Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 9/11/2006

Question
I have also come across a stamped penny. A friend gave it to me today and wanted to know something about it. It is a 1976 penny with the liberty bell and the shape of the United States with "U.S.A." inside. Is this still considered a "penny" or is it also a possible token? I had figured pennies like this were made to commemorate the Bicentennial, like the drummer boy quarters.  

Answer
Hello, Heather, yes it is still a cent and would be accepted as such for its face value. I have never thought of these stamped cents as "tokens" before, but the one you describe probably is an event token, commemorating the bi-centennial.  Unlike the drummer boy quarters which were made by the U.S. mint, these stamped cents were not made by the U.S. government, but rather the stamp was added privately later.  They were sold as novelty items.  Hope this helped, Jim Lawniczak