I found a Lincoln penny worth $1,000 in a coin jar follow my three tips to do the same

A SIMPLE common coin search once found Eric Miller a piece that's worth $1,000 today.

Eric, who works in business management and real estate, has been collecting coins for 12 years.

The now 29-year-old once struck gold by coming across one of the rarest Lincoln pennies in existence that’s now worth $1,000, according to Eric.

“When I first found that penny [in the] jar that was gigantic," he told The Sun.

“It took me a while to search through it.”

Eric, who now makes TikTok videos through what’s called the "thecoinchannel", didn’t originally intend on posting coin content.

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“I posted a video of opening just a regular coin roll. It got over 100,000 views.”

From that point, Eric knew he had found an audience.

Shortly after his first coin video, he posted another one on an error penny, which was his most “viral” video.

“It exploded, I mean, my account grew 30,000 followers in like two days, and it just kept going,” Eric said.

Today, he has 3.3million followers.

Along with going through coin rolls, Eric posts content about rare and new error pieces, and videos about dollar bills.

Eric shared his tips on how to go about finding and selling rare coins, and about the moment he found a valuable piece in a jar.

There’s no financial risk tied to buying coin rolls

The first thing you should know is you don’t need to worry about suffering a loss if you don’t find much luck in your coin rolls.

The same will apply whether you purchase 40 quarters for $10, a 50 penny roll for 50 cents – or any coin roll from a bank.

Coins of course won’t decline in the denomination of course.

“If you don't find anything guess what - you have a full roll or a whole bundle of bills,” Eric said.

He added, “you just return [them] to the bank.”

While you can certainly only find value, Eric recommends treating this as a hobby rather than a profit motive.

“If you only care about the money part of it, you're not going to find anything and you're going to quit,” he said.

While you’ll need to know what to look for when finding coins, Eric said that this won’t require extensive knowledge.

To get familiar with valuable coins, you can use Professional Coin Grading Services' (PCGS) CoinFacts online encyclopedia.

There you can click on specific coins including Lincoln and Jefferson pieces – which will detail some of the most valuable pieces in the particular series.

Other ways to find rare coins

Along with coin rolls, Eric shared a couple of other ways you can find rare pieces.

One of them is just by simply going through jar change, which just about everyone has.

“Just pour it out and start low, separate by denomination, [and] separate by pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters,” Eric said.

Eric’s last way is also simple, and will just require you to take care of weekly or daily shopping trips.

He said once went to a local gas station and got a 1936 Philadelphia Buffalo Nickel in return after paying for it.

It is worth up to $4, according to Eric.

For context, this would mean the nickel is worth 7,900% its denomination.

“A lot of people don't know what those are [and] don't really care," Eric said.

“People that do realize that they actually have value.”

Of course, these ways will require some knowledge of coins and a little bit of luck.

Most valuable coins Eric found

Using these three common ways of finding valuable circulated change, Eric has found various coins of value.

In a video last month, Eric found six error pennies in a coin roll, all of which were dated 2022.

Each one featured a die crack.

This error occurs after too much pressure is applied during the mint process, resulting in a fracture to the die.

These were worth at least a combined $60, according to Eric.

Additionally, Eric said the errors aren’t even on the market yet.

“I put them all in cases already, I might even get them certified,” he said.

“Let's see what PCGS has to say about it because those don't exist yet.”

In another recent video, Eric found an error on a Washington quarter worth, which he claimed is worth $10.

But the most valuable coin Eric has come across was a 1922 Lincoln penny without a mintmark, which he found in a coin jar, as noted earlier.

For those who don’t know the back story behind that penny, they were supposed to feature a D mark, meaning they were all minted in Denver.

However, there was “sloppiness in the production process,” according to PCGS price guide editor Jamie Hernandez.

If you want to sell your coins and cash in on the value or add them to your collection, that’s entirely up to you.

It’s possible you could lose out on some money if you sell it right away.

“I could have sold [the 1922 penny] for $600 or $700 a year ago, two years ago,” Eric said.

“Now it's worth $1,000.”

How do I sell them and get them certified?

This next part will cover everyone’s favorite question once they find a valuable specimen.

First, know that the reason collectors get their coins certified is to build up trust when looking for a buyer.

Getting the coin authenticated by major coin graders, including PCGS and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGS), will do that – and could even help you get more for your pieces.

But it may not make sense to do this, especially when a coin is worth less than the price of the certification.

The certification cost will depend on the value of the coin.

Eric said a coin worth $200 will likely cost between $30 and $40 to certify.

Coins that run up to $100,000, will probably cost $2,500, Eric added.

If you want to go about certifying the coin, you need to do the following, according to Eric:

Contact the coin grading service
Fill out an invoice of what you’re sending
Ship off the package

What to know about dollar bills

For those who think they might have valuable dollar bills, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind.

This includes serial numbers and birth notes.

When a “serial number reads a birthday,” it sells for a "bunch of money,” according to Eric.

You’ll also want to pay attention to star notes and printing errors.

“If the bill is printed off-center or the seal didn't get printed, or if the bill looks odd at all it can be a printing error,” Eric said.

Additionally, Eric was more specific when it comes to a mismatched serial number.

In a normal bill, the serial numbers on both sides are supposed to be exactly the same.

But if even one number is different – it could be worth hundreds.

“I've seen a $1 Bill sell for $500,” Eric said.

Last piece of advice

Lastly, Eric recommends that anyone who’s interested in getting involved in collecting should take the time and learn.

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