Are there 2018 pennies

Image credit: Heritage Auctions, HA. Most pennies minted that year have very definite spaces between those letters. This came about because in the s and early s, the Mint used different dies for producing coins for circulation and proof coins for collectors, explained Bucki.

But due to a mix-up, a proof die was used for the reverse of the coin before it was supposed to be used starting in It's likely that an entire run of , pennies were printed this way, he said. That makes them much easier to find than the Doubled Die coins. Bucki estimates that at least , coins released with the doubled die. Being more common, they're also less valuable. Once again, the mint erroneously used a proof die to strike normal circulation coins.

Roughly , of these pennies were minted, he said. If you think you've found a valuable penny, Stone suggests consulting a professional. Some auction houses offer free evaluations. Additionally, they can help get your coin certified by a grading service and guide you through the entire selling process. With so many rare coins out there, being a "penny pincher" might not be such a bad thing after all.

You never know, one of your pennies could be worth the price of a nice dinner — or a whole lot more. Minda Zetlin is a freelance writer covering business, money, tech and collectibles. The penny was one of the first coins made by the U. Mint after its establishment in The design on the first penny was of a woman with flowing hair symbolizing liberty.

Liberty stayed on the penny for more than 60 years. With these changes came new designs. In and the new coins featured a flying eagle on the obverse and a wreath on the reverse. In , Abraham Lincoln became the first president featured on our coins in honor of his th birthday.

These so-called "large cents" were made until , and are still popular with coin collectors. The "small-size" one-cent coins that we're more familiar with using today were first struck in , and measure just 19 millimeters in diameter. If you want to collect pennies, there is one year you'll never see on an authentic U.

The Mint ran out of copper in late , and by the time shipments resumed in late , it was too late to mint pennies with on them. The U. Mint produces five to 10 billion one-cent coins each year, accounting for about two-thirds of the Mint's total yearly coinage production.

It's estimated there are between billion and billion one-cent coins in circulation. They were also paler than other pennies.