While tidying up their home in Los Angeles, a family discovered multiple hidden bags filled with one million pennies. Real estate agent John Reyes, who was assisting in clearing his father-in-law’s residence, found the bags tucked away in a basement crawlspace. According to reports, these unopened bags, each sealed by the bank, had a face value of $10,000.
Coin collectors and experts contacted Reyes, suggesting that he not sell the bags until their true value was determined. They noted the potential value in that the bags were still sealed and came from banks not commonly recognized today, indicating that the coins could be at least 40 years old.
The family determined that the pennies were made of copper, not zinc, the latter being the material the US switched to for coin production in the 1980s. Reyes decided to list the coins for resale on OfferUp, setting the price at $25,000.
He stated, “The value is in the uniqueness.”
The first inkling of the hidden wealth came when Reyes and his family found a few pennies in deteriorated paper rolls during the cleanup. Further exploration led them to uncover crates, boxes, and dozens of bank bags full of pennies.
