$78 Million Each! These 2 Wheat Pennies Could Make You Rich

Over two wheat pennies: In coin collecting, in the broadest world, few things seem to stir the imagination as much as common coins that sell for extraordinarily high prices.

For more than half a century, the Lincoln Wheat cent seemed to be easily possessed by pocket and has turned out to be the source of two specimens, so extraordinarily rare and valuable that each commands nearly the unbelievable price of $78 million.

These two pennies, found by complete strangers in completely common circumstances, are the ultimate lottery tickets for numismatists, possibly nestled unobtrusively in forgotten collections, inherited jars full of coins, or even now and again drifting along in circulation.

The 1943-D Bronze Lincoln Cent:

The Impossible Denver Coin The first of these remarkable coins comes from the time of World War II, during which the need for copper conservation for the war effort caused the U.S. Mint to strike its 1943 pennies not in the usual bronze composition but in steel with zinc coating.

Fewer than a handful of bronze 1942 planchets apparently lay in the production line and were struck using pressed dies from 1943, thereby creating what is considered to be the king of Lincoln cent rarities.

Copper 1943 pennies minted in Philadelphia have been recorded as early as 1940s (with about 20 confirmed specimens) and some have been tagged from the Supplement to mint data in San Francisco, however, the Denver version remained solely theoretical until 1979 when a teenage boy found an example in his pocket change.

As explained by Morgan Richardson, curator of American coinage at the National Numismatic Museum, “The 1943-D bronze cent represents numismatic lightning in a bottle.”

Collectors have debated this issue concerning 1943 bronze cents produced in Denver for several decades. The existence of a single authenticated specimen—and none confirmed in almost 50 years since—has produced the perfect storm of rarity, historicity, and collector demand,” he concludes.

Today, this coin occupies a private collection and has moved through a series of transactions, the last private transaction being rumored at $78 million. Such is the sole authenticated specimen of the bronze cent of 1943-D.

Numismatic authorities have to consider it possible, however, that a second one is out there, given that the first one happened to show itself completely by coincidence.

Nothing about this coin makes it valuable or interesting to seekers.

By sunlight or at the most casual level, it is like any other wheat penny except for the fact that it is made of copper (and not the silvery steel cents of 1943) and has a Denver mintmark.

Only careful examination of the date and mintmark, combined with special tests to verify its bronze composition, identifies this rare piece.

The 1944 “Corrosion-Free” Steel Cent: The Metallurgical Anomaly

The second $78 million wheat penny came through an irreplaceable metallurgical accident, creating what experts have called “the perfect coin”.

In 1944, when the Mint reverted to bronze composition after a solitary year’s experiment for steel, there came a curious oddity.

A single steel planchet dated 1943 was instead struck on 1944 dies (what’s known as a transitional error) in a mode that created an entirely unprecedented metallurgical alteration during the striking process.

This one-of-a-kind specimen, found in 1961 in a bank roll by a Minnesota cashier, exhibited characteristics that initially metallurgists deemed impossible.

But while maintaining the weight and magnetic properties of that steel composition, it developed a perfect bronze-colored surface that has shown exclusive resistance to the very corrosion that attacks normal 1943 steel cents.

“What gives this coin the crown, so to speak, is that its improbable physical properties appear to defy explanation,” reveals Dr. Eleanor Hughes, who has worked as a metallurgical consultant for major auction houses.

“Extensive testing has proved it to be primarily a steel cent, except that it has a naturally generated surface layer that has resisted oxidation for the last eighty years.
Almost as if the perfect protective casing formed by the coin took place during minting.”

Under microscopic investigation:

it is revealed that this unique planchet was struck under intense pressure and at just the precise temperature, which, when combined with trace elements in this particular planchet, created phenomena that metallurgists can explain but cannot duplicate.

“The coin somehow changed into a perfect specimen whose characteristics would require advanced modern techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy for their realization.

After its discovery, it passed through numerous private transactions, and experts currently estimate its market value at about $78 million, equivalent to the 1943-D bronze, even though entirely different in character.

