Rare Lincoln penny sells for $1.1million – the ‘doubling’ on the letters to look for

A COLLECTION of coins has recently sold for millions of dollars - including a penny for over $1.1million.

The penny was from New York City collector Stewart Blay who recently passed without seeing how profitable his coins were.

The late Mr. Blay consigned his coin collection to be sold by GreatCollections out of Irvine, California.

The 1958 Lincoln cent was so rare and valuable due to its severe doubling on some of the lettering.

Doubling can be seen in the motto "In God we trust" and the word "Liberty" on the obverse of the coin.

Double-die coins occur when a manufacturing error causes them to be imprinted multiple times, giving the coin a doubling or layered look.

Just note that these are a bit different from a "double struck" error, which happens when a single coin is struck twice, defacing it.

After 117 bids were made on the 1958 error penny, it went to an advanced collector that needed this particular penny to complete his collection.

This particular penny was sold for a record $1,136,250.

THE COLLECTION

The entire collection was from Stewart Blay, who was a numismatist and a sculptor.

Stewart had a set of 276 Lincoln cents dating all the way back to a 1909 penny in mint condition.

Each of his pennies had a seemingly combined face value of only $2.76.

However, due to their grade, condition, and error, the entire collection sold for $7,731,811 in a series of six auctions ending on January 29, 2023.

After setting an auction record for the first million-dollar Lincoln cent, Mr. Blay has 13 other mint-condition pennies.

Some include a 1911 cent which sold for $120,937 and another rare doubled die 1969-S that sold for $601,875 after 199 bids.

Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections said in a statement: "Stewart Blay spent decades traveling the country, visiting coin shops and coin shows on his quest for the very best, while also sharing his knowledge with fellow collectors and dealers.

"He spent his life procuring the absolute best-of-the-best Lincoln cents and they were very well received by collectors. It might be another generation before these coins appear on the market again."

HOW TO FIND RARE COINS

Firstly, check your spare change for pennies, nickels, dimes, and dollars as many of them could sell for thousands.

Typically, the most valuable coins and dollars are ones with a low mintage or an error, as it makes them rare.

A great website to check if your money is worth anything is Professional Coin Grading Services or eBay.

For eBay, just search the full coin's name or the type of dollar, select the "sold" listing and then toggle the search to "highest value.”

If you find your spare change has value, try selling through a specialist site such as Coinappraiser or USA Coin Book.

Those who have a specific serial number on their dollar bill could be in luck.

Plus, a rare Lincoln penny has sold for $59,000.