With the introduction of credit and debit cards, the use of cash is decreasing every year, as per Larry Franco, Head of Retail, BBVA USA. However, there were times when cash, especially coins, was the sole means of buying anything.
The purchasing power of a penny, nickel, dime, or even a dollar is very low today. But did you know that most older coins, especially ones that came out of the Mint with errors, could be worth a lot more than their face value? A fortune could be lying around in your house, so read on to find out their real values. They are Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) verified!
The 1999 Connecticut Regular Strike Quarter - $10-50
Designed by John Flanagan and T. James Ferrell, the typical 1999-O 25 Cents Connecticut (Regular Strike) quarter weighs 5.67 grams and is made of a 1:3 ratio of nickel and copper, as per PCGS. Just over 688.7 million of them were issued, and although they were all meant to be used at face value (25 cents), a selected few had errors.
As per U.S. Coin Guide, doubled die Connecticut quarters can range from $10 to $20, whereas off-center ones can go as high as $50. If you come across a quarter with the design erased but the date still intact, you may be in for a treat of hundreds of bucks.
The 1995 “Doubled Die Liberty” Penny - $54
With a diameter of 19 millimeters and a mass of 2.5 grams, the doubled die 1995 Lincoln Memorial Cent is a copper-plated zinc penny designed by Frank Gasparro. Since pennies are literally the least valuable form of money, you would hardly want to look at one twice.
Well, you might be motivated to search for pennies after reading this. According to USA Coin Book, the rare double engraving of the words "LIBERTY" and "IN GOD WE" on some of these coins can make each of them worth as high as $54. Yes, that's 5,400 times higher than its face value.
The 2005 P “In God We Rust” Kansas Quarter - $50
According to PCGS, 263.4 million 2005-P Kansas (Regular Strike) quarters were created at the Philadelphia mint. However, a few of them came with a pretty serious error that you wouldn't usually see. Instead of a doubled die situation, this coin missed the whole "T" in the word "Trust" due to a grease die situation.
Yes, that means it reads "IN GOD WE RUST." If you come across one of these bad boys, know that you can get at least $50 for it from a coin collector. Somehow, this price is only paid for uncirculated coins that do not even contain a faint "T."
The 2004 “Extra Leaf Low” Wisconsin Quarter - $100-$145
Who in their right mind would start counting the leaves on a corn cob of a quarter when they get one? Well, someone did, and it made a whole lot of others lucky. This 2004 Wisconsin quarter, dubbed the "Extra Leaf Low Variety," was designed by William Cousins.
Some of it had an extra lower-hanging leaf on the bottom left side of the corn cob, which shot its value up to $100-$145 for a mint condition one. Don't worry; if you come across a used/circulated one in average condition, it can still be sold for about $38.
The 2004 “Extra Leaf High” Wisconsin Quarter - $118-$173
Funnily enough, the "Extra Leaf Low" variety was only one part of the erroneous 2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter. There was another batch with a near-identical mistake. You wouldn't believe it, but the other lot was "Extra Leaf High" because the extra leaf on the same place stood high instead of hanging low.
These Denver-minted coins are rare to find, which is why one in circulation could be sold for $50, while an uncirculated one could sell for anywhere between $118 to $173. Finding rare coins seems like a good side hustle right about now, doesn't it?
The 1977 “Double Ear” Penny - $450
Weighing 3.11 grams, the 1977 Lincoln cent was made with 95% copper and just 5% zinc. It was designed by Victor David Brenner, and Frank Gasparro, who we're sure never planned to give Abe Lincoln two earlobes. Instead, it was one of those freak errors.
Some of these pennies came out with Lincoln having two earlobes, and it was so rare that people are now willing to pay $450 to get their hands on one. There are nearly 4.5 billion of the 1977 Lincoln pennies out there although, only some of them have this grave mistake (no pun intended). It won't hurt to keep an eye out!
The 1999 “Wide AM” Penny - $545
We should all applaud whoever caught on these minute errors in the 1999 Lincoln Memorial Cent. For starters, the two varieties are differentiated with the names "close AM" and "wide AM." The latter is the erroneous (and expensive) one, selling for as high as $545 if found.
