For many people, finding a penny on the floor is worth much more than a mere cent. Some believe it represents new beginnings, while others think it's a sign of good luck. But it could also mean an unexpected fortune—as one child recently learned. A coin-collecting influencer on TikTok is speaking out after an 8-year-old reportedly found a rare penny worth $30,000. Read on to discover the subtle details you should look for on your pocket change.
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A rare penny was found by an 8-year-old coin collector.
iStockMost of us don't think twice about pennies these days, but you might want to look extra closely at any loose cains.
Back in 2016, Numismatic News reported the story of an 8-year-old who had found a rare penny. The child was a "budding collector," and his mother was showing off his prize penny: an Extremely Fine 1969-S doubled-die Lincoln cent, which he had picked out from her change.
An expert says this penny is estimated to be worth $30,000.
This report was recently shared on TikTok by rare coin-collecting influencer Eric Miller. Miller posted the story to his account @thecoinchannel, and it has since garnered over 253,000 views.
"An 8-year-old just found a $30,000 dollar penny in his mom's pocket change," Miller says in his video.
According to Gainesville Coins, the 1969-S double die Lincoln Cent is "one of the most valuable doubled die varieties ever produced." Most experts believe that only a handful of these pennies are out there and most are estimated to be worth more than $30,000.
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The coin "looks completely normal" at first glance.
TikTok/@thecoinchannelMiller is encouraging his followers to sift through their collection of change, and look for valuable pennies.
"If an 8-year-old can find one of these, you might be able to, too," he says in his video.
According to Miller, the 1969-S penny that the child found "looks completely normal" at first glance. But the valuable error can be found in how some of the words are printed on the coin.
"If you look closely at 'Liberty,' it's completely doubled," Miller explains. "And it's also [doubled] in 'In God We Trust.' It's very clear."
Doubled pennies often sell for thousands of dollars or more.
iStockAs Miller shares, the 8-year-old was very "excited" about the double-printed error he found, and brought the penny to his mom.
"They got it looked at and it's legitimate," the coin-collecting influencer says in his TikTok. "These sell on average for $30,000 to $40,000."
In fact, one rare "doubled die" penny from a 1958 batch sold for a record $1.136 million at an auction held by GreatCollections Coin Auctions in January, Fox Business reported. This coin was believed to be one of only three doubled die pennies from that year that "have severe doubling of letters" in the word "Liberty" and the phrase "In God We Trust."
"Minting errors like the doubled die penny are supposed to be inspected, seen, and then destroyed by the mint," Blake Alma, a coin collector from Lebanon, Ohio, and founder of the coin-collecting blog CoinHub, told Fox Business. "Double die pennies are highly sought after by coin collectors because they are considered a rare and valuable error. The double image on the coin makes it unique and highly prized among collectors."
