What is a 1985 silver penny worth?

Answer 1

There is no such coin. The mint has never struck cents out of silver because they'd be worth more than dimes! In fact, ALL silver was removed from U.S. coins during the mid to late 1960s when the metal's price started to go up.

What you have is most likely one of the following:

1. A coin that was plated for use in jewelry or similar.

2. A coin that was plated as part of a high-school chemistry experiment

3. A coin that was NOT plated at the mint.

#1 and #2 are not valuable but #3 is.

To explain: since 1982 cents have been made out of zinc which is silvery in color, then plated with a thin layer of copper. Jewelers and others can put a second layer of silver or nickel plating over that for jewelry, but these are considered to be altered coins so they have no special worth

However, sometimes a zinc blank will fall through the cracks at the mint and not get the first layer of copper plating. A cent with NO plating at all is considered to be a mint error and is highly collectible. A fully unplated zinc cent can retail for up to $100.

Unfortunately you probably won't be able to tell the difference yourself; you'll need to have the coin evaluated by a professional (dealer, appraiser, etc.) who specializes in error coins.

Answer 2

In circulated condition, the 1983 Lincoln memorial penny is worth just 1 cent unless you have a doubled die. It's the uncirulcated and proof coins that hold some value depending on the mint:

Philadelphia: $0.25

Denver: $0.25

San Francisco: $2.75 (Proof Coin)

An Uncirculated doubled die from Philadelphia is worth nearly $300

Answer 3

One cent. There were 5.68 billion of them minted at Philadelphia and lots of those are still in circulation.