According to USA Coin Book, the gap between the letters "AM" in the wide one is much larger than the other. Furthermore, the letters "FG" are also said to be located much closer to the Lincoln Memorial Building on the other side of the coin in the "wide AM" one.
The 2007 “Godless” Presidential Dollar - $40-$60
When we say "Godless" dollar, we don't mean money meant for atheists. Instead, it didn't bear the inscription "In God We Trust" that is usually seen on the coins in the United States. It was more than a small error as the erroneous "Godless" dollar count was said to be between 50K to 300K, as per PCGS.
The right coins contained the date, mintmark, and the writings "In God We Trust" as well as "E Pluribus Unum," but the glitched ones missed both the first inscription and the date. Even though the price of one went as high as $600 initially, it reportedly dropped to $40-$60.
The 2005 “Speared Buffalo” Nickel - $1,000
Joe Fitzgerald and Jamie Franki designed the plain-edged 2005-D 5C Speared Bison (Regular Strike) nickel. The five-cent coin was made at the Denver mint and had a 21.2-millimeter diameter while weighing exactly five grams. Among the 487.6 million of it issued, a fair few went with a die gouge/crack.
This gouge went right through the buffalo on the coin, making it look as if it was speared in the middle. These are worth between $50 and $100, although, if graded by PCGS or NGC in MS66, the price can rocket up to $1K.
The 1982 “No Mint Mark” Dime - $250
The average dime clinking in your pocket may only be able to buy you anything only worth ten cents. But believe us when we say there are a few that can earn you a whole lot more. Thanks to a Mint worker who forgot to include the mint mark into the die, a few thousand dimes got out with no mark for the first time.
Eight to ten thousand of those with a strong strike were found in Sandusky, Ohio, whereas a further three to five thousand were located in Pittsburgh. Uncirculated dimes of the strong variety can sell for over $250 while the weak ones for $70 and up.
The 1964 Kennedy Silver Half Dollar - $20
After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the United States Congress approved a 50-cent coin in honor of him. It was first issued in March 1964 although, they weren't seen in circulation much because collectors hoarded them upon release.
Even though the Kennedy Half Dollar is usually said to be around $20 for one in Mint condition, one of the early 90% silver ones was auctioned for as high as $47K in 2016, as per Coin Week. According to PCGS, the early batches of these coins are still among the top collectibles in United States numismatics.
The 1972 Double Die Penny - $703
The 1972 Lincoln Memorial Cent was designed by Frank Gasparro with a diameter of 19 millimeters and a mass of 3.11 grams. Minted in Philadelphia, this coin was one of the rare and highly worth doubled die obverse DDO varieties because the doubling of the word imprints is very clear.
The words "In God We Trust," "Liberty," and "1972" have all doubled in these coins. This 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc coin is usually valued at approximately $703. However, the uncirculated few can even have a higher value.
The 1935 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Token - $1,750
A quick glance at this coin, and you can tell that it looks pretty ancient. It dates back to 1935, when the government issued them to utilize the colonists of the Matanuska Valley Colonization Project as federal aid.
As per Heritage Auctions, these Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation tokens were only in use for a period of six months between 1935 and 1936, after which they were recalled and destroyed. However, these uncirculated ones hold a current "Red Book" value of $1,750. They come in a set of one, five, ten cents, and dollars, in addition to the 25-cent token.
The 2000 Sacagawea “Cheerios” Dollar - $2,746
When you see or hear the word "Cheerios," your mind is more likely to think of the popular cereal. In this case, you're not wrong. In the year 2000, a rare type of the 2000 P Sacagawea dollar was issued, and it later became known as the "Cheerios Dollar."
According to USA Coin Book, the US Mint collaborated with Walmart and Sam's Club to promote their new golden Sacagawea coin. Soon, the General Mills cereal company hopped on the trend and put one of the said coins in one in every 2000 Cheerios boxes. The price of one such dollar with the body's detailed tail feathers is around $2,746.
The 1937 Wheat “No Mint Mark” Error Penny - $72
Missing a single letter on a coin engraving cannot simply be overlooked as a typo in an email. Why? Because that one letter can be one of the most important marks on the money's writings, it can say a lot and add value to the coin.
