{"id":454869,"date":"2026-10-03T02:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/454869\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T02:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:34:16","slug":"rare-penny-worth-more-than-235000-acquired-by-houston-area-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/454869\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare penny worth more than $235,000 acquired by Houston-area business"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Houston-area business<\/a> recently acquired a historic cent worth more than $235,000 that experts say likely changed hands hundreds of times before someone realized its value.<\/p>\n

The coin, known as a 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, had been in the possession of a Houston family before it was acquired by brothers Kenny Duncan Jr. and Matthew Duncan, owners of U.S. Coins and Jewelry,<\/a> at 8501 Katy Fwy.<\/p>\n

U.S. COINS AND JEWELRY: U.S. Coins and Jewelry to open bigger Katy Freeway showroom, building on 40-year tradition<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kenny<\/p>\n

Kenny Duncan Jr. poses for a photo with a rare 1943 bronze penny at U.S. Coins and Jewelry in Houston, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve it or not, we\u2019ve been searching for one ourselves for years, but this was in a family\u2019s collection and found its way to us after almost 60 years,\u201d Duncan Jr. said. \u201cI was excited because it\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve ever owned one. Of all the rare coins that we own \u2014 we\u2019ve owned some of the best and the greatest \u2014 this is the one that we\u2019ve never been able to acquire. Now that we have, we\u2019re over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Duncan Jr. said the coin is rare because\u00a0of how it was produced.<\/p>\n

In 1943, during World War II, copper was redirected for the war effort, Duncan Jr. said. The U.S. Mint began producing zinc-coated steel cents, making more than 1 billion that year. However a number of\u00a0unstamped copper coins, called planchets, left over from 1942 were mistakenly struck with the 1943 design, according to the\u00a0American Numismatic Association.<\/a><\/p>\n

Duncan Jr. added that many people believe they have one of the rare coins, but most are altered or counterfeit.<\/p>\n

Professional Coin Grading Service, also known as PCGS, authenticated the coin and called it \u201cevery coin collector\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery coin collector dreams of finding a genuine 1943 bronze cent in their change,\u201d said Charles Morgan, PCGS manager of numismatic research and programs. \u201cThe specimen acquired by U.S. Coins is one of those needle-in-a-haystack discoveries. It displays honest circulation wear and likely passed through hundreds of unsuspecting hands before its previous owner plucked it out of circulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

PCGS described the coin as having a classic chestnut appearance with patches of auburn-eggplant patination. The front bears the date 1943, while the reverse reads, \u201cOne Cent, United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A rare 1943 bronze penny is shown at U.S. Coins and Jewelry in Houston, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle\"A<\/p>\n

A rare 1943 bronze penny is shown at U.S. Coins and Jewelry in Houston, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n

The first known example was discovered in 1944 by a 14-year-old boy who found it in his change. One of the most recent discoveries was reported in 2023 and involved a coin struck at the San Francisco Mint, according to PCGS.<\/p>\n

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PCGS values the coin at more than $235,000. Duncan Jr. said he plans to display it at the shop moving forward, starting this Saturday.<\/p>\n

This is not the first rare coin or high-end collectible acquired by U.S. Coins and Jewelry.<\/p>\n

The shop, founded in 1985 by Duncan Jr.\u2019s father, buys, sells and trades a variety of rare items, including coins, sports cards, jewelry, artwork and signed historical documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust about anything that you can collect is what we started to hunt,\u201d Duncan Jr. said. \u201cNow, it\u2019s really just a mad hunt to find the coolest stuff and bring it to the shop. That\u2019s the mission now.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can you tell whether a coin is valuable?<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0fewer people carry cash today,\u00a0and the U.S. Mint stopped producing pennies for circulation in 2025,<\/a> coins still pass through people\u2019s hands every day.<\/p>\n

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Determining a coin\u2019s value is not always straightforward. Duncan identified several factors that could increase its value:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Date: Rare coins span centuries. Older coins may be more difficult to find, but age alone does not determine value. Duncan said collectors can use \u201cA Guide Book of United States Coins,\u201d commonly known as the \u201cRed Book,\u201d to help identify rare coins.<\/p>\n

Condition: Duncan said a coin\u2019s condition matters, but there is no easy way to identify a rare coin at first glance unless you do extensive research. Conditions vary widely, but double-struck coins also known as\u00a0mistruck coins, are coins struck more than once during production and can be rare and are popular among collectors. Lamination errors, which occur when metal separates from a coin\u2019s surface, causing a missing piece, also can make a coin collectible.<\/p>\n

Mintage: Another factor is a coin\u2019s mintage, or the number produced, according to Austin Rare Coins & Bullion.<\/a> Coins with lower mintages are generally rarer, particularly older coins.<\/p>\n

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Potential minting errors: Most production errors are caught before coins are distributed, but some enter circulation. Examples include double-struck coins and doubled-die coins. A double strike occurs when a coin is struck more than once. A doubled die is created when a die, which is the tool used to stamp a coin\u2019s design, is made with duplicated design elements. One rare example is the 1969-S doubled-die obverse Lincoln cent, which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

Researching the coin and consulting with a dealer or professional grading service can help determine its value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Houston-area business recently acquired a historic cent worth more than $235,000 that experts say likely changed hands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-454869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}