A man in La Jolla, Randy Lawrence was the lucky holder of one very rare, aluminum penny. The unique appearance of the piece makes it worth around $250,000.
It may be a wise idea to hang on to stray pennies. A man in La Jolla, Randy Lawrence was the lucky holder of one very rare, aluminum penny.
The unique appearance of the piece makes it worth around $250,000. For about 30 years, the penny rested in Lawrence’s desk drawer. That coin, along with a collection of others, had been given to him by his late father.
In the summer of 2013, Lawrence put the coins in the trunk of his vehicle while moving from Denver to La Jolla. Lawrence drove around with the lot for about a month, before choosing to sell them to a local coin shop.
The owner of the store, Michael McConnell first suspected the penny was a souvenir by a foreign mint. He later discovered it was actually a 1974-D aluminum penny from the Denver Mint. Only 10 were created and it was previously thought that they were all destroyed.
Realizing Lawrence didn’t know about the penny’s origin and value before the sale, McConnell called him to share the good news. The men have decided to split profits from the coin’s upcoming sale and donate a portion to local charities. It is expected to be auctioned off in April.
