If You Have An Old Wheat Penny That Sticks To A Magnet, It May Be Worth A Small Fortune

Now this is the kind of treasure hunt I like. Usually when you're looking for a rare coin, you have to carefully examine each coin looking for a specific defect. Not this time. Grab the old pennies and a magnet, let's do this. I tried this on my personal Wheat Penny collection I brought down to Florida from Ohio, but had no luck. Let's go over what you're looking for.

The two rare pennies we'll be discussing came from extreme measures taken during World War 2. According to SDBullion, In 1943 they needed to make a lot of ammunition, so it was decided to mint pennies with "a steel planchet covered with zinc due to a copper shortage" (A planchet is a plain metal disk from which a coin is made). There was still some copper planchets in the presses and a few 1943 pennies were made copper. Those pennies are worth a LOT. Like, buy a boat money. If you have a 1943 Wheat Penny and want to know if it's the rare one, that's covered here. We're looking for a steel 1944 Wheat Penny. This picture here ain't it:

So why am I waving a magnet over my Wheat Penny collection?

Well, the opposite of what we just discussed is true. In 1944 they decided to abandon the steel planchet and go to a bronze alloy. And just like the previous year, some of the older planchets got mixed in. About 25 to 30 of them are out there and easy to find if you know how. Spread that Wheat penny collection across the table and hold a magnet over each coin. A steel penny is the only one that will stick to the magnet. Here's the magic part (drumroll please). If a penny sticks to the magnet, check the date. A 1943 circulated penny that sticks is worth 10 cents or so. But a 1944 penny that sticks to the magnet should net you around $40,000. Much more if it's in really good condition. Unfortunately, I had no luck with my Ohio to Florida penny collection.

What else can I check?

If you have a collection of the quarters with the states on them, there's a pretty cool mess up on some of the Wisconsin quarters. That story (with video) can be found here. Don't have an old coin collection? There's always the Mega Millions.

Live In Florida, Work Anywhere – Here Are The Top 100 Companies for Remote Jobs

If you need a job but don't want to leave the sunshine state, do I have a list for you. Flexjobs just dropped it's Top 100 Companies for Remote Jobs! These 100 companies had the highest number of remote jobs openings throughout 2022. From the release:

“As leaders in the remote job marketplace, we are thrilled to once again shine a light on the employers that have made remote hiring a priority for their businesses,” said Sara Sutton, Founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “As it was when we first created the Top 100 list a decade ago, our goal in identifying these remote-friendly employers is to help job seekers connect to remote career opportunities and to celebrate the companies championing for a more flexible future of work. Even amid current economic uncertainty and challenges, the continued interest and investment in remote work has created a healthy, robust marketplace for remote career opportunities,” Sutton concluded.

If you're like me, you got a taste of the work-from-home environment during Covid. And now you want more of it. There were times I took my laptop out and sat by the pool while doing my job. Now I'm back in an office freezing because someone in charge wants the thermostat set to 72. I'm from Florida! I like it warm!