Among the 309 million wheat pennies that went out in 1937 were some that escaped the Philadelphia Mint Mark (letter P). They came to be more valuable than their face value, worth about $72 for a Proof Coin, as per USA Coin Book. An even rarer one among them, PCGS-certified and MS-68 Red-graded was sold for a whopping $7.2K in 2019.
The 2000 Sacagawea “Dollar with Errors” - $8,000-$16,000
As humans, we all make mistakes pretty frequently. However, some of them are more serious than others. Errors made by Mint employees will be a celebratory factor for coin collectors because they get a brand new addition to their gallery.
In the above case, the 2000-P Sacagawea dollar was accidentally struck on a Susan B. Anthony dollar copper-nickel clad planchet. This was an extremely rare occurrence, especially considering that this happened from one leftover SBA planchet. According to Sullivan Numismatics, only about six or seven such coins were found, and they went for massive price tags between $8K to $16K.
The 1882 Hawaiian Plantation Token - $7,187
Seeing the word "token" in place of "coin" is a giveaway to the fact that it is pretty old. In this case, the Hawaii Plantation token dates as far back as 1882. It wasn't exactly available for the use of the general public. Instead, it was considered a currency for the Haiku Sugar Company workers, hence the name.
A well-made token, the markings are defined on the crimson copper surface and are still very much preserved over a century later. Fun fact—plantation tokens were called "rial" and had a denomination of 12.5 cents, as per PCGS. They also reported that one of them was sold at $7,187 in 2009.
The 1970 Small Date Penny - $40
The designer Frank Gasparro's 1970 S Lincoln Memorial Cent is a copper alloy penny that measured 19 millimeters and 3.11 grams like most of them do. However, the San Francisco Mint had used two dies to produce these coins in 1970, after which one batch had the date imprint larger than the other.
In the small variety (as pictured above), all numbers in 1970 were aligned equally, whereas, in the large variety, the "7" stood a little below the "9." That wasn't the only difference, though. The engraving on the word "LIBERTY" was quite different too. According to the U.S. Coin Guide, the 1970 small date penny is worth over $40.
The 1906 US Philippines Peso - $43,200
Designed by Melecio Figueroa, the 1906-S U.S. Philippines Peso (Regular Strike) was much bigger and heavier than the average coin today. It has a diameter of 38 millimeters and a mass of 26.95 grams. Only 201K of it was produced with a silver to metal ratio of 9:1.
According to PCGS, these coins are so rare because they were recoined due to the rising price of silver at the time—a process during which most of them were lost. However, on the rare occasion that you find one, know that one of them was auctioned for as high as $43.2K by Heritage Auctions in 2020.
The 1969 Double Die Penny - $126,500
Here, we look at the 1969-S Lincoln Memorial Doubled Die Obverse (Regular Strike) came to be extremely rare after some of it was destroyed with the counterfeit lot produced by Roy Gray and Morton Goodman. With that, their value shot over the roof, with the highest auction sale to this day recorded as $126.5K by PCGS. It was also a sale made by Heritage Auctions in 2008.
This particular coin was designed by Victor David Brenner and Frank Gasparro, created with 95% copper and 5% zinc before being released by San Francisco.
The 1849 Gold Mormon Coins - $92,000
Not much information about the 1849 Mormon (Regular Strike) Gold coin is available because it's over 170 years old. According to Walter Breen, the estimated number of the said coins issued is somewhere around 5,340. The highest one of these coins have ever sold was at Stack's in 2006 for $92K.
According to PCGS, the gold used to manufacture these "underweight and debased" coins was neither extracted from Salt Lake City nor anywhere remotely close to Utah. Instead, they're rooted back to the goldfields of California.
The 1974 Aluminum Penny - $250,000
Due to the increasing price of copper, the United States Mint intended to make coins with aluminum. Even though more than 1.5 million were produced, they weren't released to the public and instead were given to congressmen seeking approval.
Following their rejection, these 1974 coins were recalled although, not all of them were returned. Therefore, people rarely come across the few that are still out there, which can be sold for even $250K. That's right, Heritage Auctions sold one 1974-D aluminum cent for that price once. Find one of these bad boys, and all your financial problems will go away.
