Collector’s Corner: Pennies worth more than a penny

By Ron Schmidt on September 28, 2024.

The penny has been gone for about 12 years now and there has been no sharp increase in the price of the penny. The biggest thing I have found is that for the people that are looking for the pennies it is much harder to find. There are several pennies that are worth while mentioning.

The first of the large pennies under the Province of Canada was issued in 1858 with a value of about $40.00+. The 1859 has several varieties, some of which fetch in the hundreds of dollars (mostly for the double date).The “Victoria” large penny came out in 1876. The average coins range in price from $1.00-$3.00 unless you, again, have certain varieties, which in some cases could be worth up to $200.00.

These varieties are very hard to see in an average condition coin, as it is worn to much to make out the differences. You need a better quality coin to see that. 1920 was the last year the Large Penny existed. In 1920 they also made the small penny (as we know it today).

The 1922-1925 coins are worth the most. The average condition coin could be worth between $10.00-50.00, depending on condition, and year. The balance of the coins to late 30’s could only be worth 5-20 cents. If you should be lucky to have a 1936 dot (highly unlikely though), one sold in January 2010, in SP66 grade for $402,500.00. From 1940-present the pennies are worth not much more than face value, with the following exceptions. Here are some key dates. 1948 “A” to, 1949 “A” between,1953 SF, 1955 NSF, 1965 variety 4, 1985pt5, 1985 ptd 5, 2006 magnetic, 2006p non magnetic.

The mint started plating the penny in 1999 to cut the costs of production, and starting marking the pennies with a “P”. There is only 8 known 2000P pennies in mint shape, known to exists, therefore if you had one of theses you could almost set your price. In 2006 the mint went wild and produced 8 different varieties if the penny, (zinc, steel, bronze, no “P”, “P”, “M”). The 2006P non magnetic in MS condition could sell for about $300.00,

I would like to take this time to thank everyone who attended the coin & Stamp show this past weekend, but if you missed it there will one again in April, and please avoid the travelling coin, silver dealers as they only pay a fraction of what they should.

Collector’s Corner is contributed by the Medicine Hat Coin & stamp Club. For questions or comments about coin or stamp collection email medhatcsc@live.com

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