These days, pocket change can feel pretty pointless.

You can’t really buy anything for less than a dollar, so what’s the use in sorting through all these outdatedly small denominations?

But before you go dumping your collection at the bank or into a coinstar to turn it into more usable money, you might want to have a quick check through for anything unusual.

Why? We’ll let TikTok user @checkyourpocketchange give an example.

“Guys, you’re not checking your pocket change yet?” he asks.

“No,” we all answer.

“This 1943 Lincoln Wheat penny just sold for…

Wait for it… wait for it…”

The anticipation is overwhelming!

“240,000 smackaroonies. $240,000 this 1943 Lincoln wheat cent just sold for.”

Or, yanno, 24 MILLION times the value of an ordinary penny.

“Reason being is it was struck on a bronze planchet and it was graded AU50,” he explains.

A planchet is the plain, smooth metal disc onto which the details of a coin are stamped.

During WWII in 1943, some materials were being rationed for the war effort, and the planchets used for pennies were SUPPOSED to all be made of zinc-coated steel, but a few others managed to slip through, making them extremely rare and thus valuable to collectors.

The “AU” in the “AU50” grade stands for “About Uncirculated,” meaning the coin has not seen a tremendous amount of wear. NGCCoin.com defines AU50 as “Slight wear on more than 50% of the design. Full details except for minor softness on the high points.”

“Guys, check your pocket change,” concludes @checkyourpocketchange.

@checkyourpocketchange

1943 Lincoln Wheat Penny struck on a bronze planchet. AU 50. $240,000.00. #coin #coins #penny #pennies #cent #coinpusher #coincollecting #coincollection #coincollector #money #moneytok #greenscreenvideo

♬ original sound – Checkyourpocketchange

Commenters were immediately excited about their own finds, but the TikTokker preached caution:

You gotta do your research for the rare traits:

Don’t spend your time racing to the auctions before checking the details:

Still, this is far from the only coin that can sell for higher than its face value.

If you’ve got a little time to look up rarities and sort through your coin jar, you might find something special!

If you liked that story, check out this video about a Dollar Store cashier who has had it with customers who argue over $4 products.