Uncover valuable pennies in your pocket — they could be worth thousands of dollars

These days cashiers might not even give you your change back if it's less than a nickel, as pennies are often forgotten and seen as worthless. But you might want to keep an eye on your pennies, as some of them worth could be worth more than 1 cent.

In 2019, for instance, a penny from 1943 was auctioned for over $200,000 on Heritage Auction, the auction house reported.

That penny was made of bronze. U.S. participation in World War II caused a shortage of copper, used for munitions, and pennies were made with zinc-coated steel. But a small batch were made with bronze and are now rare and valuable.

Those bronze pennies are going to be hard to find. But there are other types of pennies worth hundreds or thousands of dollars that anyone might have sitting in a corner covered in dust. The following information comes from Heritage Auction .

Valuable pennies

• 1969 S-Doubled Die Observe penny: This coin has the letter "S" right below the year 1969. The words "LIBERTY" and "IN GOD WE TRUST" appear blurry due to the double casting of the coin. A penny of this type can sell from $35,000 to $75,000.
• 1992 Close AM penny: On the reverse of this coin, the word "AMERICA" has the letter "A" and "M" are very close to each other having the A's right leg touching the M's left leg. You can get between $2,000 and $3,000 for this penny. But if the penny is in good conditions it can worth more. In 2012, one of these pennies was auctioned for $20,000 on Heritage Auctions.
• 1999 Wide AM Reverse penny: This coin is the opposite of the 1992 Close AM penny. The letter "A" and "M" in "AMERICA" are more distanced than usual. Depending on condition, it can sell for $45 up to $500.
• 1983 Double Die Reverse penny: Double casting on the reverse made the words "ONE CENT" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM" to appear blurred. Expect buyer to pay from $75 to $200 for one these coins.
• 1972 Doubled Die Observe penny: This fonts around Abraham Lincoln's bust are blurry. this penny can be sold for approximately $100 to $500.
• 1995 Double Die Observe penny: Due to double casting, the words appear minimally blurred, especially the letter "B" in "LIBERTY." They could sell for up to $45.

Are my pennies worth money?

After identifying a penny that might be rare, verify your finding by consulting with a coin specialist, or numismatists. Or by checking with any of the rare coin identifying apps. Here are a few popular ones:

• CoinSnap : Uses AI to recognize coins within seconds.
• Coinoscope : Snap a picture of your coin, and you will get a list of similar coins with information about them.
• CoinsFacts : the most popular application among coin collectors. The app is produced by the Professional Coin Grading Service, an American coin authentication and grading service.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Uncover valuable pennies in your pocket — they could be worth thousands of dollars