A SCHOOLBOY was handed a rare coin in his cafeteria lunch change and it later sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The rare copper penny was discovered more than 70 years before it was sold at auction for $204,000.
A 1943 Bronze Lincoln Penny was found by Don Lutes Jr., of Pittsfield, Massachusetts in March 1947 when he was 16 years old.
The coin was held onto for over 70 years until Lutes died in 2018.
This coin’s value comes from its rarity as only 20 of these copper coins were accidentally minted, according to Heritage Auctions who sold the coin.
The federal government attempted to conserve copper during World War II so zinc-coated steel was used instead.
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It is thought that some old bronze remained in tote bags used by the mint to add metal to coin presses, according to David Stone, a coin cataloguer at Heritage Auctions.
Stone said: “The few bronze coins that were struck went unnoticed and got released into circulation.”
Heritage Auctions described the collectible and said: “The 1943 bronze Lincoln cent is the most famous error coin in American numismatics.”
Only a handful of these coins have been found.
The special coin attracted nearly 30 bidders and surpassed the auction house’s estimate of $170,000, according to Heritage Auctions.
Tom Caldwell bought the coin in the Orlando, Florida, auction in January 2019.
The new owner revealed that he planned to take the collectible to display at various coin shows.
Lutes consigned the coin to his local public library, which he regularly visited, before he died.
The Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, received all proceeds from the sale.
Other rare coins and signs that people should look out for have been reported by The US Sun.
One coin collector claimed that their 1916 nickel sold for over $281,000 due to a small detail.
The 1916 date on the coin had a double die on the nine and the six.
