The 1943 bronze penny that could be worth US$235,000
The other day I almost threw out a jar of old coins, but then I read an article in Gazeta News that made me take a second look at every single penny. The story is about the famous 1943 one-cent coin struck in bronze — a minting error from World War II, when the US switched to making pennies out of zinc-coated steel to save copper.
A few bronze blanks were left over in the process and ended up being stamped with the 1943 date. Today about 20 examples are known, and one of them, kept by a Texas family for more than 60 years, was authenticated by PCGS at grade XF-40 and valued at US$235,000.
The coolest part is that you can test it at home: the ordinary steel penny sticks to a magnet, the bronze one doesn't; and the weight gives it away too — the rare penny weighs about 3.11 grams, versus 2.70 for the steel one. But experts warn that there are plenty of fakes, so don't clean or alter the coin before taking it to an authentication service.
Ever since, I've become a hunter of loose change. Who knows, maybe a fortune is hiding in my pocket?
Source: Gazeta Brazilian News
A few bronze blanks were left over in the process and ended up being stamped with the 1943 date. Today about 20 examples are known, and one of them, kept by a Texas family for more than 60 years, was authenticated by PCGS at grade XF-40 and valued at US$235,000.
The coolest part is that you can test it at home: the ordinary steel penny sticks to a magnet, the bronze one doesn't; and the weight gives it away too — the rare penny weighs about 3.11 grams, versus 2.70 for the steel one. But experts warn that there are plenty of fakes, so don't clean or alter the coin before taking it to an authentication service.
Ever since, I've become a hunter of loose change. Who knows, maybe a fortune is hiding in my pocket?
Source: Gazeta Brazilian News
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