Some people find treasure by scouring the ocean floor with high-tech equipment and scuba gear. Others simply check their change. Such was the case for one Massachusetts man who recently learned that a penny he’d kept for decades is worth far more than the one cent emblazoned on its coppery little face.
John Reyes, a retired postal worker, had the foresight or perhaps just the habit of hanging onto interesting coins. Among them sat a particularly unassuming penny from 1909. That’s right, just shortly after Henry Ford started sending cars rolling off assembly lines and when Morse code was still trendy, this tiny coin made its way into circulation. Reyes, having watched enough daytime television to know a rare coin could mean a small fortune, decided it was time to call in the experts.
Enter the numismatic equivalent of Antiques Roadshow: Reyes brought the coin to a professional appraiser who confirmed its identity as a 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent, one of the rarest Lincoln pennies ever minted. Only about 484,000 of these were made and collectors covet them like pirates covet gold doubloons. The actual value? Estimated at around $4,000. Not too shabby for something designed to vanish between couch cushions.
“I just knew it was old,” Reyes told local reporters, demonstrating the same kind of understated confidence that led someone, somewhere, to eat the first oyster. “I didn’t know it was that valuable.”
While his newfound wealth probably won’t rewrite his estate plan, Reyes is reportedly keeping the coin for now. Perhaps out of sentiment, or perhaps because it’s always nice to one-up that uncle who insists pennies are worthless.
Turns out keeping the change can finally pay off.