What is a Wooden Penny? Value $48, Errors

A wooden penny is a coin also known as a wood grain penny. A wood grain penny coin has been sold at a price higher than its face value, which you can see below.

If you have a wooden penny and want to know whether it is valuable or not, then you are in the right place.

In this article, we have told about the real value, and errors of wood grain penny and whether it can make you rich.

Let me clarify that you cannot become rich by selling wood-grain penny coins but can earn a little more money, how much? Let me tell you.

But first of all, you need to know,

Difference Between Rolling Lines & Wooden Penny Coin

Difference Between Rolling Lines & Wooden Penny Coin
Difference between rolling lines and wooden penny courtesy: ngc & coinmasters

The coin which you are considering as a wooden penny is probably not a wooden penny at all, why I am saying this because,

rolling lines on penny coin

The coin you are seeing in the photo above is not a wooden penny, it is just rolling lines due to which this coin looks like this and these lines have appeared in this coin due to the coin rolling process.

Coins are made by a roller in the rolling process. If there is any flaw inside any roller then it does not make the coins properly and due to this you get to see such lines in the coins.

Wooden Penny Coin due to improper mixture of copper and zinc

First of all, let me tell you one thing that wooden penny is not made of wood, it only looks like wood because these penny coins are made from copper and zinc, and due to these two metals not blending well, these coins have toning occurs, making it look like a wooden coin.

This is not an error in this grain penny coin and it takes weeks to decades for this toning to begin.

Now you know what is the difference between a wooden penny and a rolling lines coin, let us now talk about its value.

Wood Grain Penny Value

This 1917-S NGC AU53 wood grain penny coin sold for $47.99 on eBay. courtesy: pcgs

When I started searching, I saw that in 2018, a 1917-S Wood Grain Penny AU53 condition coin was sold on eBay for $47.99 and NGC graded this coin.

But why are wooden pennies not sold at high prices despite being rare?

There is no direct answer to this, this may also be because this toning does not happen only with pennies coins, many other coins are made of an improper blend of copper and zinc, which may have this woody toning.

You can find the wood grain pattern on Two Cent Pieces, Indian Head Pennies, Flying Eagle Cents, and Lincoln cents coins.

According to research, the value of the most popular 1981, 1982, and any wood grain penny coin is between 1-cent to $5. But you can also sell them at a higher price like the wood grain penny given in this article. The worth of any coin depends on its condition, mintage quantity, and rarity.

These wood grain pennies look very attractive and may increase in value in the future as they will become rarer over time.

Related: $1 American Innovation Coin Sold at $1,170

Wood Grain Penny Errors

Yes, the wood grain toning inside the penny is an error because it is caused by a method of manufacturing. And apart from this, no other error was found in the wood grain penny.

But some people are thinking that if there is no mint mark on pennies then it is an error. But this is not the case because pennies are made at the Philadelphia Mint. And just for the U.S. Mint’s 225th birthday in 2017, special pennies have been struck with the P Mint Mark.

Where to Sell Wooden Pennies?

You can find buyers online who can give you more money for your wooden pennies because many people are interested in buying them.

You can find buyers on these platforms:

  • eBay
  • Great Collections
  • Coin World
  • APMEX

Related: 2007 James Madison Dollar Coin Value is $4,000

FAQs

How much wood grain penny worth?

According to research, the worth of the most popular 1981, 1982, and any wood grain penny coin is between 1-cent to $5. But you can also sell them at a higher price like the wood grain penny given in this article. The value of any coin depends on its condition, mintage quantity, and rarity.

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Prince Rajput is the author of this article. He has done B.Com in Accountancy. He loves collecting coins and is sharing all his life's knowledge and expertise with you.

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