Which 1943 penny is valuable

Doubled dies are created when the hub imprints an additional image onto a die — or stamp — causing some misalignment. Collectors refer to the obverse of a coin as the front or "heads" side — usually bearing a portrait. Also, look for the letter "S" right below the year , which means it was created at the San Francisco Mint. Bucki estimates that 1, or less were made before the Mint discovered its error.

Image credit: Heritage Auctions, HA. Most pennies minted that year have very definite spaces between those letters. This came about because in the s and early s, the Mint used different dies for producing coins for circulation and proof coins for collectors, explained Bucki.

But due to a mix-up, a proof die was used for the reverse of the coin before it was supposed to be used starting in It's likely that an entire run of , pennies were printed this way, he said. That makes them much easier to find than the Doubled Die coins. Bucki estimates that at least , coins released with the doubled die.

Being more common, they're also less valuable. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

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At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Any differences here suggest the coin may have been altered to appear as a copper cent. Any differences here on a suspected copper cent should send up huge red flags.

You still need to make sure the coin is authentic! Even if the coin you believe to be a copper cent checks out with your own tests—meaning it is NOT magnetic and weighs about 3. Almost every day, your typical coin dealer in Anytown, U. And what turns out happening virtually every time is the coin winds up being a fake—a steel cent plated in copper.

Many old-time coin collections are found to have counterfeit coins that are sophisticated in appearance. These coins could easily sneak past even many of the more advanced collectors. Counterfeits, altered coins, and other fakes are among our hobbies' most significant problems and have been for a long time. This is partly why third-party coin grading services emerged in the s.

If you think you have a bronze cent—and everything checks out with it so far, what you could do is bring it to a reputable coin dealer for an in-hand inspection. Perhaps he or she could then assist you in getting it graded by a third-party coin grading company.

This off-metal transitional error was accidentally struck when a few leftover copper planchets were fed through the presses at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.

The copper cents are extremely rare and valuable. While copper cents weigh about 3. When it comes to evaluating Lincoln cents, the duo of a magnet and gram scale has broken many hearts and burst many bubbles over the years. The steel cents are quite common, and more than 1 billion were struck. Broken down by each mint, the individual mintages are as follows:. Many steel cents ultimately corroded beyond recognition or were otherwise lost to time. However, there are still millions of collectible pennies out there.

Hence, these are relatively common coins and are worth relatively little in circulated grades. Most pennies in worn grades trade for around 10 to 25 cents apiece. Top-level specimens in grades of Mint State or better can go for much more, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Image: PCGS. As mentioned above, copper pennies are rare and valuable. Their steel counterparts are much more common. Ironically, the transition back to the normal bronze composition in reversed this situation!