Do you dream one day of being a millionaire? Most likely it was a lottery ticket that was won, or a great-aunt died, leaving the person in question a healthy sum, or it perhaps involved a bank robbery. What if you could make that daydream a reality and all you needed was a single cent?
I know that when it comes to rare coins, it sure seems like a crazy, wild financial fantasy, but rare coins actually exist. You can buy a single packet of chewing gum with a small coin, but there are Lincoln cents around, even if you can’t now buy one with a coin, and the best part is they’re still in circulation! Let’s talk about what this bronze unicorn is first, though.
This Lincoln cent is a 1943-D bronze penny. As most things were ruined in 1943 by severe war rationing, pennies were to be minted in zinc-coated steel, not copper. Nevertheless, a few pennies wound up being hit using leftover bronze planchets from 1942. And that means this particular cent, which sports the “D” mintmark (commonly taken to designate coins minted at the Denver minting facility), was yet one of the rarest coins from those war years that was minted in bronze.
The rarity and that it was struck that way by error have made it an incredibly valuable coin for coin collectors. Less than 20 coins exist, making them priceless historic currency fans can only find after 2024.
The best condition of the 1943 Lincoln cent was the rare one, which was sold for an unbelievable $1.7 million. In 2010, this was a private sale. Legend Numismatics, one of the most respected rare coin sellers in the USA, was the seller. No one at Legend Numismatics was prepared for the fact that the rarest Lincoln cent offered by the firm in more than a quarter of a century would sell for such a sum. It was the previous owner’s will to sell the house and have all the proceeds from the sale go to charity.
Other recently sold 1943 bronze Lincoln cents have made more money—$204,000. It was back at the beginning, in January of 2019. Heritage Auctions, one of the largest auction houses in the world that trades in collectibles, held the auction. Don Jutes’ (not Don Juan) coveted coin fetched the eyesores selling at this auction house headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and established in 1976. Who, then, was this distinguished coin collector?
Who discovered the bronze Lincoln cent?
A lifelong Pittsfield, Massachusetts, collector and hobbyist, Don Lutes Jr. The coin was found in 1947, when he received it as change when buying his lunch at the high school cafeteria. The 16-year-old student wanted to check where the cent came from, a time in which there was no Internet (and that the U.S. Mint shamelessly denied that perhaps it made any coins in real-value materials by accident).
For more than 70 years, Don Lutes was clutching on to this Lincoln coin. The coin was consigned to an auction sale following the death of the item in September 2018. The $204,000 from the 2019 auction went to the Berkshire Athenaeum, the public library in Pittsfield where Lutes was born and raised.
Luckily, most coin collectors hold onto their rare coins until they can be donated to charity in their will, of course while we can live out our dreams to find a penny on the street, which will make us a millionaire. But where do we begin and start to identify if this or that penny is the real deal?
How to identify a bronze Lincoln cent
If you want to find out whether you have a rare 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, one easy test to start with is to run it through a magnet. A penny made of bronze won’t stick to the magnet. The 1943 pennies were most composed of zinc-coated steel, which is magnetic. If your coin is magnetic, it’s not the bronze. The rare bronze pennies look just about like older pennies with a copper color; the steel ones are more silver colored.
You can weigh the coin for a more precise check. The weight of a normal 1943 bronze cent is around 3.11 grams but a steel penny is just 2.7 grams. If you think you have one of these rare coins, it’s best to get it authenticated properly by a professional, since there are lots of fake coins out there.
Now you know about this so you better go and look for it anytime you go to take a walk. You might even be lucky enough to find the luckiest—and worthiest—penny in history!
FAQs
Q. What makes the1943-D bronze Lincoln cent so valuable?
A. The 1943-D bronze Lincoln cent is an incredibly rare coin with a value due to its rarity, believed by few to exceed $20. The mistaken pennies were produced when unwanted 1942 bronze planchets were accidentally used to strike coins, which for that year were predominantly struck in zinc-coated steel. This coin is so important historically and was so badly milled in the first place that it’s a highly prized collector’s piece.
Q. How can I identify if I have a rare1943 bronze Lincoln cent?
A. To determine if you have a rare 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, you can perform a simple magnet test: A zinc-coated steel penny will stick to a magnet, while a genuine bronze penny will not stick to one. Also, weighing the coin can help; a bronze cent weighs about 3.11 grams, and a steel penny falls in around 2.7 grams. The best thing you can do is to have a professional authenticate if you think you have a rare coin.
Q. What is the highest price ever paid for a1943 bronze Lincoln cent?
A. A 1943 bronze Lincoln cent (with dent over 3) recorded the highest sale ever of a 1943 Lincoln cent at $1.7 million. In 2010, this private sale occurred through Legend Numismatic, the leading rare coin dealer in the U.S. As a coin of such rarity and historical significance, it is very precious.
Q. How did Don Lutes Jr. come to possess one of the rarest coins?
A. A lifelong coin collector, Don Lutes Jr. found his rare 1943 bronze Lincoln cent in 1947 when he used the coin as change at his high school cafeteria when buying lunch. Selling for $204,000 after his death in 2018, he accumulated the coin for over 70 years before it was auctioned.
Q. What should I do if I think I have found a rare coin?
A. But first, if you think you’ve found a rare coin, say, a 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, then start with the magnet and weight tests to tell if it’s real or fake. To be valuable, call a professional coin dealer or grader who will authenticate it and give it a value. This is important because many counterfeit coins are on the market.