The 1975 “No S” Dime - $516,000
If you are already here, you may recall reading through a couple of coins with no Mint marks. Well, here we have another one. The 1975 10C "no S" dime (proof), as the name suggests, escaped the San Francisco Mint mark.
Not all the 2.8 million produced had this issue, but it was a little too late for some of the early batches. It's very rare, so much so that it sold for a whopping $516K in 2019 to an anonymous Roosevelt dime collector, as per Numismatic News. Its previous sale was a close $456K.
Morgan Silver Dollar - $12,000
The Morgan Silver dollar coin was produced in the United States for over two decades between 1878 and 1904, 1921, and even in 2021. It was minted as a special non-circulating coin in 2021, though. It was designed by George T. Morgan (hence the name).
Seeing as this coin has a 90% silver composition, we’re not surprised that it’s much more valuable than its face value. The price of the Morgan Silver dollar could vary depending on the year. According to CoinTrackers.com, an 1878 coin in mint condition can be $12K while the 1895 proof was once sold for $269.5K.
Walking Liberty Half Dollar - $11,456
Designed by Adolph A. Weinman, the Walking Liberty silver 50-cent coin was minted between 1916 and 1947. According to JM Bullion, it is one of the best designs in the United States' coin history. We can second that too.
These pieces can have a starting price of $10 and sell for thousands of dollars depending on the condition. Of course, 90% of its 12.5-gram mass being silver contributes to the price too. The one pictured above is from 1945, minted at Philadelphia, and holds an auction record of $11,456 from Legend Rare Coin Auctions in 2018.
Copper Wheat Penny - $100,000
The Lincoln Wheat pennies have been around for over a century. That's right, they date back to 1909 and went on to be issued until 1942, only start again in 1944. What we have pictured above is the 1943 copper cent, which, according to Coin Trackers, can be sold for as high as $100K.
In fact, its first sale dates back to 1958 when it went for a whopping $40K back then. Price can also vary given its condition. According to the United States Mint, only around 40 of the 1943 copper cents remain in existence.
The 1894-S Barber Dime - $2 Million
Just as anyone wouldn't leave a lump of cash or a bar of gold lying around for anyone to find, they also shouldn't tell anyone if they own an 1894-S Barber dime. Why? Because this particular coin is now worth more than its face value—WAY MORE!
According to USA Coin Book, this little guy has the ability to get you anything between $1 million to $2 million. It is said to be extremely valuable and sought-after by coin collectors and even has a much higher melt value than any other piece we've looked at so far.
Sacagawea Dollar Double Denomination Mule Error - $192,000
If you are unsure what a mule error is, Coin World explains it as a piece made with mixed dies that weren't meant to be mixed in the first place. The double error was caused by the mixing of a George Washington State quarter dollar obverse die, and Sacagawea dollar reverse dies.
There are reportedly 19 such pieces found to this day, among which at least 15 are owned by a die-hard New Mexico collector named Tommy Bolack. In 2018, he purchased one such coin for a whopping $192K.
The 1804 Bowed Liberty Dollar - $4.14 Million
The 1804 Bowed Liberty Dollar has quite an interesting backstory. They weren't created to be used as a currency to the general public. Instead, they were minted to be used in special gift sets for diplomat Edmund Roberts's visits to Siam and Muscat.
Although marked 1804, these dollar coins were all produced during the 1830s. By 1885, they had a value of $1K, which rose to $30K in the mid-1900s and shot to a whopping $4.14 million in 1999. As you can imagine, wrongdoers took their chance at producing counterfeits because of their high-priced nature.
The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel - $4.56 Million
According to PCGS, only five of the 1913 5C Liberty Proofs were minted, which is most likely why it is one of the most highest-priced pieces in numismatics. Minted in Philadelphia weighing five grams, the Charles E. Barber designed coin had a copper to nickel ratio of 3:1.
This particular coin has been sold at several high prices over the decades, but the most recent sale was in 2018 when Stack's Bowers sold it at a record $4.56 million. Remember the design so you can make a fortune if you ever find one!