COIN collectors are willing to pay a pretty penny for a literal penny, as one of them just sold for $54,000.
Most people don’t think twice about the coins they receive in change.
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But collectors sift through piles of loose change looking for rare coins worth thousands of dollars.
There are several types of rare coins, but one that stands out is the 1969-S coin. OS stands for San Francisco, where it was coined.
The coin has a “double die” error, causing the design to appear duplicated on the head side of the coin.
The words year and mint mark were typed twice on the same coin.
This error led collectors to pay thousands of dollars to get one.
TikToker Richard (@coin collection66) revealed in a video that one of these coins sold for a whopping $54,000.
COUNTERFEIT COINS
The double penny became instantly popular with collectors, leading crooks Roy Gray and Morton Goodman to produce counterfeit coins.
The FBI quickly caught wind and the Secret Service found incriminating evidence in Gray’s home.
It had rolled silver sheets about the thickness of unfinished quarters and coin punches for nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars.
After making the fake coins, Gray contacted a notable collector to help him sell them.
He wasn’t betting on the collector taking the coins directly to the Secret Service.
Both Gray and Goodman were sentenced to several years in prison, but the problems didn’t stop there.
While the Secret Service was searching for fakes, they accidentally confiscated and destroyed some authentic 1969-S Double Die cents.
Fewer than 100 examples of real 1969-S Double Die cents are believed to exist, and fewer than 40 have been certified, according to the Professional Coin Grading Society.
The auction record for one of these coins is $124,000.
Rare coins
You might be keeping something valuable in your wallet. Check out these articles about rare coins to see if you have a treasure hidden deep in your pocket.
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Coin collector and TikToker Eric Miller (@thecoinchannel) shared another valuable penny to look for.
He explained that all 1,922 cents were minted in Denver.
To signify this, the coins have a “D” engraved below the year.
However, a few cents are missing from this brand, which makes them very valuable.
One that was in particularly good condition sold for $26,868.75.
A rare gold coin has sold for a whopping $120,000.
And look at the “flying penny” worth $18,000.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
