Most people barely glance at their spare change before dropping it into a jar or leaving it behind at a checkout counter. Pennies, in particular, feel almost invisible—common, low-value, and easy to ignore. But collectors know that once in a great while, an everyday coin can carry extraordinary value. One such example is a rare penny that still turns up in circulation today, quietly sitting among ordinary coins while being worth tens of thousands of dollars to the right buyer.

The reason traces back to a pivotal moment in U.S. history. In 1943, during World War II, copper was urgently needed for military equipment, wiring, and ammunition. To conserve resources, the U.S. Mint switched penny production from copper to zinc-coated steel for that year. These steel pennies are easy to recognize by their silvery-gray appearance. In theory, no copper pennies were supposed to be made in 1943—but a small number were accidentally struck using leftover copper blanks and released into circulation without anyone noticing.

Those accidental coins became one of the rarest mistakes in American coinage. Fewer than two dozen authentic 1943 copper pennies are believed to exist today. Because of that extreme scarcity, collectors are willing to pay between $60,000 and $85,000 depending on condition. Even worn examples command astonishing prices. A coin originally worth one cent can now rival the value of a car or a down payment on a home, simply because of a production error during a chaotic period in history.