Before cleaning out your loose change, make sure you’re not accidentally giving away a rare penny worth thousands of dollars.
Got some coins lying around? Some may be worth hundreds if not thousands to currency collectors.
According to The Spruce Crafts, a site specializing in hobbies and coin collecting, coin collectors are willing to pay up to $25,000 for coins minted with errors such as missing letters, double printing, etc.
But what are some of the most valuable coin errors? Here are some:
- Doubled die: A coin with a doubled die means it has a duplication of design elements due to a misalignment of the die (or hub) used to press designs into the coin.
- Missing mint markings: A mint mark is a letter that identifies where a coin was made. For example, if a coin was minted in Philadelphia, it would display a "P," while if it was minted in New Orleans it would display an "O." Coins that have these identifying letters missing make them rarer and hence more appealing to collectors.
- Planchet errors: The planchets are the round blanks used to make coins. Planchet errors include planchets that are the wrong shape, wrong thickness and even ones that are left blank after the minting process.
- Strike errors: Striking is the step in the minting process where the design is impressed onto the coin. Strike errors include misaligned or off-center designs and even designs struck on the wrong coin.
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Here's a list of seven coin that are highly collectible due to their rare errors:
- 1969 Abraham Lincoln penny: These coins are very rare to find, although a woman in Texas found one in her house that was worth $24,000.
- 1970 Abraham Lincoln penny: This coin has a doubled die seen in the word "Liberty," as well as a bump in the number 7. This penny could fetch about $3,500.
- Double die Abraham Lincoln penny: This penny has a doubled die on the words "In God We Trust and Liberty." This coin can be worth $500, and has a numismatic value of EF-40
- 2004 Wisconsin State Fair quarter: This special edition quarter has a doubled die leaf hanging from an ear of corn
- 1999 Abraham Lincoln penny: This specific coin has an error in the letters "A" and "M" within the word "America." These coins could be worth between $5 and $600.
- 1982 Theodore Roosevelt dime: This specific dime is missing the mint marking. For example, those minted in Philadelphia must have the letter "P" while those printed in Denver the letter "D." These coins could be worth between $30 and $50.
- 2007 one dollar coin: Known as a Presidential coin, this specific coin is missing the letters on the edges. These could sell between $50 and $3,000.
If you've got a barrage of pennies lying around, here's a list of the top 10 most valuable pennies for 2023:
- 1) 1944 Steel Wheat Penny - $408,000
- 2) 1943 Copper Wheat Penny - $250,000
- 3) 1856 Flying Eagle Penny - $25,000
- 4) 1873 Indian Head Penny - $10,000
- 5) 1858 Flying Eagle Penny - $10,000
- 6) 1857 Flying Eagle Penny - $7,000
- 7) 1914 D Wheat Penny - $5,500
- 8) 1922 D Wheat Penny - $5,000
- 9) 1909 S VDB Wheat Penny - $4,150
- 10) 1877 Indian Head Penny - $3,200
You can check the value of your penny here.
