Most coins cost 1 cent, but for collectors, some of them are rated more seriously than their weight in gold. Earlier this year, a plain-looking dollar coin hit the headlines when it was found among the property of a man named Don Lutes.
The 1943 Lincoln bronze cent attracted nearly 30 potential buyers, and was sold for $ 204,000 in January, Heritage Auctions, the organization that conducted the sale, said.
“In 1947, the 16-year-old Lutes received a cent at the cafeteria at the high school,” said David Stone, Heritage coin cataloger. This coin belonged to Lutes before his death in 2018. When he was seriously ill, he sent a cent to Heritage. Sales proceeds went to the Berkshire Athenaeum in his hometown of Pittsfield, Mass., According to a Dallas-based auction house.
Hunting for precious coins
“One-cent coins have existed from the very beginning of the American monetary system,” Stone said. “Several of their prototypes were made in 1792, including the large Birch Cent.”
According to him, the highest quality of the famous Birch cents of 1792 was sold at Heritage auction in 2015 for almost $ 2.6 million, which makes it the most expensive.
The value of a coin depends on its quality and rarity. While most old cents cost only a few dollars, very rare items can be stored in your pocket or lost somewhere in the pillows of a sofa.
The chances are small, but still worth looking for all the lost coins. Therefore, before you forget about the loss of little things, check if you have any of these rare cents.
1943, Bronze coin with Lincoln
Only a few of these bronze coins have been collected today, including those donated by Lutes. “The most valuable cent with Lincoln was sold privately in 2010 for $ 1.7 million,” Stone said.
The specialist explained that in order to preserve bronze for military operations, the US Mint switched to the production of coins from zinc-coated steel plates instead of conventional bronze blanks. At least it should have been.
By the will of fate, “some old bronze plates accidentally remained in large vaults that the mint used to fill the presses at the end of 1942,” he said. “Several bronze coins that were issued by chance went unnoticed and went into circulation.”
Today the bronze cent with Lincoln 1943 is described as “the most famous mistake in American numismatics,” and the chances of finding these denominations are very slim. According to Stone, collectors today know from 15 to 20 coins, although there may be some that have not yet been counted.
“A good common example, such as Lutes coin, can be sold for about 150-200 thousand dollars. Earlier this month, Heritage put up for sale a similar sample, which was in a slightly worse condition, for $ 186,000, ”he said.
Because of the value of this denomination, fakes appeared that were created with a steel middle. If you think you have found a bronze cent with Lincoln 1943, the Mint suggests first checking it with a magnet. If he is attracted, then this is a fake.
1969: double face stamp
Collectors call the face of the coin a surface with a portrait. Double stamps are created when the hub imprints an additional image on the stamp, causing some displacement. Doubling is due to errors in the minting process, explained James Bucky, a coin expert at The Spruce Crafts.
Such a defect on 1969 coins is especially noticeable in the inscriptions, he said.Also look for the letter S right under 1969 - this means that it was created at the San Francisco Mint.
Bucky estimates that 1,000 or slightly less cents were made before the Mint discovered its mistake. A coin in good condition can cost about $ 75,000. Last year, one was sold for $ 35,000, according to Coin World, a popular news and analytics website for collectors.
1992: glued letters
“On the back of this 1992 coin, the letters A and M in the word“ America ”are touching,” Stone said. Most cents minted that year have very specific gaps between these letters.
This happened because in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Mint used different stamps to produce coins for circulation and for collectors, Bucky explained.
But because of the confusion on the back of the cent, a trial stamp was used, which should not have been used. This was probably a print run of 250,000 coins, he said. Therefore, they are much easier to find than the 1969 samples.
Bucky estimates that a 1992 AM coin in a brand new condition could cost about $ 20,000, while frayed ones would be priced between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000. According to Coin World, one of them was sold at auction in 2012 for more than $ 20,000.
1972: double stamp again
Like the double stamp on the 1969 samples, the minting defect on these coins is especially noticeable in the inscriptions. Buck estimates that at least 250,000 coins issued with this error are in the middle of nowhere.
“I know a couple of people who found them in their pocket.” Some of the copies can cost about $ 100, and some up to $ 500, he said.
1995: double word
Although the doubling on these coins is not as noticeable as on the 1972 samples, the defect is quite clearly visible in the word LIBERTY, especially in the letter B.
“This is one of the easiest valuable items to find,” Bucky said. "I found one of them myself."
Being more common, they are less valuable. Stone believes that a coin in good condition can be sold for $ 45.
1999: long distance between letters
"It was assumed that in the regular circulation the letters A and M in the word AMERICA were almost touching, and the coins for collecting should have a wider space between them," said Bucky.
However, the mint mistakenly used the wrong stamp when it issued cents for ordinary circulation. ” According to his estimates, a coin in a new state can cost about 500 dollars, and a worn one - up to 45 dollars.
1983: duplication of inscriptions on the reverse side
In this case, the pattern is doubled on the back of the coin. “This is especially evident in the words One cent and E PLURIBUS UNUM. It’s immediately clear that the inscription is double, ”said Bucky.
According to him, approximately 250,000 of these coins were minted. A shabby cent can be sold for $ 75 or less, and for a better-preserved one, for $ 200.
How to sell your rare money?
If you think you have found a valuable coin, Stone suggests contacting a professional. Some auction houses offer a free estimate. In addition, they can help certify your coin through the valuation service and guide you through the entire sale process.