Rare Pennies
Many coin collectors start their hobby by collecting rare pennies Pennies by and large are easy to find and there are many variations to choose from . The first penny was made of pure copper and was issued in 1787 This penny is referred to as the Fugio cent The name penny was derived from the British word pence It is believed that Paul Revere provided some of the copper that was used to mint the first rare pennies The Indian head penny was introduced in 1859 On one side of the Indian head penny is a likeness of an Indian princess with full headdress The reverse side states one cent These pennies were made until 1909 These rare pennies had a composition change in 1864 from pure copper to 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc . 1909 was the launch date for the Lincoln portrait penny It was minted in celebration of the former Presidents birth date anniversary Victor David Brenner was the sculptor selected by Theodore The Lincoln cent was also the first time the words In God We Trust appeared on the penny The first minted Lincoln pennies had the initials VDB on them for the sculptor Subsequent rare pennies did not have these initials as some believed that it detracted from the design In 1918 the initials were restored slightly under Lincolns shoulder The steel cent made its appearance in 1943 as a result of World War II The pennies were made of lowgrade carbon steel and a zinc coating These rare pennies were similar to the Lincoln head with the exception they were approximately 8 grains lighter because of the lightweight metal In 1944 the weight of the penny was changed back to the original 48 grains in weight when they modified the alloy being used in its composition In 1959 the penny underwent another change on the reverse side Until 1959 the words one cent appeared on the reverse encircled by a two wheat heads In 1959 the reverse was changed to the image of the Lincoln Memorial located in Washington D C Frank Gasparro an engraver at the U S Mint created the design His initials appear in the shrubbery around the memorial The 1960 penny is considered collectible for some simple changes that affected its design Some pennies were minted with smaller dates than others the smaller dates were found to be less common The value of the 1960D penny rapidly increased in value though quickly plummeted when the supply quickly met the demand In 1970 a small date caused a ripple of interest in the penny but nothing was as sensational as the 1972 double die error On this particular penny the date and motto were doubled Many collectors have this particular penny in their collection mainly because of the national attention given to this error While it isnt probable that you could find a Fugio penny by accident today it is still possible to come across Indian head and on occasion steel pennies The trick is keeping your eyes peeled for these finds as well as looking for your favorites in the right places
Many coin collectors start their hobby by collecting rare pennies Pennies by and large are easy to find and there are many variations to choose from . The first penny was made of pure copper and was issued in 1787 This penny is referred to as the Fugio cent The name penny was derived from the British word pence It is believed that Paul Revere provided some of the copper that was used to mint the first rare pennies The Indian head penny was introduced in 1859 On one side of the Indian head penny is a likeness of an Indian princess with full headdress The reverse side states one cent These pennies were made until 1909 These rare pennies had a composition change in 1864 from pure copper to 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc . 1909 was the launch date for the Lincoln portrait penny It was minted in celebration of the former Presidents birth date anniversary Victor David Brenner was the sculptor selected by Theodore The Lincoln cent was also the first time the words In God We Trust appeared on the penny The first minted Lincoln pennies had the initials VDB on them for the sculptor Subsequent rare pennies did not have these initials as some believed that it detracted from the design In 1918 the initials were restored slightly under Lincolns shoulder The steel cent made its appearance in 1943 as a result of World War II The pennies were made of lowgrade carbon steel and a zinc coating These rare pennies were similar to the Lincoln head with the exception they were approximately 8 grains lighter because of the lightweight metal In 1944 the weight of the penny was changed back to the original 48 grains in weight when they modified the alloy being used in its composition In 1959 the penny underwent another change on the reverse side Until 1959 the words one cent appeared on the reverse encircled by a two wheat heads In 1959 the reverse was changed to the image of the Lincoln Memorial located in Washington D C Frank Gasparro an engraver at the U S Mint created the design His initials appear in the shrubbery around the memorial The 1960 penny is considered collectible for some simple changes that affected its design Some pennies were minted with smaller dates than others the smaller dates were found to be less common The value of the 1960D penny rapidly increased in value though quickly plummeted when the supply quickly met the demand In 1970 a small date caused a ripple of interest in the penny but nothing was as sensational as the 1972 double die error On this particular penny the date and motto were doubled Many collectors have this particular penny in their collection mainly because of the national attention given to this error While it isnt probable that you could find a Fugio penny by accident today it is still possible to come across Indian head and on occasion steel pennies The trick is keeping your eyes peeled for these finds as well as looking for your favorites in the right places
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