There are many people around the world who are fascinated by history and interested in collecting various coins. There is a term for such people, they are called Numismatists. These people are passionate about studying and collecting all kinds of coins. However, stumbling upon a rare coin has nothing to do with passion, its all about luck. And that is exactly what happened with Don Lutes Jr., a 16-year-old boy, who happened to receive some spare change while eating at his high school cafeteria. Usually, people who may accidentally find one of these rare coins are not even aware of its value but that was not the case with Don Lutes Jr. because from the moment he looked at the rare coin in his palm he got a feeling that he has found something special, something precious.
Donald Lutes Jr., born in Pittsfield Massachusetts, was a young 16-year-old numismatist. He was intrigued by coins from a very young age and had a tiny collection that was his most prized possession. In his older years, he became one of the earliest members of Berkshire Coin Club.
This exceptional story began on an ordinary day in the summer of 1947 at Pittsfield High school when a young student named Don Lutes Jr. stumbled upon an unusual item at the high school cafeteria. Little did he know his little discovery will one day become a story that will leave a mark in the history of numismatics.
It was lunchtime at Pittsfield High school. Don Lutes Jr. was waiting in line at the school cafeteria. While paying for his food, Lutes received some spare change from the lunch lady. What caught his eye almost immediately was an unusual coin in his palm. It was a copper penny with Lincoln's face on it.
Being a coin collector, Lutes knew he was in possession of something special. He immediately recognized that this penny was different. It was made of copper and that is exactly why the coin caught his eye. Lutes knew they don't make coins like this anymore so he decided to hold onto it.
Don Lutes Jr. knew that he had found something special but the actual value of that penny was something even he was not aware of. He simply placed it in his coin collection at home. The only perception Lutes had of this penny being special was due to the fact that it was not made of steel, which is what the coins in circulation were made of at that time.
After graduating from Babson College in 1951 in Business Administration, Lutes joined the US Army and served as a cryptographic specialist with the U.S. Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea for the duration of two years, 1952-1954.
After his return, Lutes went into Business with his father. They started a manufacturing company in the garage of their Pittsfield Home. It was known as Lutes & Son. They produced and marketed religious art products. Eventually, the business grew from their garage to a proper factory, where it flourished until the late 1970s.
To understand the value of Lutes's finding we need to understand where the coin came from. The first circulation coin of the US was originated back in 1797 and was designed by none other than Benjamin Franklin. It was known as the Fugio cent.
The Fugio Cent was also known as The Franklin Cent. It was the first official coin that circulated in the US. It was made fully of copper which is quite different from how coins are made today, i.e. with simple metal. In fact, the first couple of coins that were circulated in the US were made of copper only. The Fugio cent displayed some interesting phrases like 'Mind your business' and 'We are one'.
Not only were the coins made of different material back in the day but they were also large in size. Their diameters were between 1 and 1/8 inches which are significantly larger than the ones we have now nearing to 3/4 inches. By the early 1850s, the bigger coins were starting to become unpopular and proven as expensive to produce which made them almost impractical.
The difference in sizes was eventually overcome by the government when they introduced The Flying Eagle Cent which as a result helped in fixing the impracticality with big coins. It was circulated in 1857 and 1858. It was made with 88% copper mixed with 12% nickel. This new issue of coins was the first use of copper-nickel by the US.
The Flying Eagle cent did not settle well in the economy as it began facing some production difficulties and was later replaced by the Indian Head Cent in 1859. The cent became very popular and in the present times, it is one of the most collected coins by numismatists. They do not contain any precious metals which is why their value is mostly driven by the demand from coin collectors themselves.
When Lutes discovered the coin in 1947, even though the second world war was over, the US was still in a state of war with Germany and Japan. As a result, the government was producing tons of ammunition. The issue was that copper was needed to produce shell casing, telephone wires and bullets along with other weapons.
Considering the scale of production of ammunition, copper was slowly becoming scarce all around the US which ultimately resulted in the government putting a ban on copper. This meant a ban from using copper for civilian use as well as a ban from using copper for producing coins. All of it was put to an end.
With copper being banned for coin production, the value of Lutes's possession was increasing by the day. The coin was one of the rare ones because it was made of 95% copper and 5% zinc. These were produced accidentally and there are only a few coins like this in the world. However, he was still unaware about just how precious his little finding was.
A few years had passed since Lutes found that special coin. It was just another day filled with mundane activities when Lutes came across the news that car magnate Henry Ford would give a new car to anyone who could give him one of the 1943 copper penny. Lutes decided to contact the Ford Motor Company but was told the rumor was false.
