OK, why keep the 2009 penny

[mlayers]

My daughter and I have started doing some pennies boxes this year. From reading other posts I see others are keeping 2009 pennies. So what should I be looking for on these. As we have not kept any so I am wondering if we should.......Thanks Matt

 

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[kvilleification]

I think its personal preference. After hunting through 7500 pennies, I found only 19. The only reason I had that much was that one box had 14. The other 2 boxes had 2 and 3 of them. So they are rare, and personally I think they will be valuable some day.

 

[SFBayArea]

I don't keep any 2009's but heard there are some error varieties. There are two ways people do penny boxes just like other coins.

1.) Volume Hunting - Separate Copper and Zinc. Can do a bunch of boxes. That's it
2.) Low volume hunting - Check all coins for errors and varieties. IE doubled dies, wide AM's, close AM's.

Pennies have the most varieties identified compared to other denominations so one can spend a lot of time going through a box for errors. Other of the other members here have found a 1992-D Close Am which is a gem to me. I've tried to do a single box that way. It's a lot of work and my eyes hurt after a while but hey if you find one, it'd be awesome.

 

[SilverFace]

2009 was a low mintage year for all coin denominations - even quarters to a lesser degree. Also the 2009 cents had the one year 4 different reverse designs celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. The only thing is many of these 2009 cent coins are being hoarded by collectors (myself included) in unc. rolls so even though relatively few were minted - esp the last design which is the lowest minted cir. cent since the '55S cent - a large % of them are in unc. cond. But I save the cir. '09's that I find also (as long as they are in nice cond.) because they are so hard to find in cir.

HH

 

[SFBayArea]

2009 was a low mintage year for all coin denominations - even quarters to a lesser degree. Also the 2009's had the one year 4 different reverse designs celebrating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. The only thing is many of these 2009 cent coins are being hoarded by collectors (myself included) in unc. rolls so even though relatively few were minted - esp the last design which is the lowest minted cir. cent since the '55S cent - a large % of them are in unc. cond. But I save the cir. '09's also (as long as they are in nice cond.) because they are so hard to find in cir.

HH

Really?.. there's 2009's in every box here. I just put them back. I do know that 2009 uncirculated boxes do sell for decent premium.

 

[SilverFace]

I find maybe a couple of decent '09 cents (on avg) in every box - about the same as I do '09 nickels. I have a small ziplock bag that is about half full of all the decent/nice cond. '09 cents I've ever found in cir. I do remember one cent box I had last year that seemed to have quite a few '09's (maybe just about 50 or so) but that was the only box I've ever found like that.

HH

 

[jrf30]

I keep ALL of the 2009's I find ... in nickels and dimes.

NOt in pennies.

they are rare in nickels nd dimes, but too many were made in pennies to make them worth keeping. IMHO

 

[Diver_Down]

To add a twist to the 2009 cents, there are also 95% copper varieties that were only issued in mint sets.

 

[ckrakowski]

I keep ALL of the 23009's I find ... in nickels and dimes.

i would to with that error date.

 

[Generic_Lad]

The biggest problem with keeping 2009 cents is that it is really, really, hard to keep them in "gem" state due to their horrible composition. I've got a friend who got a bunch of them uncirculated from rolls unwrapped them, put them in a little container and sold them to people at a flea market. Within 3 months, the coins were all carbon spotted.

Now, of course they most likely weren't stored/handled in the best way, (perhaps 2x2s would have preserved them for longer?) but storage is a big deal with zinc cents.

 

[usandthem]

There's no shortage of 2009's here. When I open a roll of pennies the shields and 2009's are the first to go in the dump pile.

 

[mts]

I only keep the fourth variety of the 2009 and only if it is in spectacular shape. At first I was keeping all of them but I ended up with so many that it was clear they weren't worth keeping. I see lots of the first three varieties in every box. The fourth variety only comes around every now and then. I doubt they will ever be worth anything. With the crappy composition and the abundance of people keeping mint state rolls, mine will never be worth a dime (literally).

But I'll keep a few around to give to the grandkids some day.

 

[KyCoin Hunter]

Late but KEEP THEM

Personally, I keep any 2009 pennies I find because it is the year where the obverse of the coin has 4 different designs that all commemorate our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. In 2010, the pennies received the new obverse design, the union shield. KEEP THEM. They may not be worth a lot right now, but in a decade they definitely will be. I am from Kentucky (hence my name) so I especially save the ones that have the "birthplace" design, his log cabin home in Ky.

Sorry this is 4 years late XD. Just came across this today...

 

[BARKER]

Hi; QUESTIONS: What is the 4th design ?? What are they worth now ?? What are they projected to be worth in time ?? I don't want to waste my time saving them if they are only worth a nickel after 10 years. That's not worth it to me ok. I await. PEACE:RONB

 

[GA_Boy]

Question with the 09 one cent coins. What would be the best way to clean them and put in a vacuum bag?
Marvin
PS, I'm old so no value in my keeping but would like to give to a 12 yr. old Neighbor Kid.

 

[enamel7]

Personally, I keep any 2009 pennies I find because it is the year where the obverse of the coin has 4 different designs that all commemorate our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. In 2010, the pennies received the new obverse design, the union shield. KEEP THEM. They may not be worth a lot right now, but in a decade they definitely will be. I am from Kentucky (hence my name) so I especially save the ones that have the "birthplace" design, his log cabin home in Ky.

Sorry this is 4 years late XD. Just came across this today...

First, welcome to tnet. Second, your first post is I response to a 4 1/2 year old post? Come on, you're better than that. Third, it's the reverse with the four different designs, not obverse. Obverse is the front of the coin. As for barker's question, they will be worth about 5 cent in 10 years. Many were made and only uncirculated coins will increase in value. Still not very valuable in 10 years.

 

[BARKER]

Hi enamel7; Thanks. Then it is not worth my time to save them unless you have a Million of them. Not worth lugging them around. Thanks. PEACE:RONB

 

[smokeythecat]

Ok, checked out the figures. There were a third of a BILLION of each type struck. So they will never be rare. I find them all the time in boxes and throw them back. The "Formative Years" variety has some minor doubling. but it's insignificant. If you want to INVEST - get the Mint state 65 coins, they are worth about $10 each in the Red Book. For comparison, the 1943 steel cent, with only 84 million made is worth $2.50 uncirculated. The 1938-s in uncirculated condition (15 million) is worth $7.00 (Mint state 63). Even some of later years of the Indian Head Cent are worth only $50-$60 in uncirculated condition. Just get uncirculated ones if you want any.

 

[maine_Jim]

These are like the 50-d nickels in that many many have been tucked away so their value has not held up. Though the fact that they seem to deteriorate so fast may help with the pristine ones. Back when these came out if you were lucky and found a bank or two that was getting them by the box you could make some decent quick money on them. I was able to get a bunch and quickly sold them on ebay for about $200 a box if memory serves me right. A couple months later the prices crashed to $50 a box. This strategy still works for other new coinage occasionally if you are watching what is selling. There are other ways to make money CRH beside silver mining which given the number of newbies in my area is the only way to justify continuing. By the way - I still have a full unopened box kicking around of them and I'm sure I'm not alone...

Maine_Jim

 

[jcole77]

Well, you don't want to clean them... An air-tight coin tube and some silica gel should do the trick.