A nursery rhyme goes: “Find a penny, pick it up, all day you'll have good luck!” What if you found a penny worth millions and picked it up? That may be enough luck.
In January 2023, GreatCollections Coin Auctions, the official auctioneer of the American Numismatic Association, sold a rare 1958 batch “doubled die” penny for $1.136 million.
A ‘Doubled Die’ Penny? The Numismatic Guarantee Company (NGC), the world's leading rare coin authentication and grading service, defines a coin-making die as “a cylindrical shaft of steel that imparts one side of a coin's design.
According to Donn Pearlman, Professional Numismatists Guild affiliate member AF498, each coin is struck with two dies: one for the obverse (or “head’s”) side and one for the reverse (or “tail’s”) side.
“The most famous doubled die cent is the 1955 Lincoln cent with the doubling error,” Pearlman said. "There also are some more recent examples that may be in pocket change.
The twofold die coin is “a variety created during the die making process,” says NGC. All coins struck from that die will have the doubling.
Any change in the hub (a steel cylinder holding one side of a coin's design and used to make dies) or a die would result in two different impressions with separation. Letters, numbers, and design will double.
“It is extremely rare that such dramatic doubling would slip through unnoticed at the U.S. Mint,” stated David W. Lang in “The Complete Guide to Lincoln Cents.” The Philadelphia Mint ran two 12-hour shifts to remedy a cent shortage.