Imagine stumbling upon a treasure trove of nearly one million copper pennies while cleaning out an old house. This is precisely what happened to a family in Los Angeles, California, leaving them with a delightful dilemma: what to do with this massive copper windfall?
Realtor John Reyes and his wife were clearing out his father-in-law's former residence, a 1900s-era home that once served as a bed and breakfast, when they made the astonishing discovery. Tucked away in a cramped crawlspace were dozens of bank bags overflowing with copper pennies. The sheer volume of coins, estimated to be around a million, represents a face value of $10,000, but their potential worth could be significantly higher, according to KTLA News.
The house, previously inhabited by Reyes' father-in-law, Fritz, and his brother, both German immigrants, had become a repository of decades' worth of accumulated belongings. "They kept everything," Reyes commented to KTLA, explaining that the clean-out process had been ongoing for several years.
The crawlspace itself was so tightly packed that family members had to crawl on their hands and knees to explore its furthest reaches. It was there that they first encountered loose pennies, remnants of paper rolls that had long disintegrated. Further investigation revealed crates, boxes, and numerous coin bags brimming with copper pennies dating back decades. "Some of the banks don’t even exist anymore," Reyes noted.
Testing a sample of the pennies confirmed they were indeed copper, unlike modern pennies which are primarily zinc. This composition adds to their potential value, as copper pennies haven't been predominantly produced since the early 1980s. The family's hope is that amidst the vast collection, some rare and highly valuable coins might be hidden.
The logistical challenge of removing the pennies was substantial. It took an entire day to haul the heavy bags out of the crawlspace and load them onto two trucks. The weight of the coins strained the trucks' suspensions, requiring a slow drive back to Reyes' home in Ontario from Los Angeles.
After months of sorting through the pennies, the family has decided to sell the entire collection. They've listed it on the resale platform OfferUp for $25,000. Reyes emphasizes the "uniqueness" of the find as its primary value proposition. While they have received some individual offers, no one has yet committed to purchasing the entire hoard. Prospective buyers should be prepared for a significant undertaking: they will be responsible for transporting the massive penny collection themselves.
