News

Actions

Rare penny sells for $282,000 at auction

Rare penny sells for $282K at Denver auction
Posted
and last updated

Talk about a lucky penny.

A one-cent coin minted in 1943 sold for $282,000 at an auction in Denver this week.

The coin in question is one of only 10 or 15 Lincoln pennies known to exist that were mistakenly made with bronze instead of zinc-coated steel in 1943. The U.S. Mint had switched to steel that year because of copper shortages during World War II.

A handful of leftover bronze blank coins got stuck in the trap door of a tote bin used to feed the coin press machinery and the bronze pennies wound up in the coin press with the steel coins.

Wednesday’s auction was the first time this particular penny went to auction.

The auction took place as part of the World’s Fair of Money, which runs through Saturday at the Colorado Convention Center.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Sunday

08/31/2025

Mostly Sunny

104° / 75°

0%

Monday

09/01/2025

Sunny

106° / 78°

0%

Tuesday

09/02/2025

Sunny

103° / 74°

3%

Wednesday

09/03/2025

Sunny

101° / 75°

0%

Thursday

09/04/2025

Sunny

102° / 74°

0%

Friday

09/05/2025

Sunny

100° / 72°

0%

Saturday

09/06/2025

Sunny

97° / 70°

0%

Sunday

09/07/2025

Sunny

95° / 69°

0%