Coin collecting, or numismatics, is one of the oldest pastimes, and yet, even today, it can prove to be quite lucrative. Old and rare coins, especially those with historical significance or certain minting errors, tend to fetch a great value. Exceptionally valuable coins can even be sold for millions of dollars. If considering starting or making the most of an existing coin collection, one will benefit from learning about the 10 most valuable coins.
1849 $20 Liberty Gold Coin
This rare coin, minted in 1849, is easily one of the most valuable ones today. It is valued at around $15 million. So, if one is looking for a hobby that can make them rich, looking out for such valuable coins might be worth considering.
This 33-gram coin is made of 10% copper and 90% gold. It got its rare status owing to its historical significance and the actual coin value. Before it was minted, the largest coin denomination in the country was $10.
1925 Lincoln (Wheat) Penny
This coin, minted in 1925 in San Francisco, is among the 10 most valuable coins because of its historical significance and design. It is in circulation even today but with a slightly different design.
Not all 1925 variants of the coin fetch a lot of money. Only those that are graded and have minimal damages can be considered valuable. The record auction price for this coin was $54,625.
Sacagawea Cheerios Dollar
In the early 2000s, this coin could easily be found in a box of cereals. The U.S. Mint chose this promotional technique to popularize its “Golden Dollar,” placing Lincoln cents in 10 million Cheerios boxes. Of them, 5,500 contained variants of the Sacagawea dollar and many of them looked a bit different. For instance, certain variants had detailed eagle tail feathers on their rear side, while others had the image of a wounded eagle because of a die flaw. The coins can sell for between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on their grade and exact error.
1967 Kennedy Half Dollar
This rare coin is worth money because of its distinctive design, attributed to the absence of a mint mark. For the coins produced between 1965 and 1967, the U.S. Mint deliberately skipped a mint mark to prevent coin hoarding. The coin was considered special, being designed to honor the assassinated President, John F. Kennedy. It fetched $6,995 in an auction.
2008-W Reverse of 2007 Silver Eagles
During minting, around 47,000 uncirculated 2008-W American Eagle silver coins accidentally used reverse (rear side) dies from 2007. One can easily spot the difference in the design. The letter U on the 2007 reverse does not have a serif (tiny lines that extend off of the letters), but since 2008, the letters should have had a serif. These coins are also valuable; two of them were recently sold for over $1,000 each.
$4 Gold Stella 1879
This coin was designed to match the composition of the other coins in the Latin Monetary Union—a unified system of coinage in Europe. The union didn’t last long and was dissolved in 1927.
Congressman John Kasson from Iowa suggested coming up with a $4 gold coin, which would match the Austro-Hungarian 8 florin coin. But this coin was never approved for full-scale production. That said, collectors are willing to pay a small fortune for any available variants of these coins today. For instance, in the past, a two-coin set at the Smithsonian sold for nearly $5,000.
1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Penny
This penny has a noticeable double imprinting on the words “In God We Trust” and “Liberty.” In 1955, thousands of its variants were circulated without anyone noticing the error. Many experts say that about 20,000 to 24,000 such coins were initially released, but now only 10,000 to 15,000 seem to be remaining. Recently, one of these rare coins sold for $1,850.
1943-S Jefferson Nickel
This coin belongs to the wartime silver nickel series and was minted between 1942 and 1945. At the time, 100 million pieces of this coin were circulated, and collectors saved many of them. These nickels, if in a pristine, uncirculated condition, sell for as much as $1,000.
1972 Double Die Obverse Lincoln Memorial Cent
The Lincoln Memorial Cent was minted in 1972, and a few coins in the collection had obvious errors. For instance, the year 1972 on the right and the word Liberty on the left of Abraham Lincoln’s profile had dual outlines. About 20,000 of such coins carried this minting error. In 2021, one such coin was listed on an online marketplace at a starting price of $1. That said, this coin garnered 49 bids and eventually sold for $325. Because of its distinctive hue, this was one of the rare coins worth way more than one expected.
2004 D Wisconsin Quarter with Extra Leaf Low
Minted in 2004, the Wisconsin quarter had a wheel of cheese, an image of the cow, and a ear of corn on its surface. Some variants had an extra leaf on the left of the ear of corn, sitting low while touching the cheese wheel. This was termed an “Extra Leaf Low.” This error made the coin special. What adds to the intrigue is a conspiracy theory that someone purposely sabotaged the die (a metallic piece that strikes a coin). But an investigation by the U.S. Mint found that the error was a mere negligence. This quarter was sold for $152 in the past.