The original discoverer sold the coin in the 1960s for a mere $10,000, about $100,000 in today’s money; however, since then, its value rose exponentially as scientific study has confirmed its properties to be unique.

Experts hold that there is no probability of another such example of this particular metallurgical anomaly existing, in contrast to the 1943-D bronze cents.

This peculiar coin came to the fore merely in rolls from the bank while doing the routine cash drawer activities, highlighting how rare numismatic treasures can hide in plain sight among the daily transactions.”

This is just two wheat pennies identify those ultra -rare pennies Other Ways To Identify Them

Identification steps for those really wanting to discover these $78 million treasures would be the following:

For the 1943-D Bronze Cent:

• Date and Mintmark: Look specifically for pennies dated 1943 with a small “D” mintmark below the date on the obverse
• Color Test: 1943 pennies should be silver-colored (steel); a copper-colored 1943-D requires closer examination
• Magnet Test: Unlike the normal steel cents from 1943, bronze cents will not attract to a magnet
• Weight Test: Bronze cents weigh approximately 3.11 grams versus 2.7 grams for steel cents
• Metallurgical Verification: Professional testing to confirm bronze composition rather than copper-plated steel (a common counterfeit)

For the 1944 “Corrosion-Free” Steel Cent:

• Date: Focus on pennies dated 1944 (any mintmark)
• Appearance: Look for perfect bronze coloration without spotting or discoloration
• Magnet Test: Unlike normal 1944 bronze cents, this specimen will attract to a magnet due to its steel core
• Weight Test: It will weigh approximately 2.7 grams rather than the standard 3.11 grams for bronze cents
• Surface Examination: Under magnification, the surface exhibits a distinctive crystalline pattern unlike either standard bronze or steel cents.

2 Wheat Penny coins Performance: Where to look for them

The following are some probable sites where one might be digging up such extraordinary rarities:

• Inherited collections: These are presumably older coin collections, especially those collected during the 1940s to 1960s, prior to when such varieties were known publicly.
• Old coin jars: Home accumulation of coins kept aside for many decades.
• Bank-wrapped rolls: Occasionally, when long-stored collections enter the banking system, old coins would return to circulation.
• Estate sales: This is particularly true in cases where the estate contains contents of a house that had been occupied by the same family for generations.
• Rural commercial settings: In businesses of small towns, one occasionally finds old reserves, cash and otherwise, which might include antique coins.

2 Wheat Penny coins: Expert Advisements to Potential Finders

Various professionals in the numismatic field offer excellent advice for anyone who might feel they have discovered one extraordinary penny, or perhaps both:

• Document the Discovery: Make good photographs taken from all angles in excellent light before further handling.
• Store Properly: If so, place the coin in a holder free of PVC. Such coins are to be neither cleaned nor altered in any way.
• Seek Professional Authentication: They can, however, only be authenticated in the hands of a recognized sovereign grading service on behalf of certifying these rarities.
• Think Security: If either coin in question is indeed discovered, ways of securing said coin must be thought about without delay.
• Do Not Permit Premature Publicity: No word of possible discoveries should go public until verification has been done.

2 Wheat Penny coins: The History of These Extraordinarily Valued Coins

Beyond astronomical valuations, the two pennies represent the democratization of numismatic treasure hunting.

In contrast to ancient artifacts or gemstones begging for some specialized means of access or equipment to unearth,these extraordinary rarities were simply waiting to be discovered by any common citizen through lack of common observational techniques.”

“These two wheat cents embody the enduring romance of coin collecting,” Dr. James Thompson, a historian in numismatics, states.

“They remind us that extraordinary value sometimes hides in the most ordinary objects, waiting for someone observant enough to recognize what others have overlooked.”

For the millions of Americans who maintain casual coin collections or simply check their change, there could be nothing greater than the prospect of a life-changing find just waiting to be discovered-the sort of thing that can be seen but which only the astute recognize as something very special-for these two wheat pennies.

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