The cent coins worth up to $840,000: how to identify them

Making some extra money is never a bad thing, especially when you can get hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for a simple penny. For example, perhaps you have seen the reports of an American collector in 2021 who was willing to pay up to $840,000 at auction for a rare cent: a 1943 bronze Abraham Lincoln cent.

The staggering value of this small coin stems from one small but important detail: a coin error made more than 80 years ago.

What makes the coin so valuable?

The value of a penny depends on its quality and rarity.

In 1943, the United States Mint stopped using bronze for penny production to preserve the material for the war effort. Instead, pennies were made of steel coated with zinc. This makes the bronze Lincoln cent “the most famous error coin in American numismatics,” according to David Stone, coin cataloger at Heritage Auctions.

The last bronze alloy coins were accidentally struck when the remaining bronze blanks were left in the press hopper when production of steel coins began.

How many Lincoln copper coins are there?

According to Coinhuba numismatics-focused social media account, Only 40 of these coins were produced. However, the chances of finding one are increasingly slim, as 15 to 20 Lincoln bronze cents have been discovered so far.

How to Identify an Authentic Lincoln Cent

To verify if you have an authentic bronze Lincoln cent, collectors recommend bringing a magnet close to the coin. If the coin sticks to the magnet, it is not made of bronze and is therefore fake. The video above gives more advice.