And, that’s certainly the case with some rare coins that offer relatively few specimens but cater to niche groups of collectors or are not commonly collected by date and mintmark. Remember we were talking about the value of coins being dictated by supply and demand? Well, if there’s no demand for a particular coin, its value probably won’t be all that high. There’s so much talk about rare coins being valuable that the perception among many seems to be that all coins with low mintages or survival statistics must be worth the big bucks. What About Rare Coins That Aren’t Worth Money? But when it comes to the general dynamics of the coin market, small supply and big demand generally equals higher prices. The opposite happens, too: Some very common coins, like mint sets and proof sets, are still worth much more than their face value. We’ll touch on that in the next section of the article. Its sale in 2002 yielded a then-record hammer price of $7,590,020, and its June 2021 offering fetched $18,872,250 to reaffirm its place as the most valuable coin in the world.Įxceptions exist with some gold and silver coins that are comparatively rare yet go virtually unnoticed by much of the coin collecting community. It has twice sold since the year 2000 as one of the world’s most expensive coins. Only one is legally obtainable for private ownership, and it was once owned by Egypt's King Farouk through a private transaction. The government spared only two examples for the Smithsonian Collection, but it turns out about a dozen escaped the United States Mint.
The infamous 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle. The law took effect in spring 1933 and required the melting of the entire existing production of those coins. During the darkest moments of the Great Depression, this executive action banned the private ownership of most gold bullion. Take, for example, the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle, which saw a mintage of 445,500 pieces before Executive Order 6102 was ordered by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Some of the rarest coins are worth hundreds, thousands, and even millions of dollars. We say “usually” because rarity doesn’t always equate to high value, which is something we’ll examine more shortly. Think about it for a moment… If something is scarce and many people want it, won’t its value generally be on the higher end of the price spectrum? Yes! And the same applies to rare coins-scarce pieces are usually going to bring a high price tag.
It all comes down to the age-old law of supply and demand. Those who aren’t necessarily avid coin collectors might not understand why some rare coins could be worth $1 million, or $5 million, or even $10 million.
1916 Standing Liberty quarter – $2,800+.1955 Lincoln doubled die obverse cent – $1,000+.Interestingly, several types of small cents, including Indian Head pennies and Wheat pennies, also make an appearance on the list. Several are error coins from the 20th century, and about half of these United States coins contain precious metals.
You'll notice that "D" and "S" coins-from the Denver Mint and San Francisco Mint, respectively-make up the bulk of the list. What follows is a rundown on rare coins that you’re more likely to find in circulation (pocket change) or heirloom collections. 1804 silver quarter, bearing the same design as the Draped Bust dollar.