$1 Million Penny? Rare Lincoln Penny Sold at Auction
A rare 1943 Lincoln penny has sold for $1 million at an auction recently, it has been reported. The rare coin reached the huge valuation due to its uniqueness - it was made from the "wrong" material.
The penny was made of bronze instead of the usual zinc-coated steel, according tp UPI news agency. The mistake was made at the San Francisco Mint.
The coin was evaluated and confirmed as authentic, and the Professional Coin Grading Service, an organization that evaluates and grades rare coins, graded the coin as 62 out of 70.
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The coin was bought by Texas Rangers co-chairman Bob R. Simpson from a rare coin dealer in Lincroft, N.J. called "Legend Numismatics."
"The Simpson collection now contains the finest known bronze cent from each mint, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver, including the unique 1943-D bronze cent that PCGS certified after Legend acquired and sold to him for a record $1.7 million in 2010," Willis said, according to ABC News.
In 1943 the United States Mint changed from bronze planchets to zinc-coated steel for cents because of the demand on copper during World War II.
PCGS has said in a statement: "By error, some bronze planchets made it into the hoppers at all three Mints, were struck and released into circulation. These have become the most famous and valuable of all off-metal errors."
$1 million may seem like a huge amount to pay for the penny, but another coin, a dime from 1873, was sold for $1.84 million at an auction in August.
