In today’s article, we are going over 1973 Memorial cent coins. I’m going to show you everything you need to know about these coins, and tell you how to maximize the value if you come across one.
All right, so most people will overlook a 1973 coin. And typically, they have a good reason to do so. Most of these coins are not going to be that rare, but there are certain situations where these coins can bring a good amount of money at auction. Let’s go ahead and start off.
1. 1973 Memorial Cent, No Mint Mark, PCGS MS66+ Red: $59
Let’s start off with this first 1973, no mint mark coin. Now, if there is no little letter under your date there, more than likely that means your coin was struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
PCGS is a grading company, and they graded this coin at a Mint State 66+ Red. The red essentially means the color of the coin. These coins can be designated as red, red-brown, or brown. Red coins are going to be more valuable than red-brown or brown coins.
When it comes to grading, 70 is the highest grade. This one got a 66+. That plus sign does increase the value of the grade, just saying that it’s in the higher range of the 66 grade.
When it comes to a penny coin, typically these coins are only worth a few pennies. Now, look, if your penny coin is worth a dollar, that’s 100 times the face value of the coin. This coin was able to sell online for $59.
Now, keep in mind, you have fees associated with this, including grading fees and shipping fees. So the person who sold this coin probably broke even. But if you’re able to sell this to a shop or some collector, you’re able to make some decent money.
2. 1973 Memorial Cent, No Mint Mark, PCGS MS67 Red: $384
Now, this next coin sold for $384. A lot more money than the previous coin. Same deal here, except this one got graded by PCGS at an MS67, so it’s one point higher. It does not have a plus sign. $384 it sold for.
3. 1973-S Toned Memorial Cent: $317
Now, looking at this coin, you might be thinking to yourself, what in the world did I just stumble upon? Well, a lot of people might look at this coin and think it’s beautiful, while others might think it’s atrocious.
This is what we call a toned coin. Toning happens based upon how the coin is stored. The air oxidizes with the metal, causing a chemical reaction. You can see a lot of beautiful purple, pink, teal, and greenish colors going on.
You’ll also notice, if you look closely, that this is a San Francisco-issued coin. You can tell that by the S mint mark below the date.
Now, I’m actually very surprised that this coin did not get designated as artificially toned. It does look pretty unnatural to me, but then again, I’m not necessarily an expert when it comes to toned coins. I know a lot about toned coins, but this very well could be a genuinely toned coin. If the coin is artificially toned, a grading company like CAC will put a designation on the label saying “artificially toned.”
The interesting part about this coin is that if you look at it in the holder, it doesn’t look like it has any crazy toning. But if you get the right lighting on this coin, you can see just how beautiful it looks under the right lights. This one sold for $317.
4. 1973-D Memorial Cent, MS67 Red: $292.80
Now, up next, we’ve got a Denver-issued coin, 1973. It is a red-designated coin, graded at an MS67. It sold for $292.80.
Now, look, if you come across one of these coins, chances are you do not have something rare. Being able to get this high of a grade is very, very challenging. Do understand that the people grading these coins have done it for a very long time. They’re professionals.
Most 1973 coins are not worth putting to the side unless they have some sort of doubling or weird error going on. But these are some of the most recent sales and high sales.
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