At London auction house Baldwin's, an extremely rare penny has sold for £72,000, and this was world record-breaking.
The 1933 penny was presented as a prototype, but unfortunately never made it to production. In fact, the coin is so rare there are only four in existence.
It's the first time one of these 'Pattern' coins has been seen in auction; the other three are in private hands, and the newly-sold coin now belongs to a private collector as well.
The sale of the penny is said to highlight the strength of the British numismatic market, as people are prepared to pay for quality and rarity now as much as they ever were.
How did the coin come about?
1933 Penny Royal Ave, Richland, WA is currently not for sale. Single-family home is a 3 bed, 2.0 bath property. This home was built in 1999 and last sold on for $383,921. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow.
1933 In 1933, Lincoln Wheat Penny coins saw similar production numbers to Lincoln Pennies from 1932, with a little north of 20 million Pennies produced that year. With the Great Depression plunging America into the depths of an unemployment scene not. Did you scroll all this way to get facts about 1933 penny? Well you're in luck, because here they come. There are 252 1933 penny for sale on Etsy, and they cost $7.90 on average. The most common 1933 penny material is metal. The most popular color? You guessed it: black.
At the Royal Mint meeting of the ‘Standing Committee on Coins Medals and Decorations’ in 1931, the agenda had George V at the centre as the Committee decided to redesign the penny with his likeness as the key development.
French sculptor and medallist André-Marie Lavrillier was commissioned to create the new bronze penny to remove ghosting from bronze coinage once and for all.
In 1932, the Royal Mint had an excess of pennies, so no more currency versions were needed the following year.
In fact, only seven pennies with the 1933 date were minted for ceremonial and record purposes. The actual currency coins are thought to be worth twice as much as the Pattern versions.
Bidding war
1933 Penny Antiques Roadshow
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a lot of bidder interest in the special coin. Baldwin’s said it had requests from countries such as Australia, United States, New Zealand, with potential bidders flying in from all over the world to view the auction live.
Unfortunately for the revellers, it wasn't meant to be, as a private collector made an offer that couldn't be beaten and was well above what many could afford to bid.
Richard West at Baldwin's described the sale as 'one of the most successful that we have conducted in our 140 history'.
The initial estimate for the coin was between £35,000 and £45,000, according to West. While the £72,000 figure is eye-catching, that record could be smashed if one of the actual currency version were to become available. 'The currency version has not been sold at auction for over 25 years, so how much it would go for is a bit of a guess.
'That being said, given its rarity and general popularity, then we would probably be looking at over double the price realised for the Pattern version.'
CoinTrackers.com has estimated the 1933 Wheat Penny value at an average of $2, one in certified mint state (MS+) could be worth $30. (see details)...
Type:Wheat Penny
Year:1933
Mint Mark: No mint mark
Face Value: 0.01 USD
Total Produced: 14,360,000 [?]
Silver Content: 0%
Numismatic Value: $2 to $30.00
Value: As a rough estimate of this coins value you can assume this coin in average condition will be valued at somewhere around $2, while one in certified mint state (MS+) condition could bring as much as $30 at auction. This price does not reference any standard coin grading scale. So when we say average, we mean in a similar condition to other coins issued in 1933, and mint state meaning it is certified MS+ by one of the top coin grading companies. [?].
1933 Penny No Mint Mark
Additional Info: No 1932 Wheat Pennies were issued at the San Francisco mint this year, just the Denver and Philadelphia.
More of the Same
All US Pennies 1859 to 2021
Most Valuable Coins by Type...
[Top of Page]
**When we say that 14,360,000, of these coins were produced or minted in 1933 this number doesn't always match the actual circulation count for this coin. The numbers come from the United States mint, and they don't reflect coins that have been melted, destroyed, or those that have never been released. Please keep that in mind.
[Top of Page]
***Price subject to standard supply and demand laws, dealer premiums, and other market variations. Prices represent past values fetched at online auctions, estate sales, certified coins being sold by dealers, and user submitted values. While we wholeheartedly try to give honest price estimates there are many factors besides appearance, metal content, and rarity that help make up the coins overall value.Call or visit your local coin dealer for more information.
We use user submitted pictures please read that article if you are interested in adding your own.
[Top of Page]