This 1983 Penny Is Worth Tens of Thousands of Dollars—Here's How to Tell if You Have One

Rare coin collectors will only need a scale to see if they landed some serious money from their spare change.

A specific feature on a penny could make it worth tens of thousands of dollars.

If you're a rare coin collector, then all you need is a scale to see if you landed some serious money from your spare change.

First, you'll need to note the year of the penny as 1983.

It was a special period for the United States Mint, as they transitioned from making pennies with a copper core to a zinc core with copper plating to save on production costs, per the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

Most pennies from 1983 have that zinc core and aren't worth a whole lot, but a small amount were still minted as completely copper.

The copper versions are exceedingly rare and valuable, selling for upwards of $20,000 at some auctions, per a clip from coin expert Wheats to Shields (@wheatstoshields) on TikTok.

According to the expert, the most accurate way to tell and verify the difference is with a scale, as copper weighs more than zinc.

Using a pocket scale that can be bought through sites like Amazon for a few dollars, coin collectors can weigh their 1983 pennies to see if they might have a prized item.

The zinc coins should weigh around 2.5 grams, but the copper versions would be a bit heavier at about 3.1 grams.

The expert warned that collectors should be careful though, as some scales will automatically round up, giving an inaccurate reading.

Those who find authentic copper 1983 coins on a scale that doesn't round up will have effectively hit the US penny jackpot.

The pennies sell in virtually any condition and are worth hundreds to thousands after evaluation by the PCGS.

A listing on the PCGS website shows a 1983 copper penny that sold in 2023 for $1,140 at auction.

Minting errors could also make the penny worth considerably more.

One auctioned for over $7,000 in 2017 due to two crucial mistakes — the first being a double-dye error.

On the tails side of the coin, the "ONE CENT" was struck twice, and the letters can be seen slightly overlapping one another.

Additionally, the penny was missing a minting mark that identifies where it was produced.

Pennies from that year might have a "P" for Philadelphia or a "D" for Denver.

Only around 5,000 1983 pennies are believed to have been produced with the two errors.

Collectors should also be on the lookout for several other pennies.

A 1969-S penny could be considerably valuable depending on its condition, selling for upwards of $126,500 in some cases.

There's also a crucial quality of a 1993 penny that could make it worth over $50,000.