Kids don’t really care much about the value of things, not unless they are toys or something that would interest their innocent minds. But don’t count this boy in. He was a smart one back in the day, and because of that, it could make him become a millionaire this day!

Don Lutes Jr. from Pittsfield, Massachusetts was only 16-years-old when he found a rare copper penny in 1947. He got the change from his high school cafeteria. Even back then, he knew that the coin had something special in it. So he brought it to the federal officials to have it checked but they just brushed him off and told him that it had no value. Even though he was rejected, he still kept it but did not give much thought about it.

What he didn’t know was that because of that coin, he could’ve made some serious money out of it. That penny now is considered an extremely rare find which is why it can be sold for over $1 million!

Unfortunately, Lutes passed away in September this year. But the penny was retrieved and is now being auctioned off by the Heritage Auctions. The current bid is at $130,000 but there is a possibility that the prices are going up, and it’s going fast. Who would not want to have a rare piece of history to be added to their collection and flaunt it with other collectors? Anyone who is a collector of rare coins would want to get their hands on this rare find.

Sarah Miller of the Heritage Auctions said in a statement:
“This is the most famous error coin in American numismatics and that’s what makes this so exciting: No one really knows what it’s going to sell for.”

So why is it considered an error coin? That is because, during World War II, there was a great need to preserve copper because it had to be used as a wartime necessity, just like bullets and wires. In 1943, these Lincoln pennies were coated with zinc steel in order to preserve them. However, an accident at the U.S. Mint led to creating to the creation of a handful of these copper coins. These pennies were mixed with the other zinc-coated coins and were sent out for public use. However, not everyone got to lay their hands on these special coins.

At that time when Lutes got the coin, people were too eager to get theirs too. The boy just had no idea that it would mean this much. However, he already knew that this was going to be something special compared to the coins that he was used to seeing. In fact, at that time, it was falsely reported that Henry Ford would give away a brand new car to anyone who can hand to him one of these rare copper coins.

The auction site’s website wrote:
“Stories appeared in newspapers, comic books, and magazines and a number of fake copper-plated steel cents were passed off as fabulous rarities to unsuspecting purchasers. Despite the mounting number of reported finds, the Mint steadfastly denied any copper specimens had been struck in 1943.”

Lutes was a lucky boy at that time to be a recipient of that coin but he was told that it was not something special. Sadly, he was not able to enjoy the true value of that coin. Though, he knew that someday, it’s going to be an important one.