8 Rare Coins : We know not to judge a book by its cover, but there are other things, too, that you never throw away — because hidden treasures are everywhere if you mean to find them — and they’re probably in your house!
Though for the most part coins in all denominations are interesting only when weighed, sometimes even loose change rides the hobby horse into realms of prices that would make even dedicated collectors gasp.
The rarefied realm of numismatic treasures can command tens of millions of dollars at auction, turning a simple disc of metal into a life-changing windfall.
Today we’re delving into the magical land of ultra-rare coins that have become legendary among collectors.
Not only are these coins rare, each embodies a perfect storm of historical context, scarcity and cultural importance that have propelled their value into the stratosphere.
8 Rare Coins The 1933 Double Eagle: The King of American Coins
No article on rare coins would ever be complete without mention of the notorious 1933 Double Eagle.
The shining $20 gold piece is now the most expensive coin ever sold at auction, bringing a staggering $18.9 million in 2021.
But what makes this particular coin so remarkable isn’t just its astronomical price tag, but its incredible backstory.
In the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was forced to take the radical action of recalling all gold coins under the framework of Executive Order 6102, effectively putting an end to a practice of gold coins flowing around in America.
Nearly all of those 1933 Double Eagles were melted long before they left the Philadelphia Mint, but a few escaped.
Despite decades of intrigue, legal fights and even Secret Service investigations, just one 1933 Double Eagle is legal for private individuals to own.
When shoe king Stuart Weitzman decided to retire this mythical coin, the simple answer is the world of numismatics held its breath as the value of the coin almost tripled the last time it was on the block at $7.59 million in 2002.
The coin displays Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ awe-inspiring design of Lady Liberty confidently striding forward with a torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other, against a backdrop of the U. S. Capitol building, and the image of a flying eagle on the reverse.
Many regard it as the most beautiful American coin ever produced and now, indisputably, the most expensive.
8 Rare Coins The Flowing Hair Dollar: First Dollar Coin of the United States
When America was a young and rising nation forging an identity on the world stage, one of its chief concerns was forming a single currency.
The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is the first dollar coin ever issued by the United States federal government, which makes it not only a coin, but a pivotal event in American history!
One of these coins, extremely well preserved, was sold at auction in January 2013 for a record $10 million.
It was not only the remarkable state of preservation of this particular coin that made it special, however, but also the evidence that it may have been the first silver dollar ever minted by the U.S. Mint – even a presentation piece.
The obverse of the coin depicts a profile of Liberty with flowing hair surrounded by 13 stars, and the reverse depicts a standing American eagle.
More than 2,000 of these coins were minted, but no more than 120 to 130 are believed to still exist, so finding one would be akin to stumbling upon a winning lottery ticket.
Its historical importance combined with its unimaginable scarcity makes the Flowing Hair Dollar one of the most prized possessions in American numismatics.
8 Rare Coins Novel; The Brasher Doubloon: A Colonial Masterpiece
Prior to the U.S. Mint, several types of gold coins circulated in the American colonies, and were made by private goldsmiths.
No one is more legendary than the Brasher Doubloona design by Ephraim Brasher, a prominent 18th-century New York goldsmith who also was a neighbor of George Washington.
One of these miniature, one-of-a-kind coins found a buyer in 2021 who was willing to pay $9.36 million (proof of its status as perhaps the single most important pre-federal American coin).
Brasher’s design has a rising sun on the obverse and on the reverse an eagle with a shield, holding arrows on one side and an olive branch on the other — images which would later find their way to official U.S. coinage.
One of the most interesting aspects of these coins is Brasher’s “EB” counterstamp, varied in location from one coin to another.
The most valuable examples feature this mark on the breast of the eagle, rather than the wing — a tiny detail that can command millions of dollars more for the coin.
With only a few dozen Brasher’s known, the Brasher Doubloon is the pinnacle of colonial American coinage.
8 Rare Coins The Liberty Head Nickel of 1913: The Coin That Should Never Have Been
Some of the most valuable coins are those that were never intended to exist in the first place. And the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, is no exception.
Discovered in a manner that defies all dor,lbt, the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is a coin that technically shouldn’t even exist but somehow it did and passed through the hands of collectors like you.
The U.S. Mint had replaced the Liberty Head Nickel with the Buffalo Nickel by 1913, when suddenly, five nickels dated 1913 cropped up in collector’s circles.
They were never officially released, and so much interest and speculation has always surrounded the coins—pattern pieces, special-issue proofs, perhaps even something more secretive?
Only five are known to exist, and they have achieved mythical status in the collecting world. In 2018, when one of these nickels was put up for auction, it sold for $4.56 million.
In the past, these coins changed hands for $3.7 million to $5 million each, which underscores their enduring allure to the upper echelons of collectors.
The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel has appeared in novels, TV series and has served as the centerpiece of an episode of “Hawaii Five-O,” helping cement its status not only in numismatic history, but in popular culture.
8 Rare Coins 1787 Brasher Doubloon EB on Breast: A Colonial Rat Rarity
Even though we talked about the Brasher Doubloon earlier, the variety you’ll want with Ephraim Brasher’s “EB” or “EB Counterstamp” punch on the eagle’s breast gets its own entry because it’s virtually unknown and commands an extraordinary price.
And in 2011, this specific version became one of the world’s most expensive coins when it was purchased for an astonishing sum of $7.4 million.
The distinctive element of this variety is in its extremely rare form: the eagle’s wing in most known Brasher Doubloons has a discreet hallmark, whereas this issue has the hallmark more prominently placed than against the breast.
