Check your old pennies before throwing them in the coin jar. Coin collectors may value them at hundreds of dollars—a lot for pennies.
From 1909 until 1958, these pennies featured Abraham Lincoln and two wheat stalks.
CoinCollecting.com states that the penny was 95% copper until 1943, when it became zinc-coated steel for wartime use. The steel pennies were scarce and valued due to faults.
Another rare pennies is the “double die” penny. Fox Business stated that GreatCollections Coin Auctions, the fastest-growing coin and paper money auction firm in the U.S., sold a 1958 double die penny for a record $1.136 million in January. Double-die pennies are minted with two metal die strikes.
Blake Alma, coin collector and founder of CoinHub in Lebanon, Ohio, told Fox News Digital that doubled die pennies can have “minor deviation” or “major structural anomaly” artwork and text. Many double die pennies sell for $1,000 or $2,000 on eBay, according to Fox Business.
CNBC Make It noted that quality and rarity determine a penny's value. The 1943 bronzed Lincoln cent is “the most famous error coin in American numismatics,” and finding one is unlikely, according to CNBC Make It. A circulating one may sell for $150,000 to $200,000, but values vary.