Listed below are the top ten most valuable US Coins. Prices based on actual auction results, private offers for these prohibitively rare coins, and prices estimated for coins that are not for sale, such as those in public hands such as part of the National Collection at the Smithsonian Museum. The coins listed here are from the 18th to 20th Centuries.
These may not necessarily be the top ten rarest coins, but they are unquestionably the most valuable. That list would include some of these coins, but rarity is not the sole, nor final arbiter of value. Supply and demand have a significant impact as well. The coins on this list are historic.
- 1849 $20 Gold Double Eagle – Unique Smithsonian Collection $16,607,181
- 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, Silver Plug, Rare $10,915,030
- 1933 $20 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle $8,216,057
- 1822 $5 Gold Capped Bust Half Eagle $7,753,650
- 1870-S $3 Gold Princess – Unique $6,310,419
- 1804 Draped Bust Silver Dollar – First Reverse – Class I $5,287,452
- 1913 Liberty Nickel $4,234,789
- 1854-S $5 Gold Liberty Half Eagle $4,233,494
- 1804 $10 Turban Head Gold Eagle, Plain 4, Proof $4,232,389
- 1907 $20 Gold Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle – Ultra High Relief $3,376,344
Valuable Contemporary Coins
Difficult as it may be to believe, but there are coins in circulation today that, while not quite as valuable as those listed above, are still worth many thousands of dollars.
Some of those coins are as follows:
- 1943 Lincoln Cent – Made of Copper
- 1955 Lincoln Cent – Doubled Die Variety
- 1969-S Lincoln Cent – Doubled Die Obverse
- 1982 Roosevelt Dime – No Mint Mark
- 1999-P Connecticut State Quarter – Broadstruck
- 2004 Wisconsin State Quarter – with Extra Leaf
- 2005-P Kansas State Quarter – “In God We Trust” Variety
This list is not a complete listing of circulating coins with value that far exceeds its face value. There was a time when the coins on the top ten most valuable US coins list were simply circulating coinage as well. As world mints continue to produce circulating coinage, additional errors or rarities will continue to be found. The “thrill of the hunt” is part of the excitement, challenge and allure that is coin collecting.
