A LINCOLN penny with a strange "doubling" effect could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In a recent video, TikTok coin collector The_Coin_Guy profiled the 1958 double-die obverse Lincoln cent.
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The penny is a seemingly ordinary old coin except for the doubling effect found on the words "In God We Trust" and "Liberty."
This is called a double die error, which occurs when the die used to mint a coin is misaligned.
This often creates a doubling effect on coins' lettering, with words stacked on top of each other.
Many double-die coins are highly sought after by collectors, but the 1958 double-die penny is one of the rarest and most valuable.
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"This is one of the mega-rarities of the 20th century. There are only three known examples," said Jamie Hernandez at expert coin appraiser Professional Coin Grading Services (PCGS).
The version profiled by The Coin Guy is currently being auctioned for $293,000 by Great Collections, while the record price for the penny is $336,000.
The three coins in existence have grades of either MS64 or MS65, which are only four and five spots away from mint condition respectively.
More valuable 'doubles'
While the 1958 double-die penny is incredibly hard to get a hold of, The U.S. Sun has profiled other more common - yet still lucrative - double-die errors.
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One is a 1995 penny, which also has a doubling around the lettering on the obverse.
This coin recently sold for a little over $5,000 at auction.
Another example is a 1983 penny with a double die error just on the word "one" on the obverse.
One of these recently sold for $7,050.
Double-die errors should not be confused with double-struck errors, which are also popular with collectors.
Unlike double-die errors, which result from an error in the die, double-struck errors occur when a coin is mistakenly struck more than once, often marring the coin's appearance.
A 2000 double-struck error nickel with Thomas Jefferson's face almost completely smudged out sold for $20,050 at an auction in 2018.
Other valuable pennies
Despite being the least valuable piece of US currency, pennies are some of the most sought-after rare coins.
Other iconic rare pennies include a 1944 steel penny that was supposed to be made of copper by that year.
This mistaken metal choice lead to one of these pennies being auctioned for $373,750.
And a "mule-coin" penny from 2001 with a dime design mistakenly put on the reverse sold for $114,000.
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See which 2022 quarter is already being sold online for over $100.
And find out if you have one of the state quarters from the late 1990s and 2000s that regularly sell for more than $100.
