Jumbo penny pinched from high school

NEW LENNOX , Ill., June 3 (UPI) -- Police believe the soaring price of copper led to the theft of an oversized penny from a Chicago-area high school.

The solid copper coin measuring more than 2 feet across disappeared last week from the entrance of Lincolnway Central High School, and police don't believe was a student prank marking the end of the school year.

"It was a legitimate theft, and it was probably for the copper, which is not unusual," sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry told the SouthtownStar.

The penny was a gift to the school from its Class of 1957 and would likely fetch about $3 per pound at current copper prices.

There were no solid leads Tuesday; however, a school security guard said he kicked a group of teenagers off school grounds on the night the penny was stolen.