A Penny Saved is Worth $2,500?

About twenty years ago, we had some company for dinner. I was cleaning out the change in my wallet and was throwing it into our money jar when I looked down at a penny that was in my hand. It had the date of 1955 stamped twice on it and was blurry.

I said to our company, "Look at this penny, it is stamped twice." We passed around the penny and everyone looked at it. I then threw it into our loose change money jar. The husband of the couple said that he thought the penny may be worth some money. He said that he had a coin magazine that he could bring over.

Shortly after that we moved across the country from the Boston area to the west. In two months time, I found out our family was moving, had a baby, had surgery, got really sick and was hospitalized, had 3 children under 5 and we moved 2200 miles. Life was so crazy I forgot about the whole thing. I took the money jar to the bank to change in as it would have been heavy to transport across the US.

A few years later, I heard someone talking about the 1955 double D mint penny and how rare and valuable it was. I later looked it up on eBay and realized what a mistake I made.

I heard a story about an actor looking at his change once and giving it back to the clerk and told them to take it to a coin dealer and told them it was his "tip" to them. It ended up being worth thousands.

I now look at the pennies that cross my hands. The 1955 double D mint coin is so rare that fate would have to bring it my way as the odds are far against any of us finding one.

My girls enjoy sorting the coins and when they have been looked over, they place them in a bag. When they are looking for change to go to a show or something, it is easier for them to grab a bag of already sorted coins.

I found a story about a 3.7 million dollar nickel. Here is the link http://www.nenosplace.com/showthread.php?4711-Rare-nickel-fetches-3.7-million-at-auction

We still have a money jar which we check from time to time but have only found a few wheat pennies. If you check eBay completed listing or "Google" your older coins, it may prove worthwhile!

Here is a list of the more valuable pennies:

· 1909-S V.D.B. ($700-$2000+)
· 1909-S ($100-$500+)
· 1914-D ($225-$3,500+)
· 1922 no mint mark ($650-$40,000+)
· 1931-S ($115-$250+)
· 1955 Doubled-Die ($950-$5,000+)

Wheat Cent Error Coins - Of the 6 coins above considered highly scarce or rare in the Lincoln wheat penny series, 2 are considered errors:

1922 no mint mark -- Only the Denver mint produced pennies in 1922, but weak dies (the device itself which actually imprints the image into a coin) produced coins with a faint "D" and some coins on which no "D" mint mark appears at all.
1955 doubled die -- This coin bears a distinct, doubled image on its front side (the obverse). This image doubling was not intended by the mint and, thus, is considered an error. (The above information was from thefuntimesguide.com)

I thought that since everyone is having such a hard time in this economy that I would give this information. I am not in any way an expert but just someone that learned a costly lesson the hard way.

Sometimes a penny saved is worth $2,500!