Wheat Pennies

[Siam_Sam]

Woo hoo! I got another wheat penny in my change today. That makes five now, or an average of about one every 6-1/2 months since I’ve been back in the US. I’m always checking for them though. Keep them in a bowl along with my $2 bill.

[digs]

@Soul_Brother_Number_Two

I will admit to not taking pennies as change any more, though. I either leave em on the counter or tell the cashier to keep em.

I was being handed change from a young cashier at a McDonald’s when he noticed a wheatie in the till. His face lit up (he was so excited I thought he was auditioning for the slow-yet-chipper Arthur in Cabin Pressure).

He wondered out loud if he could take it “But then that would be stealing…”. I recommended taking a penny from his pocket and trading it for the wheat penny. “But would that be legal?” “Why not?” “Because… I work here?” His supervisor came by and gruffly barked “Jason! Seriously? You can look through ALL the registers and trade your pennies for any old ones you find!”
*
“Gol…”*

[Carryon]

@kenobi_65

…suggests that most wheat pennies are now worth a couple of cents.

Back in the 70s I heard the same thing wheaties were worth about two or three cents each.

I too have a few hundred of them, I never get around to cashing them in and I don’t know why I save them. They obviously aren’t rare and I don’t have the patience to look through them (at least yet) to see if any are worth more than a few cents.

[Carryon]

@Sicks_Ate

Coolest thing I ever got as change was a damn near mint condition silver certificate. Happened a couple years ago at a Quik Trip.

I have those in a lot of denominations. They are cool to look at but not worth much more than face value. I’d rather have them to look at. :dubious:

[Sicks_Ate]

@Carryon

I have those in a lot of denominations. They are cool to look at but not worth much more than face value. I’d rather have them to look at. :dubious:

Yeah I looked it up and it is worth…a dollar!

I figured either someone had bunch they got tired of keeping around, or someone stole grampa’s stash for beer money.

[Annie-Xmas]

I’m a store cashier. I see them every day.

I did get a 1934 silver certificate ten dollar bill that I bought off the store for $10.

[Xema]

@kenobi_65

It looks like, other than the odd cases like the WWII steel pennies (or the super-rare 1943 copper pennies), the best you’re looking at is $10 or a bit more …

The 1943 bronze cents were a mint error. I believe fewer than 10 have ever been found.

The 1943 steel cents were produced in significant quantities (684 million from the Philadelphia mint) and aren’t worth much. Because they were different, people tended to assume they’d become valuable and hoarded them disproportionately - so examples in nice condition are more common than they otherwise might be.

The dates to covet are 1933 and earlier. Many years, the Denver mint produced less than 40 million and San Francisco less than 15 million; in nice condition, very few of these could be had for anything close to $10.

[ftg]

What a nicely timed bump! I was going to look for this thread.

I was cleaning out my pants pockets this morning before doing laundry. I threw a small bit of coins down on the bed. My mind immediately woke up and internally screamed “Hey! Look at that!” It was the back of wheat penny. 1945.

This from a tad beyond arm’s length and without my glasses plus the coin has the expected patina. There’s something about old patterns from childhood that just jump out when you come across them.

[That_Don_Guy]

Over the years, I have heard that the only wheat pennies really worth anything, in decreasing order of value, are:

1. Copper 1943 pennies - all 1943 pennies were supposed to be made of steel for the war effort, but the earliest ones used the leftover copper from the 1942 minting. For decades, the U.S. Mint denied that these existed. Note that, for every 1943 copper penny, reportedly there are a considerable number of 1943 steel pennies later coated in copper by people who then wanted to pass them off as legitimate copper pennies.

2. Steel 1944 pennies - again, they used the leftover materials from the previous year.

3. 1955 “double die” - the two pressings on some of the 1955 pennies were slightly off, so the year appears twice.

4. 1909-S VDB pennies (they have the initials VDB on the back). These aren’t quite as rare or valuable as some people make them out to be.

[kopek]

@That_Don_Guy

Over the years, I have heard that the only wheat pennies really worth anything, in decreasing order of value, are:

1. Copper 1943 pennies - all 1943 pennies were supposed to be made of steel for the war effort, but the earliest ones used the leftover copper from the 1942 minting. For decades, the U.S. Mint denied that these existed. Note that, for every 1943 copper penny, reportedly there are a considerable number of 1943 steel pennies later coated in copper by people who then wanted to pass them off as legitimate copper pennies.

2. Steel 1944 pennies - again, they used the leftover materials from the previous year.

3. 1955 “double die” - the two pressings on some of the 1955 pennies were slightly off, so the year appears twice.

4. 1909-S VDB pennies (they have the initials VDB on the back). These aren’t quite as rare or valuable as some people make them out to be.

There are many more than just those but -------- you get to the point of other variables as well. 1914-D 1922 and others spring to mind. And if you have a pile there are plenty of varieties of common dates worth checking for; if you want to put in the time.

[Siam_Sam]

And I got another one in my change today. That’s two in two days! Today’s was a 1955 but not a “double die.” A 1955 D it was, to be exact.

[Chronos]

Whenever I notice a wheatie, I always check the date. It’s never 1943, of course, but I check anyway-- It’s my version of playing the lottery.