Back in 1947 , a 16 - class - old Massachusetts teenager , Don Lutes Jr , held out his hand at the schoolhouse cafeteria for modification after paying for his meal . Little did he know , some 70 years subsequently that smattering of centime would be deserving century of thousands – if not million – of dollars . One penny , in especial , is now dubbed the “ most famous error coin ” byHeritage Auctions , who is auctioneer the penny . At the time of authorship , it ’s presently at a bidding of $ 120,000 . It ’s think it could fetch over $ 200,000 , though it ’s so rare , a old one trade for $ 1.7 million .
At the height of World War II in 1943 , copper was a strategical alloy used to make shell casings , telephone set conducting wire , and other wartime necessities . To save ration , the Treasury Department at the time authorized the US Mint to affect 1943 cents on zinc - coat steel plates , known as planchet , rather than on copper blanks . These white colored “ steelies ” were produced in large numbers and seen in circulation throughout the 1950s and ' sixty when collectors started pocketing them , but rumors of highly rare “ fuzz pennies ” soon circulated the channels – 1 that were made by mistake and subsequently covered up by the US politics .
Lutes Jr hear the hearsay but was told they were off-key so kept the coin for his collection . Over the years , after many inquiries and attempts to grease one’s palms it , he contacted the US Treasury , but was told the coin was " fraudulent " and that all 1943 pennies were zinc coated steel , with no elision .
The accuracy about these accidental copper pennies surfaced afterward when the US Mint announced a identification number of diminished bronze coin blanks were get in trap door at the end of 1942 and subsequently press into pennies in 1943 , bunk detecting by the Mint . Today , we hump there are surviving examples from all three dynamic passel , let in 10 to 15 from Philadelphia , half a twelve from San Francisco , and just one from Denver .
The pennies “ enchant the imagination of coin collectors , school small fry , and member of the oecumenical public alike , ” but alluded even the most persistent collectors ; only a fistful of legitimate specimen have turned up in the following seven decades – let in the one belong to Don Lutes Jr , who passed away in September .
But do n’t go digging around in your change jar just yet because a find of this sorting is “ once in a lifetime . ” Still not positive ? OK , here ’s what you ’re looking for .
Experts say to front for a very sharply engraved penny . Zinc - coated brand plates were “ well harder ” than those used in earlier design , so penny pressers had to impress the clean steel coin much intemperately . As a result , the softer atomic number 29 penny exhibits “ sharp striking characteristic ” with powerfully impressed constituent . This exceptional coin is an “ olive - brown specimen ” with “ tip of blade and copper - red patina in selected areas . ”
The easiest way to get your hands on one , frankly , is to buy it . A similar one sold in 2010 for a staggering$1.7 million – you know , pocket modification .
