A 1999 Penny In Your Change Jar Could Be Worth Up To $4500
Normally when you’re looking for rare coins, it’s usually the older ones. Some 1943 and 1944 pennies can be incredibly valuable. From tens of thousands on up to the millions. But most people don’t have old coin collections they can dig through looking for treasure. Fortunately there’s a 1999 penny out there that may not make you rich, but it could pay a couple months of your rent or mortgage. Unless you live in Naples, then it’s just one month.
I want to get right to the point, but this story is too weird not to tell. When I took this job in Fort Myers, Florida I got a desk and an office. And for some reason, I inherited a penny collection. Really, have a look at this desk drawer.
There were some other coins mixed in there, too, dimes, nickels, and a couple of quarters, but I already used those to buy Ms. Vickie’s Jalapeno chips from the vending machine. I’d never really thought much else of the ‘collection’ until today because there were no really old coins. Just loose change.
The 1999 Penny.
None of the pennies in the drawer were older than mid 1980’s or so. But, that’s when I came across the 1999 penny error. It’s called the “wide A-M error” because the A and the M in America are spaced apart instead of close together. Here’s what to look for. First up, dig through all your pennies looking for the ones from 1999. Now look for the ones that have no mint mark. As in, they don’t have a letter under the date next to Abraham Lincoln. I found 5 of them.
One of them is pretty ugly, but I figured I’d check it anyway. Condition means everything. As worn out as the penny on the bottom left is, if it had the error it’d still be worth money. But not as much as top left. Look at the shine! Time to flip the coins over and see what (if anything) I have.
So we’re looking for the space between the A and the M in America. And it looks like none of mine have it. Bummer. Even that beat up one could have been worth a few hundred dollars. The shiny one a whole lot more. If you can find one that’s uncirculated, the best condition, there’s the $4,500 dollar penny. In the video, here’s what a “wide A-M error” penny looks like.
Who else is ready to leave work early and head into a long weekend?