With millions upon millions of pennies constantly being minted, errors are bound to happen. In the particular case of the example photograph above, this is called a mis-struck penny. This means the penny minting stamp was not properly aligned with the actual penny blank being fed through the machine, causing the penny to literally be mis-struck. These mis-struck pennies are considered a type of error penny. An error penny is exactly what it says, a penny made inappropriately constituting an error or mistake. This is a bit like coloring outside the lines of a coloring book.

Mis-struck pennies are collectibles that hold numismatic value. Of course, some are more valued than others, but if you find a mis-struck penny, it is worth hanging onto. These mis-struck pennies in the photograph above are “easier” to find as far as mis-struck pennies go. This is because they are still the same size as a regular penny, allowing them pass properly through coin sorters and coin counters into bank bags and bank coin rolls.

There are mis-struck pennies that actually end up larger than the size of a penny which are more rare. That is because they are too big to fit through the penny slot of a coin counter unless lined up perfectly. Usually these mis-struck “too large” pennies are either rejected by the coin sorter or end up in other slots in the coin sorter such as the nickel or quarter slot.

The copper pennies we provide to copper penny investors are unsearched. This means there is a possibility of finding copper penny versions of the type of mis-struck pennies in the photograph above in our copper pennies. We also provide bank sealed penny bags which also have a probability of containing not just the copper penny mis-struck pennies but also newer zinc pennies as well.

So keep your eyes peeled when looking through pennies. You never know what you may find!