We follow up our discussion on selling circulated silver coins with one on how to sell your old copper and nickel coinage. Although these base metal coins don’t command as high a dollar value as your 90 percent silver, they are worth more than you think, especially better dates and many Indian Head cents.
In this first blog of our 2-part series we help you organize your saleable copper pennies, including the zinc-coated steel cent shown above.
Organizing your pennies for sale is easy.
Although we often refer to our 1-cent coin as a penny, technically speaking, it is a “small cent.” The only reason it is considered “small” is because in 1857 the U.S. copper cent was downsized. Starting in 1793 the U.S. 1-cent coin was made of 100% copper, weighed 13.48 grams and had a diameter between 26 to 27 mm. By 1796 its weight was reduced by nearly 20 percent to 10.89 grams. At the time it was just a cent. With the introduction of the small cent in 1857, these early cents would forever be referred to as “large cents.”
The new smaller cent weighed 4.67 grams, had a diameter of 19 mm and was 88% copper and 12% nickel. The diameter of our small cent has remained the same although its composition has changed over time. The most common small cents found in a typical family collection are Lincoln Wheat Cents (bronze and zinc-coated steel), Indian Head Cents, and Lincoln Memorial Cents. We buy all small cents except circulated Lincoln Memorial Cents dated 1959 and later.
Your typical circulated Wheat Cent will look like the one you see below, on the left. These coins are usually brown in color due to years of exposure to the environment.
New copper coins are always red like the one above. While common circulated Wheat Cents are worth 2¢, there are a few rare or key dates that are worth much more. These are 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1909 VDB, 1914-D, 1922, 1924-D, 1931-S, and 1955 doubled die.
The doubling effect of the 1955 is quite obvious and is discernable to the naked eye. If you have one, it will look like this.
You may also find Indian Head Cents in your collection of coins. The image to the left illustrates a very nice one in uncirculated condition.
Yours may may look more like this circulated example to the right. Unless they are are corroded or badly damaged your Indian Cents will all have good value.
Our most common 1-cent coin is the Lincoln Memorial Cent shown to the left. It has been in circulation since 1959. Since 1864 small cents have been made of bronze. People who are unfamiliar with U.S. coinage are often surprised to learn that, since 1982, these coins are made of zinc and only copper plated so that they look familiar. Otherwise, they would look like the 1943 Steel Cent shown at the top of this article. At present, these coins have no additional value. You will have to remove any Memorial Cents from your Wheat Cents before we can buy them.
To summarize,
remove and spend (or deposit with your bank) any Memorial Cents from Wheat Cents you would like to sell
combine all your Wheat Cents with zinc-coated steel Wheat Cents of 1943
combine in a separate group any Indian Head Cents and any U.S. copper coins that you want special attention including the better dates mentioned above
In part 2 we explore 5-cent nickels.
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