This guy's a genius
I just saw a bit on Boing Boing about a collector who is asking for 1968 pennies. He wants to create the largest collection of 1968 pennies. According to the BB clip, he promises never to cash in the collection because it's worth more as a collector's item: "Of the 4,858,503,583 pennies minted in 1968, an untold number have been forever lost to history, which is why it is important to save the remaining 1968 pennies NOW while they are still relatively easy to find. If every American donated just one 1968 penny, the collection would number in the hundreds of millions."
When I checked his website (www.1968pennies.com), the current total was 9,887. If he gets even 100 million pennies (possible? maybe. probable? maybe not. But worth considering...), he would be at 1 million dollars. Give him 2-10 years to be out of the spotlight, and he'd be able to cash that in for a very nice retirement package.
Tell you what. I want to collect every possible 1973 penny because that is my special year. Send me your 1973 penny(ies) and I will post your name on a website as a contributor. Because this is a collector's item, I won't cash in the pennies. until I'm well enough out of the public's mind and everyone's forgotten about it. Besides, how would you know if I do or not?.