Poll of the Day > coin talk: 2014 D lincoln shield cent sells for over 3,000 dollars.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Is this a special coin? definitely not, there were 4,155,600,000 made by the Denver mint. This isnt a proof coin or special mint set coin, just a regular circulated coin. Why did this coin sell so high? Its the finest shield cent example currently found(any year or mint) and graded out at an astonishing MS 69 red.

The coin grading scale tops out at 70. So, to translate that, it graded a Mint State 69 red, with red being the tone on the penny. You can have brown, red brown, etc.

So, there are billions made, you'd have to think any brand new freshly minted penny should grade out really high. That isnt the case because I imagine these coins are minted in mass quantities while they are brand new they arent taken care of when made, being thrown around machines, tossed out of the hoppers banging against other coins, and also i dont know if this affects 2014 D pennies but the mint uses a wash chemical on them that causes some marks to appear. The Denver mint also has suspect quality control sometimes. A brand new shield cent might grade out at a 66 or so, which isnt anything special. this scale is so fine even a point difference can mean the distinction between valuable worth thousands vs not so valuable or even just face value.

So this goes to show you that even modern coins that arent special are special to somebody. luck out and find the highest graded modern penny(2010-present) in the entire shield cent run and you have a small fortune on your hands

reference video with photo of coin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD7U5JElij4" data-time="

Wait - are we talking about any coin that fits that description, or just one specific coin?

Cause I can bust open my piggy bank right now.
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Well I mean, this isnt a special collectors coin. its a normal, made for circulation penny, but for some reason it didnt come out the mint as damaged and marked up as a normal penny does, so its so fine it graded a point away from perfect. You can look but you wont have a coin anywhere near this fine. There could be other coins that would grade out at a 69, or even higher at a 70(perfect) but perhaps they havent been found, or submitted for grading.

You can open a 25 dollar face value box of brand new pennies and they will all have some marks, some blemishes on them preventing this high of a grade. Its also hard to grade coins, or at least im not good at determining a coins grade by eyeing it up, so seeing a brand new freshly minted penny might look perfect, but under a scope it wouldn't be.

these are those stupid shiny bastards

i've seen them, they're shinier than newer coins even
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I like my tag on you still... "Coins and Snus"

think of this: the collector who owns this has the highest graded lincoln shield cent(2010-p) found. So if youre a rich guy and have a lincoln penny collection from 1909-now(every year, every mint, and possibly every variety) and you demand the highest grades you can get your hands on, the sky is the limit for how much you'd spend on a modern 2014 penny because its grade is so high.

But lets say a few MS70(perfect) examples surface, which would be hard to do because that is perfect, then the value of this coin would go down and likely might not resell for over 3K

but billions and billions of shield cents come out every year and this is the sole 69 found and graded.

just for reference the highest graded wheat penny recently sold for 34,000 dollars.

Its a 1935 P and graded out at MS68 red.

Finding wheaties in circulation that are in nice shape is hard. I always check for my wheats and ive only found one with original lustre. it is a little marked up, but normally theyre black or brown. to see any wheat with original lustre in circulation is rare. so even though i have a wheatie with original lustre it isnt valuable, and it wouldnt grade out anywhere near a 68.

so the dude got super lucky?

I imagine so. I dont know how the guy acquired the coin, but he could have been hunting bank boxes of brand new uncirculated coins and came across it.

this is mainly luck for this, because out of billions made this is no. 1. and trust me, people do take bank boxes of brilliant uncirculated coins and hunt penny after penny looking for the immaculate ones, so people are checking, but to find this condition is rare.

When I was a kid we had to make our own coins out of wood but they still worked
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Mead posted...

When I was a kid we had to make our own coins out of wood but they still worked

We just used pogs. It was much easier to deal with.
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That penny won't be worth shit some day.
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It likely will retain a high value.

its the highest example of a shield cent found, and by continuation the highest 2014 D shield cent ever found.

there are rich people who collect pennies and want the finest examples known to man in their collection. the only way its value would go down is if a lot of 69s come out or some 70s are found or coin collecting in general goes down the toilet. but i dont think it will so long as people use and spend cash every single day, and you can still find hidden treasures in your wallet.