His curiosity did not die, instead, it made him reach out for the case behind his wall, where he kept his coin collection. He wanted to know more about the coin that he stumbled upon all those years ago. He wanted to know where it came from, whether his instinct about the coin was precise or not.
In order to find out about the origin of his coin, Don Lutes Jr. decided to write a letter to the US Treasury Department hoping they would be able to provide him with some answers. The process of writing did not take him long as his head had all the questions prepared. Lutes sent it out and waited eagerly for a response.
It wasn't until a few days had passed that Lutes finally received his letter. But when he opened the letter the response actually left him feeling a little disappointed. He came to know that his letter was not the only inquiry ever received by the treasury regarding the penny he had in his possession. They responded back with a standard letter that they sent to anyone who inquired about the 1943 penny. The letter said "In regard to your recent inquiry, please be informed that copper pennies were not struck in 1943. All pennies struck in 1943 were zinc coated steel."
Disappointment only lingered for a little while for Lutes. Even though the ministry did not confirm anything special about his penny, Lutes still held onto it and kept it in his collection at his home. He went on to live his life as he would, only he knew that his penny was special and believed he was lucky to have found it.
While the Treasury had denied that Lutes' penny was not special, it was enough to catch the attention of people in the numismatic community. People were busy debating about the penny whether it was genuine or not. Meanwhile, there was a placement of another 1943 copper penny at the 1958 ANA convention auction.
This copper penny was discovered by Marvin Beyer, sometime after Lutes's discovery. This penny, being displayed at the ANA convention, received nationwide attention and caused a stir in the numismatic community. The interest only developed further when Beyer pulled his coin from the sale at the auction at the very last minute. It resulted in a lawsuit.
All of the media attention caused Lutes to once again seek confirmation of his discovery's genuineness. After much thought being put into this decision, Lutes decided to loan his penny to a remarkable numismatic researcher Walter Breen in the year 1959. Breen declared unhesitatingly that the cent was real.
By now it is established that Lutes was passionate about collecting coins. Over the next few decades, Lutes continued to collect coins and managed to expand his collection. He had a collection of over 50,000 rare coins. However, the 1943 Lincoln copper penny would always be the star of his collection.
Don Lutes Jr. rarely spoke about his marriage. He was married to Isabel (Walsh) Parker in 1986. They lived a happy life as two distinctive people. It was in the year 1995 when Lutes lost Isabel. They did not have any kids and Lute did not have any immediate relative either. It was at that moment when Lutes decided to move out of his house.
After his wife passed away, Lutes moved into the Fairview Rehabilitation Center. And this is where he ended up spending the rest of his years in this World. His time was mostly taken up by his club activities or volunteering at the library. He mostly kept to himself and had a few close friends he was in touch with, some of them were part of the coin club.
Decades went by after Lutes tucked away his precious coin collection in his case. He never tried to sell it to anyone or even talk about it. In fact, he turned down numerous offers from buyers who were interested, especially in the Lincoln penny. It wasn't until years later when his health began to decline that Lutes decided to part ways with his collection. He believed "it should reach a good home".
There is another person who played an important role in bringing this story together. That person is Peter Karpenski, a dear friend of Lutes. He went to visit him one day at Fairview Rehabilitation Center, which is where he was living after his wife passed away. He expected to catch up with an old friend, however, he never knew Lutes will ask him to be the consignor of the 1943 Lincoln copper penny.
Once Lutes decided to sell his collection, that is when the coin managed to find its way to Heritage Auctions, a Dallas based Auction House. Lutes did not even know the response he is going to receive from the buyers. People were extremely surprised by the sight of that coin as the 1943 copper penny is believed to be 'the most famous error coin'.
According to Heritage Auctions, the 1943 copper penny was an accident, an error of production. Around the end of 1942, a small number of bronze planchets (used to stamp a coin) got caught in the trapdoors of the mobile tote bins and went unnoticed when they were filled with zinc-coated steel planchets in 1943. As stated by Heritage Auctions, "They eventually became dislodged and were fed into the coin press, along with the wartime steel blanks."
The few resulting copper cents were lost in the flood of millions of steel cents struck in 1943 and escaped detection by the Mint's quality control measures. Lincoln cents are already considered as the most collected US coins so the demand for them is also extensive. The 1943 copper Lincoln cent had an unusual look which makes it one of those rare coins which are considered highly popular for numismatists.
Even though the penny had landed in Lutes' hand as spare change for a meal, its actual value is something he could have never imagined. The professional coin grading service is an organization that evaluates and grades rare coins. It graded the penny a 62 on a scale of 1-70.
