Some Pennies Are Worth Hundreds of Dollars: How to Check Value by Year
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Americans may have pennies worth hundreds of dollars hiding in their piggy banks.
Depending on the year, mint and condition, a Lincoln Wheat penny can be valued anywhere from several hundred to even millions of dollars.
Why It Matters
The U.S. Treasury Department announced this month that it plans to stop manufacturing the penny. However, some of the remaining pennies in your wallet or piggy bank can be worth a significant amount of money if you know what to look for.
What To Know
Pennies produced from 1905 to 1958 are highly collectible and feature an image of former President Abraham Lincoln on the front, with the reverse side displaying two sheaves of wheat.
Depending on their year and mint, they could be worth a fortune. For instance, the 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny is valued at a whopping $2.3 million in uncirculated mint condition.
This is because some were produced mistakenly with copper in 1943, making them highly rare.
If in less-than-ideal mint condition, the penny could still be worth $100,000 or more.
Pennies are displayed at Glenview Coin & Collectibles in Glenview, Illinois, on July 6, 2006.
Pennies are displayed at Glenview Coin & Collectibles in Glenview, Illinois, on July 6, 2006.To find this rare type of penny, look for the 1943 mint year. If you indeed have that year, you may want to consult a coin expert to determine the value of the penny.
Other valuable coins include the 1944-S Steel Wheat Penny, estimated to be worth $1.1 million. Only two copies of the San Francisco-minted version of the penny are known to exist. The 1793 Strawberry Leaf Cent, meanwhile, is worth $862,500.
There are many free online tools to help you determine the value of your coin. On USCoinsValue.com, you can look up the value of a penny based on its year, mint mark, and condition.
What People Are Saying
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: "The good news is you may have some stray pennies in your home that are worth more than a cent. The bad news is the likelihood of them being worth significantly more than a cent are low. Outside of a few variations that are in low supply...most will be worth just a tad more than their original value.
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: "While most wheat pennies are pocket change, the rare ones can buy you a house. A 1943 copper penny recently sold for $840,000. That's a heckuva ROI (return on investment) for something that started as one cent."
What Happens Next
Beene said it may be worth your time to check spare change and look online for values of the variants you find.
"These pennies are normally a [gateway] into collecting, given they aren't too pricey for new buyers, so finding one may create some more change in your piggy bank," he said.
Error coins are generally considered jackpots in the coin-collecting world, and low mintage will likely result in higher prices.
"Condition is everything," Ryan said. "The difference between a worn coin and mint condition can be $5 versus $50,000."
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