An extremely rare 1983 Lincoln cent minted in bronze plate has sold on the coin buying and selling market for just under $30 000. The coin has been graded by the Professional Grading Service (PCGS) as MS-65 Red. What is the reason this coin is worth so much? We will now explain it in detail.
But first, we’ll take a look at the history of the bronze Lincoln penny and its presence in the coin buying and selling market. On July 28 of this year, GreatCollections auctioned this specimen and raised $29 250, including the buyer’s premium. The bidding ended with 49 bids.
The description GreatCollections wrote for this auction was very simple and concise: “A rare transitional error, minted in a bronze plant, left in 1982 or earlier. It is the best known by far.” Many of the participants in the event agreed and that was represented in the number of people bidding on it.
Characteristics of this bronze coin that make it so highly prized in the coin buying and selling market
Lincoln cents, minted between 1963 and mid-1982, are made of solid brass, composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc. Collectors often refer to them as “bronze,” which was the traditional alloy of 95 percent copper and the rest zinc and tin, used between 1909 and 1962. Both bronze and brass weigh 3.11 grams (source in the composition).
Commercial-use cents minted from mid-1982 to the present are minted in planchets composed of a solid zinc core. These are plated in pure copper and weigh 2.5 grams. This is what the coin in question should have been struck on. Somehow, however, it was made on a bronze planchet left over from 1982 or earlier.
Collectors know them as transitional errors. The latest one they wrote about on the specialized website Nusmatic News was discovered by Ernie Gesner of Oregon in May 2021, although this is not the only find of this type of item.
Other finds related to 1982-D coins
Other finds related to 1982-D coins with small date and 1983-D cents, minted on solid bronze planchets, have been found in the last while. Both caught the attention of all collectors, who did not hesitate to bid on them. The 1982-D coin sold for $18,800 and the 1983-D for $17,625.
Then a second 1982-D cent came to light, supposedly bronze, not very well preserved. This item did not pass the filters and remained in the owner’s possession. After undergoing some specific care, it was sent back to him and then received the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) grade. Heritage sold this specimen in September 2019 for $8400.
Another similar case is a 1989-D Lincoln cent minted in a pre-1983 bronze cent plate graded by PCGS as MS-65 RD. This specimen sold for $3525 at the August 11, 2016 “Rarities Night” auction.
Heritage Auctions, meanwhile, sold a 1990-D cent, minted in 3.1-gram copper alloy plate, pre-1983, for $5540 (source on market and prices). It was a specimen graded MS-64 Brown by PCGS. This transaction took place in the coin buying and selling market in January 2018.
