by Terrence Aym

Created on: April 28, 2010

You might—at this very minute—have a small fortune in your pocket or purse. In fact, it's estimated that several million Americans every year do, and they end up spending it as "regular money."

Rare coins have more worth than their face value. A penny might be worth $300 and a quarter $3,000. What a tragedy if you spend one of those buying a candy bar!

While it's true you probably won't find a coin worth $10,000 in your pocket change, it has happened. But finding a rare coin in your pocket may not be as unlikely as you think. Lots of valuable coins are still in circulation.

The reason why these valuable coins haven't been snapped up is threefold: there aren't that many collectors, there are billions of coins in circulation, and most people have no clue that one quarter in their pocket is worth 25 while the other is worth $50.

The following list will help you find the treasures hidden in your everyday pocket change.

Rare pennies

The 1943 copper penny is like a winning lottery ticket. The last auction sale of this little gem went for more than $200,000.

The reason why it's rare is because of its lineage. The pennies in 1943 were stuck from zinc-coated steel. Copper was in short supply and needed for the war. It's estimated somewhere between 40 to 50 1943 copper pennies are still in circulation. Hopefully you never spent one!

The 1955 double-die penny (a doubling of the letters and numbers) can be worth more than $1,000, depending on its condition. If it's worn it's still worth several hundred dollars. Double-die coins are a minting error and the coin—or part of it-was struck twice. More than 20,000 of these are thought to be out there—in other people's pockets.

The 1960-P "small and large date" penny is one that most collectors—even kids—are aware of and keep an eye out for in pocket change. The mint changed dies and the date is smaller on one version than the other. The small date fetches several dollars if it's in excellent (fine) condition. If the coin is uncirculated it's worth around $50.

The 1969-S penny with a doubled-die obverse (front of coin) is very rare. There are some counterfeits in circulation. You'll know you have a genuine one if the entire obverse is double struck except for the mint mark. The true doubled-die has a mint mark only struck once. If the entire coin was doubled, it's only worth a few dollars. A real 1969 doubled-die goes for around $35,000.

The 1970-S penny was nicknamed the "atheist cent" by collectors

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