This subtle variant is a big deal to advanced collectors as the breast punch mark is considered the older, rarer version.
The historical importance of this coin should not be understated. Minted at a time when the United States was trying to find their financial footing, the Brasher Doubloon signifies a key time-period in history when the nations’ dollars was changing from the early colonial coins and large cents of the individual colonies and moving towards a unified federal monetary system.
8 Rare Coins The Dollar 1804 Draped Bust Dollar – The “King of American Coins”
The 1804 Silver Dollar has been referred to by many at “The King of American Coins” and when you take one look at it, it’s easy to see why!
Despite its date, no silver dollars had been struck in 1804. Rather, they had been struck in the 1830s as presentational items for foreign diplomats during the administration of President Andrew Jackson.
A mere 15 are believed to be extant, in three varieties dictated by their date of production. Most valuable are the Class I specimens, originally made as diplomatic gifts.
One such coin that was given to the Sultan of Muscat was sold in 1999 for $4.1 million, a price that would be even more impressive if the coin were to come to auction today.
The obverse depicts Liberty with a draped bust, while the reverse shows an eagle. It’s the extreme rarity, mysterious origin, and historical significance of this coin that takes it another coin that is one of the prized pieces in any advanced collection.
Finding one of these would be like stumbling upon a tiny piece of American diplomatic history in your pocket.
8 Rare Coins The 1343 Edward III Florin: Gold Masterpiece From the Middle Ages
After leaving American coinage, we discover that some amazing treasures from the other side of the Atlantic are equally worth a fortune!
The Edward III Florin | Britain’s Greatest Sovereign Rarity The 1343 Edward III Florin – The Rare “Double Leopard” – The 1343 Florin – One Of England’s Rarest Coins The 1343 Edward III Florin or Double Leopard is widely regarded as England’s rarest coin.
There are only three specimen known to exist today – two in the British Museum and one in private ownership.
The privately held specimen, found by a metal detectorist in 2006, had sold at auction for £480,000 about $850,000 at the time, a record for a British coin.
This coin is highly sought after due to it’s detailed obverse displaying King Edward III seated on his throne alongside leopards, and with a religious inscription encompassing the design.
The obverse displays the Royal Cross in a complex quatrefoil. Produced at a time when England was in the process of re-oranising its system of coinage, this is a significant though short-lived experiment with the medieval English coinage.
Were it to reappear at auction today, experts suggest it would likely bring several million dollars given its unparalleled rarity and historical importance.
2007 $1 Million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf: Modern Minting Marvel By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandezmoderncoinwholesale.com While the United States has struck its share of monster coins over the years, nothing prepared North American coin collectors for the sheer enormity of the 2007 $1 million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf.
Last but not least and rounding out our list is a modern release that helps remind us of how far mints have come with their creation of some amazing new coins.
In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint produced six Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins with a face value of $1 million each, these 100 kilograms (220 pounds), 99.999% pure gold coins have a $5 million (CAD) value.
How much is a Canadian $1 million dollar gold coin actually worth? When one of these 400-ounce coins was sold at auction in 2010, it went for around $4.1 million. With the rise in gold prices since that time, those coins today would be worth far more.
The coins are valuable beyond their metal content, having become infamous in a dramatic 2017 heist when one was stolen from a museum in Germany.
Three men were convicted of the crime later, but the coin itself has never been found and is believed to have been melted down.
At 53 centimeters in diameter and 3 centimeters thick, these are not pocket change, but represent an interesting crossroads between bullion investment and numismatic collecting.
8 Rare Coins Do You Have a Fortune in Your Pocket?
While the four coins we’ve covered today are incredibly rare and will likely never find one sitting in your pocket change, there are plenty of other valuable coins you could find in circulation.
The 1943 copper penny, 1955 doubled die penny and certain state quarters not intended for the public are all valuable coins that have turned up in circulation and are worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Knowledge is the key to finding potentially valuable coins. Find out how to spot rare varieties, get a good magnifying glass and probably most importantly, never clean coins! Even a little light cleaning can greatly diminish the value of a coin to collectors.
Nor is the fact that the rare-coin trade, no matter what state you’re in, prizes authenticity above all else. Fakes unfortunately are a a lot of times for the most valuable kind.nikspector / Getty Images 9.
If you think you’ve stumbled across something special, have an honest numismatist or coin dealer verify the item before getting too excited.
Rare Coin Index of the Future
The ultra-high-end coin market has demonstrated remarkable strength in the past several years, with six of the ten most valuable coins ever brought to market having traded hands in the past three years alone.
That indicates an increasing appetite for numismatic treasures, particularly at the upper end of the market.
Amid worries about inflation, which tends to prompt investors to search for something tangible to pile into, rare coins have both intrinsic metal value and a historical and sometimes cultural cachet that cannot be duplicated.
Cryptocurrency may be the new-age digital gold, but these physical treasures have outlived the test of time – some for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Whether you’re a serious collector or merely enchanted by tiny pieces of history, the tales behind these coins prove that these ordinary items can sometimes hold extraordinary value.
So the next time you feel like spending that peculiar looking penny or quarter, then maybe give it a second thought – you never know what could be hiding.
From there, it’s off to a world where rare coins can be mined like gold nuggets; a world where they shine like a neon sign to collectors with an eye for the rarest of the rare.
A coin auction that breaks records in the very near future could include a piece that is sitting right now, forgotten in an attic collection or thrown into a jar of old pennies. It might even be yours.