He carried a treasure in his pocket for 40 years but had no idea. A Vermont man's find at a flea market four decades ago turned out to be a windfall.

Salisbury resident and amateur coin-collector Garry Cucci recently decided to sell his lucky coin to pay off some credit cards. Turns out, the coin is luckier than he imagined.

Last year, the United States minted nearly half a billion coins, but Gucci's coin is technically from the first batch of U.S. coins ever made.

"I'm amazed I never lost it," he said.

The New Jersey transplant bought the coin at a flea market in 1969. "Paid a buck for it and I thought that was a good deal," he explained with a laugh.

John K. Martin Jr. Runs a coin shop in South Burlington. "I've seen hundreds of copies and this one was different," he said.

Cucci wanted his "lucky token" appraised; so he brought the coin to Martin hoping to get enough money to pay off a credit card or two.

"We're working on getting pricing for the coin and it should bring well over $100,000," said Martin, "I don't think the economy will affect this coin just because it's so rare."

To read the complete article, see:Lucky charm holds hidden value(www.wcax.com/story/17041824/lucky-charm-holds-hidden-value)