Check your pockets: From pennies to quarters, these ‘error’ coins could be worth over $25,000 (2024)

FAQs

What error pennies are worth money? ›

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.

Coins struck after the break falls away have a raised, rounded, unstruck area along the edge. These coins are known to collectors as cuds. Sometimes, an area of a die will chip out of the center. These so-called die chips also appear as raised, rounded, unstruck areas on subsequently struck coins.

1943 Wheat Penny (Bronze Cent Strike)

Most can be bought and sold for anywhere from $14,000 to $300,000.

Lincoln cents were last issued in bronze in 1981. In 1982, the composition of the penny changed from 95% copper with 5% tin and zinc to copper-plated zinc because of the rising price of copper.

There are no rare or in-demand Lincoln pennies from 1977. Their mintage was high, making them quite available. Only proof coins at a high grade are rarer on the market. Since only 59 of the 5,534 survived 1977 S DCAM pennies are in the PR 70 grade, you can expect them to be costly.

According to Cointrackers.com, certain pennies that were minted in 1944 and 1943 top the list of the 25 most valuable pennies for coin collectors in 2024. The 1944 Steel Wheat penny could be worth as much as $408,000 in mint condition, and up to $10,000 in average condition, the site said.

Mint, they could lead to an item ballooning in value by a factor of 2 million or more. That's what happened to several pennies produced in 1982, which pushed their value up from 1 cent to nearly $20,000.

Some 1989-D copper pennies are worth $3,000! And there are some other 1989 pennies worth more than face value as well.

Of the three the 1982 no mint mark is slightly scarcer than the other two. But the 1982 D 3.11 gm SMALL DATE is extremely rare. So far only two specimens have been found, and have sold at auction for close to $35,000.

Which year of pennies are worth money? ›

Here's a list of the top 10 most valuable pennies for 2024: 1) 1944 Steel Wheat Penny - $408,000. 2) 1943 Copper Wheat Penny - $250,000. 3) 1856 Flying Eagle Penny - $25,000.

The value of a 1969 Lincoln Penny will vary depending mainly on its condition and coloration; Regular Strikes of the 1969 penny in mint state are worth between $10 and $10,000 depending on the color and condition of the specimen.

1994 (P) Penny DDR

It's a hub doubling error that happens when the die moves between hub strikes, creating a double-vision effect that gets copied onto all the coins made from that die. You can spot the doubling by checking the columns of the Lincoln Memorial Building.