Could Your 2001 Penny Be Hiding A $100,000 Secret

A coin could give you a fair bit of money.

What coin could put some serious cash into your bank account? It's another penny! You’d be surprised—it's not as ancient as those ultra-rare, ultra-valuable pennies. This hard-to-find one is from 2001.

I remember seeing a few of these last time I sifted through my penny jar.

Time to dig out that bag, jar, or coin purse again. So, what are we searching for, exactly? Well, at first glance, the front of the coin appears normal—no double minting or exceptional proofing, just an average 2001 penny. So, what's the big deal?

Flip it over… notice anything odd?

Why is a penny from 2001 worth a lot of money?

It's because of an error in the stamping process.

The back side of the penny is stamped as though it's a dime. Someone at the mint made a mistake, and now the penny's back side displays a torch in the center, an oak branch to the right, and an olive branch to the left—just like a dime.

So, what could this penny be worth? 

The penny in question is called the 2001-D Lincoln cent mule error coin. It is so rare that it has twice been sold at auction for more than $100,000. The penny was struck at the Denver Mint in 2001 and features the usual portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the front or obverse. -Yahoo Finance

So, bust out those pennies. 

Seek out your 2001 Lincoln One centers. Flip them over, and if you spot the design meant for a dime, you've struck gold!

If you encounter this rare coin, it may have helped you pay a down payment on a house!