Generally, counterfeit money is created so that someone can try to pass it off as real currency but in the case of these counterfeit coins, not only are they perfectly legal – they are each worth a thousand bucks. That’s because they are created by a bank and backed up by them. They aren’t legal currency and they aren’t exactly counterfeit coins either. But they do look like pennies and if you passed one on the sidewalk, you’d probably walk right on by without picking it up. That could cost you in this case.

The thousand dollar pennies are the brainchild of Ally Bank. The promotion involves putting a hundred one thousand dollar pennies in cities all across the United States. They are calling these“Lucky Pennies” and the whole idea is to draw attention to the forgotten copper coin (which are now made mostly of zinc) and cling to the idea that a “penny saved is a penny earned” or in this case – a penny picked up is a thousand dollars earned.

So, how do you get your hands on one of these pennies? Unfortunately, Ally has only placed them in ten cities around the U.S. (listed below) and in high traffic areas where a lot of pedestrians go. These are mostly historical sites, places of interest for the city or state or other notable spaces. This is the perfect reason to go for a walk and start checking out some of the historical sites in your city that you haven’t visited in years – if ever. But don’t forget to look at the ground and pick up every penny that you see.

Cities Where Lucky Pennies are Placed

• Austin
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Denver
• Detroit
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York
• San Diego
• Washington, D.C

You can recognize these valuable coins by looking closely at the coin, which contains the Ally logo rather than the traditional Lincoln memorial on the back and says “10,000 cents” on the front. There is also a redemption code that the finder can use to claim their $1000 dollars. The Lucky Penny Website says that Ally believes every cent counts and they want to reward people who think like that. It also contains some fun facts about real pennies and a video. This $100,000 promotion is designed to promote Ally Bank on social media, and through news articles, and so far it has been very successful.

While these may not be legitimate counterfeit coins, they do look very similar; anyone who is considering printing money to get ahead might want to spend their time combing historical sites in the chosen cities instead. It will probably turn out to be more profitable. If you live in or are traveling to one of the ten cities, check out Ally’s social media sites to get clues on where the pennies might be located. Be the first one to pick it up off of the ground and you just became a thousand dollars richer. 

If you are looking to count your coins after all is said and done, be sure to check out our collection of electronic coin counters so you can count and organize hundreds of coins in minutes.