A five-cent coin featuring a rare error was recently sold on eBay for $107.50, more than 200,000 times greater than its face value.
The Philadelphia Mint produced 593million Jefferson nickels in 1980, and virtually all of them are still worth just five cents.
However, a small amount of those nickels were mistakenly struck onto blank cent planchets - the metal pieces that coins are made from.
The cent's planchet is smaller than the nickel's, creating clear distortions on these coins.
Nickels mistakenly stamped on penny planchets are smaller than they should be and appear cut off around the edges.
This 1980-P Jefferson coin contained a planchet error, and garnered plenty of attention from collectors as a result.
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The coin was originally listed for 99 cents, but bidders exchanged 42 offers and drove the price past $100.
Planchet error 1980 nickels are typically priced between $100 and $200, but very few of these coins have been sold.
The Professional Coin Grading Service has only auctioned three circulated 1980-P planchet error nickels.
Two of the coins PCGS tracked sold for $151, while the third went for $160.
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In uncirculated and mint condition, these error coins can sell for exponentially more, including a pair that was auctioned for $5,875.
How to find rare coins
There are many ways you can find rare coins.
The first thing you’ll want to do is check places in your home or any places you might store change.
You can also try using a metal detector in known areas for buried treasure by stopping by your local bank and asking for a roll of coins.
Change containing errors can be very valuable, but it might not always be clear that a coin has a mistake.
In addition to wrong planchets, common errors include doubled dies and off-center strikes.
To check if your coins are worth anything on eBay, search the full name, select the "sold" listing and then toggle the search to "highest value”.
This way, you'll get a sense of what collectors are willing to pay for your coins.
You can either choose to sell the coin on eBay or through a specialist site such as Coinappraiser or USA Coin Book.
And also - be aware of potential fakes when buying online.
Wrong planchet coins can be faked by wearing down the edges of a normal coin, and other details can be doctored.
To avoid this, it's worth checking the seller’s history and whether or not the coin was certified in the listing.
For example, the seller of this coin has a 100% positive feedback rating from 24 reviews.
Read More on The US Sun
Read More On The Sun
For more on coins, we recently explained the Henning Jefferson coin and why it’s worth more than $400.
And The Sun listed some of the most valuable error coins ever sold, including a $2,900 penny.
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