The smallest chunk of change you can waste your time on.

Cents or pennies - Americans ditched British imperial, base-12 coinage but that name for the basic building block stuck.

In this digital, crypo, app age it’s almost a burden to have money in this form.

But find the right penny and you could be enjoying 10s of thousands or even millions of dollars.

Here are America’s 10 most valuable 1-cent pieces

10 - The 1926-S Lincoln Penny

Sold for $149,500 in 2006

Billions upon billions of this design was produced, what makes this one so special?

You’ll read a lot of letters in this list.

Marks like S on coins were used to identify which mint they were struck at. S is San Francisco.

In 1926 there was a low mintage of these Lincoln wheat cents, particularly from San Francisco, poor quality dies meant many of them have weak strikes, and colour on most has faded from its best original red.

That’s what gave this example such a high price. And there could be more out there.

9 - 1914-D Lincoln Penny

Sold for $159,000

You can clearly see where the term "red cent" came from.

D is for Denver.

In 1914 just 2 million of these were minted.

That sounds a lot, perhaps, but it’s tiny for a mass-use coin in a country like America.

As with most of these coins, condition is key, and the $159,000 was in mint order.

8 - 1864 Indian Head Penny “L” on Ribbon

Sold for $161,000 in 2011

It's extremely hard to spot, but there is an L on the ribbon through the headdress on this cent, a signature from its designer.

The L here is a piece of unusual individuality. It’s the initial of designer James Longacre.

All versions of this coin are sought after and very valuable for cents, but it was a proof coin, probably minted in a run of just 20, that made this monster fee.

7 - 1856 Flying Eagle Cent

Sold for $172,500 in 2004

It's unusual to see the US's eagle emblem in flight.

This is Mr Longacre’s work again.

The release of the Flying Eagle Cent took a while, and those struck in 1856 were not issued but were made as “pattern coins”.

Again, many versions of early issues of the Flying Eagle are worth exponentially more than their face value, but it’s 1856 issues in the best condition that are life-changing.

6 - 1909 VDB Matte Proof Lincoln Penny

Sold for $258,000

Test your eyes by spotting the quality of this strike.

These coins can be confused for issued coins of the same period, and it takes expert eyes to see that the design is clear and tall enough to be a proof, plus spotting several tiny marks not on business issues.

The VDB is another designer’s signature, this time Victor David Brenner.

It’s rare and it’s not known really why that's the case.

5 - 1943-S Lincoln Cent Struck on Bronze

Sold for $282,000 in 2016

This rarity has become somewhat legendary, and many Americans flip through their change in search of them.

This rarity is the result of a manufacturing shift.

In 1942 mints were ordered to stop making bronze pennies to switch to a new material.

But, a few were struck with the 1943 date, producing this extreme rarity.

4 - 1793 Strawberry Leaf Cent

Sold for $862,500 in 2009

The four leaves of the strawberry plant were in contrast to the more usually used trefoil design.

You may be surprised that so many of these coins are so recent.

This one is old, however, and like many early US coins is rare because not many were made and fewer have survived.

Over 60,000 were struck, but just four are known to survive.

3 - 1944-S Steel Wheat Penny

Sold for $1.1 million

This is a beautiful example, but steel failed the test of regular usage.

Steel is hardwearing and is used in many industrial products.

But rarely coins. It tarnishes quickly and needs to be coated.

This 1944 strike was an experiment looking for new materials. Steel didn’t cut the mustard and those that were sent out into the world are extremely valuable, with mint, unciruclated examples, like the one sold in 2012.

2 - 1958 Doubled Die Obverse Cent

Sold for $1.13 million in 2023

The doubled lettering is clearly visible here.

All collectors love errors, and it’s a double strike impacting on the fabled inscription, “In God We Trust” that makes this Philadelphia struck coin so sought after.

It has previously sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and an example shocked observers a couple of years ago when it sailed past the $1 million mark.

1 - 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny

Sold for $1.7 million in 2010