If One Of These Rare Coins Lands In Your Hands, Your In-N-Out Burger Will Be Free

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In-N-Out isn't normally a place for collectables. However, if you're in the right place at the right time, you may just land a rare In-N-Out burger coin. 

Unlike its burger-slinging rivals, the beloved California chain isn't drawing people in through special promotions or giveaways. There are no Happy Meals or toys, no sales, no coupons, and no limited-time items. A lot of this has to do with consistency and pricing, as keeping things simple means lower costs that need to be covered in the final price of your burger. It's also not really necessary, because while Burger King may need to lure you back with something extra, anyone who has sat in an In-N-Out drive-thru line can tell you the place will always be packed, with no need for promotions. But there is one exception to this approach — a coin worth one free burger, which is so rare and valued as a collector's item that it sells for hundreds of dollars online.

According to the book "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger" by Lynsi Snyder, granddaughter of founder Harry Snyder, the In-N-Out coin dates back all the way to 1958. Snyder started handing them out as a way to promote his chain, which at the time had only added two more locations beyond the original In-N-Out. The coin was reportedly chosen because it was harder to lose than a paper coupon, and would serve as a consistent reminder to the lucky holder that they should go check In-N-Out, well, out. Since then, the In-N-Out coin has become a tradition, but it isn't easy to get your hands on one.

The one verified way you can get an In-N-Out coin is by being the first customer at a new location. Unfortunately for most of the country, that is a pretty rare thing, as the chain famously expands quite slowly due to its commitment to fresh, quality beef and other ingredients, and the desire to keep all locations family-owned instead of franchising.

There appear to be other ways to land an In-N-Out coin, but they are far less certain. Sometimes employees receive them during big events, or from higher-ups, with one former employee on Reddit saying they got a coin from a visiting executive when they gave a good answer to a question. Managers also appear to have discretion to occasionally hand them out, either to loyal customers or to employees who've gone above and beyond. There have even been several special editions of the coin, like for the recent opening of In-N-Out's 400th store, which have different designs.

While the coin entitles you to one free burger, the coins have a lot more value than that. Because they are so rare, and because In-N-Out has such a fervent base of devoted fans, In-N-Out coins can sell for hundreds of dollars on resale sites like eBay. They are treated more as collectables than coupons, with the most expensive ones being older special-edition coins from events like the chain's 30th anniversary in 1978. Burgers at In-N-Out are famously affordable anyway, so if you luck out and end up with a coin in your hands, it'd be better to keep it as a memento, or score some cash from someone who will keep it that way.