After a steep decline in his health, Donald Lutes Jr. passed away on September 3rd, 2018. As per his request, a private burial service was held on September 10th. He didn't have any immediate relatives at the time of his death and lost his wife back in 1995. But he was surrounded by friends and people he learned to call his family.
Lutes left this world at the age of 87. He lived long enough to see the documentation of his beloved 1943 copper cent by a major grading company. This validated the coin to be genuine and listed it as the "Don Lutes Discovery Coin" which ensures that his name will be a part of Numismatic history forever.
With the help of his friend, Peter Karpenski, Lukes's priced possession managed to find its way to Heritage Auctions in January 2019. The 1943 Lincoln penny soared in value because it was made by accident and from the wrong material. Heritage Auctions estimated that the coin was worth 1.7 million dollars. After two weeks of the online auction, the highest bid went up to 1.3 million dollars.
The winning bid came from Tom Caldwell, owner of northeast numismatics. According to him, this piece is one of 19 known copper pennies minted in 1943. The coin attracted more than 30 bids and was finally sold to Caldwell at 2.4 million dollars.
Caldwell acknowledged that he was prepared to pay more for the penny. He mentioned that this coin is something that every coin collector is aware of. "It’s a piece that’s very important in numismatics". He plans to sell the prized penny eventually but first, he will showcase it at various coin shows he will attend.
Tom Caldwell founded the Northeast numismatics over 50 years ago. Just like Don Lutes Jr., Tom Caldwell was also brought up in Massachusetts. So Caldwell ended up bringing the coin back to where it has been for over seventy years. Caldwell plans on showcasing the coin at conventions and coin shows all around the country but it will stay in Massachusetts.
The 1943 copper penny was considered to be the 'Holy Grail' of mint errors. Despite conducting a fierce search by different collectors, only a handful of legitimate specimens have been discovered. Which is why the penny was sold for 2.4 million dollars surpassing its pre-sale estimate of 1.7 million dollars.
According to the website of Heritage Auctions, “Stories appeared in newspapers, comic books and magazines and a number of fake copper-plated steel cents were passed off as fabulous rarities to unsuspecting purchasers. Despite the mounting number of reported finds, the Mint steadfastly denied any copper specimens that had been struck in 1943."
A 1943 copper coin was first put up for sale back in 1958, where the highest biding was for forty thousand dollars. In 1981, a consecutive piece was sold for ten thousand dollars at an ANA convention. This was followed by another sale in 1996 for 82,500 dollars.
Over the years, quite a number of 1943 Lincoln copper coins have been found in various parts of the United States. Researches discovered about 10-15 of them in a mint in Philadelphia. On the other side of the country, at a mint in San Francisco, researchers found half a dozen coins. And lastly, researchers found one remaining coin in a Denver mint.
Lutes was an avid collector of both US and foreign coins and took great joy in his hobby. He became one of the earliest members of the Berkshire Coin Club, dating back to 1957 which is the year after the club was founded. For more than sixty years, Lutes was a significant part of the club serving as President, Treasurer, Club Librarian, Historian and finally as the Newsletter Editor.
In 1974, Don was granted the first "Life Membership" of the club which was a recognition for his many years of service to the coin collectors of Berkshire County. During the 1980s, when many coin clubs were disbanding, Lutes's dedication kept the organization alive and moving forward. Today, the Berkshire Coin Club is still going strong all because of his efforts.
Apart from his passion for coins, Lutes also developed a keen interest in Genealogy. His grandmother left him a box of papers and artifacts related to his family history. As the only child of his parents, Donald Sr. and Pauline Lutes, he used those items to trace his lineage back to the state's earliest settlers.
Lutes's personal ancestral journey motivated him to help others dig into their past. Later, he became the President of BFHA (Berkshire Family History Association) from 1985 to 2017. He was so heavily involved in all aspects of the local history group, it now takes several people to handle his duties.
Don Lutes Jr. became a widower in 1995. He lived as a resident of Pittsfield his whole life. After his wife passed away, Lutes spent most of his time at Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library. He volunteered there for decades.
The contribution provided by Lutes was so immense that the Pittsfield's Public library re-named its annual volunteer of the year award after him, the Donald L. Lutes Volunteer of the Year Award. This award was to honor his incomparable service and all the efforts he provided to the library.
The library meant just as much to Lutes himself. Having spent decades working with those people, after losing his wife they were what he could call a family. According to his friend, Lutes wanted the proceedings from the sale for his penny to go to Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library.
Donald Lutes Jr. was a man of substance. He chose to participate in life instead of being a bystander. He chose to be part of the solution as opposed to the problem. He helped so many people, be it the services he provided to the Library or to the numismatist community. He won numerous awards for his efforts and recognition for his exceptional work. His name will always be remembered in the world of numismatic.