How many times have you walked past a penny on the ground or on the floor somewhere and not taken the ''penny worth of time'' to pick it up? Most people don’t bother. I’ll bet you would if you knew it could be worth $100.00 or more! The fact is, there are literally millions of pennies in circulation that are worth much more than a "heads-up" fortune of good luck.

For me, it all started when I found a 1984 ''Doubled-Ear'' Lincoln cent, a strong doubled-die variety that you can see without magnification. I noticed it while I was looking at my change while eating a slice of pizza! It was still in About Uncirculated condition and I sold it on ebay for $120.00! That coin could have very well ended up tossed in the change jar, or at the bottom of the fountain in the shopping mall.

I read a story of some guy who found a 1983 Doubled-Die Reverse penny in a parking lot as he got out of his car. The story was ironic because I found the same variety while counting pennies from a large pile in the console of my car at a Taco Bell drive-up window. That pile had been getting bigger for about a year and could have very easily ended up on the ground or sucked up in the ‘super vac’ at the car wash! Instead, I ended up with a nice profit of $100.00 after selling it on Ebay.

Doubled-Dies alone are endless. Searching circulated rolls, I’ve found and sold numerous 1995 DDO’s, 1972 DDO’s, and 1964 DDR’s. There are also nice doubled-dies to be found on 1980-P, 1982-P, and 1984-D, it’s true becuase I’ve found and sold them! If I were to have collected every one I’ve ever found, I’d have a small warehouse. These are common dates that are laying around it ditches and baseball fields everywhere just waiting for a home.

Clashed-Dies, filled dies, capped-dies and even strongly Rotated-Dies. Broadstruck ''railroad rims'', Clipped-planchets, sintered planchets and even Blank planchets. I’ve found these all in circulation and sold for a generous profit. 1998, 1999, and 2000 type-2 reverses (wide ‘AM’) are abundant, I’ve found [and sold] all 3 dates more than once! I recently found a 1971-P with a 35 degree die-rotation that is up for bid now on ebay (8/10/06). That find came from a pocket-full of change after a day’s shopping, bonus!

How a nicely off-centered 1988-P I found last week stayed in circulation so long is beyond me. Why an 1800’s ‘Our Navy" civil war token passed so many hands until it landed in mine? Numerous Cuds (broken die) I’ve found have brought in a nice profit as well. Gotta throw in the wheat cents and indian cents. Many times I’ve been handed solid rolls of wheat pennies at the bank, 10 or 20 at time!

The fact is, these coins are literally everywhere, you just gotta find them! You’re not gonna find a 1996 Lincoln cent with a 180 degree die rotation unless you pick it up! That penny you just stepped on in the supermarket may have been a 1997 ''doubled-ear''. You won’t see that one unless you scoop it up. Why not, it’s money? Before you toss that 1983 penny in the wishing well, you may want to check the reverse for the big doubled-die! There’s a neat picture on the CONECA website (www.conecaonline.org) of a 2000-P type-2 (wide ‘AM’) reverse that has a cross shape cut out of the center. Too bad the person doing the cutting didn’t look and realize what it was.

A good investment for me was buying a copy of ‘The Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties’. They highlight with a ‘P’ lots of doubled-die and rare varieties that can be found in ‘Pocket Change’. It’s not a matter of luck, because the odds are they’re out there. It’s just a matter of looking because if you look enough, you WILL find something, and when you DO find something, you may be hooked like I am.

Stop the car!, that penny in the road you might drive over could be ..........