OLD and rusty coins can still rake in thousands at auction if they have the right mistake.
From 1840 through 1848, rare half cent coins were produced sparingly in America.
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One bronze coin called the 1840 B-2 Restrike Half Cent sold for $13,800 on Heritage Auctions.
Restrikes errors occur when a coin is struck from original dies but at a later date.
Even though they aren't the original model of the coin, restrikes are still heavily sought after by many collectors.
The 1840 B-2 Half Cent listed on Heritage Auctions came from The Garrison Collection.
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It's made of 100% copper and minted in Philadelphia, as per the Professional Coin Grading Service.
More half cents are listed under the collection listed for values as high as $23,400.
HALF CENT HISTORY
Half-cent coins were the smallest currency unit produced by the US up until right before the Civil War, as per texmetals.
They started being minted after the Coinage Act of 1792 was enacted, according to usmint.gov.
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Strike and die quality were generally poor at the time, which is why many errors or alterations are seen in coin designs.
The 1840 B-2 Half Cent has an R-7 rarity rating on a scale from one to 10.
The coin weighs 5.44 grams and has a double T in "cent."
This is the first restrike from half-cent coins made from 1840 to 1849 and again in 1852, according to Heritage Auctions.
The coin shimmers an orange mint color, along with violet-blue hues and hints of gold.
The reverse, which is the backside of the coin, has blue, sea-green, and violet toning.
MORE COINS
Some lucky coin hunters have even found their round jewels unintentionally.
A man from London found a hoard of American coins worth $154,000 while digging a frog pond.
He came across a deteriorated glass jar and noticed something rolled up in greaseproof paper inside.
It turned out to be a roll of gold coins which belonged to a Jewish German refugee who escaped to London during the World War II era.
Another woman found a rare coin while weeding carrots in her garden.
Her husband determined it to be a 1894-S barber dime, which has sold for a range of $400,000 to $2 million.
He brought it to a World Famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, only to discover it wasn't the coin he originally thought it was.
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A lucky UK resident found $115,000 worth of gold coins in the most unlikely of places — an old sock.
Meanwhile, The U.S. Sun asked a rare coin dealer for the inside scoop on tips for collecting riches.
