WATCH out for those pennies in your spare change, as they could be worth a fortune

While they won't buy you much in the way of goods these days, coins that meet certain criteria are extremely valuable.

Some spare change could actually be worth a fortune - here are the coins to look out for

WATCH out for those pennies in your spare change, as they could be worth a fortune.

While they won’t buy you much in the way of goods these days, coins that meet certain criteria are extremely valuable.

The 1943-D Bronze Lincoln Cent could be worth $840,000 to the lucky person who finds it in their pocket change.

It was created by accident in 1943 at a time when copper was an essential material for wartime goods.

Just for that year, zinc-coated steel was used instead of copper in the production of all Lincoln cents.

However a number of bronze blanks or planchets had been left in the bins that fed the coin presses, so along with the new steel versions, a few bronze cents were also produced.

These are extremely rare, and it’s thought there are only a handful still in existence: six coins created in the San Francisco Mint, one in Denver, and around 10 to 15 at the Philadelphia Mint.

The detail of the coins stands out due to the higher pressure of the presses set for the replacement steel coins and of all those created, the Denver Mint coin is the most valuable.

According to coin specialist Heritage Auctions: “As the only known example of this iconic Denver Mint error and the finest-certified 1943 bronze cent from any U.S. Mint, this coin should rank as the most important and valuable of all Lincoln cents.”

It sold at auction in 2021 for $840,000.

There could still be some of these 1943 bronze cents in circulation so it may be wise to check your coins.

MORE THAN SMALL CHANGE

Rare coins are extremely sought after, not just by collectors, but by consumers fascinated at the thought of finding buried treasure at the back of a drawer.

And while the chances of finding one are slim, it is still possible.

Depending on the coin and the year of production, it could net you thousands of dollars.

If it was a "proof" coin then the value could well be even greater.

Proof coins are early samples of a coin issue only made for archival purposes and for checking dies.

One such coin, a 1968 dime, was sold at auction for $45,600.

It was also missing the "S" mint mark that signified it was produced at the San Francisco Mint, which increased its rarity and so its value.

There could still be some in existence today.

A more recent high-value coin is the 1985 nickel minted in Philadelphia. The 1985-P MS67+ coin sold for $9,066 due to its excellent condition.

It too was a proof coin.

Minting errors generally increase the value of coins and one of these is a double strike, resulting in a double image.

A 1794 cent featuring two Liberty heads overlapping each other sold at auction in August 2024 for $588,000.

The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), which rates the quality of a coin in its Mint State (MS) on a scale from 1 to 70, graded it at AS66 so near-mint quality.

Meanwhile, The "full bands" detail on the back of a 1916 dime could be worth about $18,000.