A penny coin that could be worth £150,000 may be hiding in your change at home. The 1933 pre-decimal penny from the United Kingdom is considered one of the rarest coins in UK history, and collectors are urging people to check their pockets.
The coin has sparked excitement online, with a collector known as @CoinCollectingWizard telling his 273,000 TikTok followers: "Attention this coin is worth at least £150,000. This is the 1933 pre-decimal penny from the United Kingdom. Now obviously I don't have the coin, this is a fake copy version."
In his post, he also posed the question: "Do you have this coin from 1933? If so you are rich."
What does the 1933 penny look like?
The coin features a left-facing portrait of King George V on the front and a seated Britannia on the back. It looks identical to standard pre-decimal pennies of the royal, so it can be easy to mix up.
However, the rarest one of them all bears the date 1933. According to reports, only six or seven genuine pieces are believed to be out there as they were struck only for museum records or building foundation stones.
Real pieces are exceptionally rare and have sold for over £100,000 at auction. It's quite common for collectors to replicate this coin and sell fakes for eye-popping prices online.
Why is the coin so important?
It's special for many collectors as the 1933 British George V penny ranks among the world's rarest coins. Its scarcity stems from the fact it never entered general circulation.
Instead, just a handful were minted to be positioned beneath foundation stones of buildings and kept for museum records. You can also find this coin in church foundations and it's believed to be in private collections too.
According to the collector, it's important to find the 1933 date – but have it verified by an expert to ensure it's not a replica. He continued: "But I guarantee you do not have this coin, how do I know? Because it's one of the rarest coins ever produced, there are other dates on those old pennies you might have though and some do hold a decent value."
"But it's never going to have the crazy value of the 1933 penny, as only seven are known to exist." To spot pennies that could fetch a tidy sum, always check the date. He concluded: "There are other dates to look out for, but obviously not as the same value as the 1933 penny."
