What a great story and attentive teenager.

Geek.com is reporting about a Massachusetts teenager who back in 1947 bought his lunch and later found a rare 1943 copper Lincoln penny in his change.  The experts at Heritage Auctions stated:

While a number of other examples have surfaced over the years, no other specimen has been celebrated and written about as much as this remarkable coin…This piece inspires a special pride of ownership not equaled by any other example. This lot represents a true ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity.

The penny they believe  will be sold at auction for up to $1.7 million dollars.

Apparently this penny was accidentally produced by our U.S. Mint back in 1943.  In 1942 our pennies were supposed to be made with steel to conserve copper for the war effort.  It was reported that a small number of these pennies were struck with bronze blanks caught in the Mint’s presses.  It is believe only 20 of these pennies were actually produced.

Luckily the 16 year old boy back in 1947 was a coin collector and apparently knew what he had found.  He kept it for his entire life and just passed last September, now the rare penny is up for sale.

Heritage Auctions believes the coin will sell for up to $1.7 million because another 1943 copper cent was sold by a New Jersey dealer to an anonymous buyer for $1.7 million back in 2010.

Congrats to the family of the teenager who found it.

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