennies sold for nearly $340,000 through Heritage Auctions in July 2022.
The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, graded About Uncirculated 50 by PCGS, raked in such a hefty chunk of change because it features a “legendary” error.
“The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent is probably the most famous and sought-after error coin of all time,” reads the Heritage Auction description.
Copper was used to make bronze pennies since 1864, but the US Mint stopped using it during World War II when the metal was needed to manufacture military weapons and ammunition.
The US Mint then shifted to using zinc-coated steel planchets for all Lincoln cents to save copper for the war effort.
What is the Lincoln wheat cent?
The Lincoln wheat cent, also known as the wheat penny, is a one-cent coin minted in the US between 1909 and 1958.
The one-cent coin was first minted in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and designed by Victor David Brenner to replace the traditional Lady Liberty design.
The first circulating US coin to depict a president’s image, the Lincoln wheat penny features Lincoln’s portrait on the obverse and wheat stalks symbolizing prosperity and unity etched on the reverse.
After 1958, the penny’s design was switched to feature the Lincoln Memorial on the back.
However, a handful of the old bronze planchets stuck in the tote bins used to feed the coin presses were accidentally struck in 1943.
These coins, minted alongside millions of steel planchets, created the mysterious wrong-planchet rarity.
The error became the talk of the town overnight in the late 1940s when false rumors spread across the US that business mogul Henry Ford would give a new car to anyone able to find a 1943 “copper” cent for him.
When a handful of the rare Lincoln wheat pennies were seen circulating in 1947, numerous ads and stories in magazines and comic books inspired by them began popping up in the 1950s and 60s.
The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent has continued to capture the public’s fascination over the years and has consistently brought in jaw-dropping prices at auction.
Roughly 30 to 40 genuine 1943 bronze Lincoln cents exist, according to estimates.
MORE MONEY
There are two other highly sought-after varieties of the Lincoln wheat penny, including the 1909-S VDB Penny and the 1955 Double Die Penny.
The rarity of the first variety is attributed to two factors.
The first is the coin’s mintage location at the San Francisco mint, where only 484,000 were produced – a low mintage in comparison to other Lincoln pennies.
The 1909-S VDB Penny is also rare because of the controversial inclusion of the initials of Victor David Brenner, the coin’s designer, on the wheat penny’s reverse.
The large initials prompted much public criticism, resulting in the US Mint’s quick removal of the engraving.
Subsequently, a minimal number of 1909 Lincoln cents feature the designer’s initials, and even fewer were struck at the San Francisco Mint.
These factors contribute to the rarity of the 1909-S VDB Penny and its high price tag at auction, where several have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Another rare variety of the Lincoln wheat penny is the 1955 Double Die Penny, worth much more than its one-cent face value thanks to a production error at the Philadelphia Mint.
Identifying Rare Lincoln Wheat Pennies
If you find a Lincoln wheat cent, check your coin for the following details:
Date and Mint Mark – certain years and mint marks, including the 1943 copper, 1909-S VDB, and 1955 double die, are rarer than others Material – most 1943 pennies were made from steel planchets, so ones made from copper are highly valuable Condition – the rarest coins are those in mint or uncirculated condition Minting Errors – errors such as doubled letters and numbers can make a coin very valuableDuring the second production strike, the penny’s die was misaligned, causing an obvious doubling effect on its date and lettering.
Roughly 20,000 to 24,000 of these wheat pennies were put into circulation, increasing their rarity compared to the millions of regular 1955 pennies minted.
Well-preserved 1955 Double Die Pennies have sold for tens of thousands of dollars at auction.
Many other rare coins have sold for exorbitant amounts.
For example, a Liberty nickel sold for $3.2 million at auction thanks to its exact date – and a rare “mint” detail adds value.
Plus, check out the three “error” coins worth over $90,000 – they’re each still in circulation.
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