Surprising Value: Uncommon Coins Worth More Than You Could Imagine

If you’re a coin collector, know of a coin enthusiast, or simply have spare change lying around the house, you may want to take a closer look at your collection. You might just be lucky enough to have a rare coin on your hands that could be worth thousands. Check out this list of some of the most rare and valuable coins out there!

This representation was supposed to be made in bronze. During the process, someone got confused, and instead there was a percentage printed on a copper-nickel mix. These accidental creations have sold for as much as $7,600.

Over time, these slights turn into something special, as is the case with this 1999 quarter. What makes this error unique is that the stamp actually sort of causes our first president’s head to protrude a tad from the coin. In hindsight, if you had gotten this as part of your change, you might have thought it was on purpose.

Walking Liberty was a half dollar that came out when a majority of our young men were deployed overseas. Just like how women purposely wore red during WWII to irritate Hitler, this design was meant to encourage shows of patriotism across the US. Due to shortages of everything, there weren’t many of these made.

One of the worst-hit areas was Alaska. In an effort to offer a fresh start to those most impacted, President Roosevelt used the Federal Emergency Relocation Administration to move citizens somewhere new and give assistance. These coins were part of that package. Over time, they were no longer needed and were sent to be melted back from whence they came. These $10 coins are now worth $1,750.

The only place that actually would take these coins as currency was sugar plantations. If only someone from that time period could see their worth nowadays. These tokens, which were almost completely useless back then, are now being sold for $11,000.

The main reason for that is that out of 24 ever made, only nine are believed to have made it this far out. Why were there only 24 dimes with Lady Liberty? You’ll have to ask the San Francisco Mint. They seem to do uncalled-for things more often than any other mint, as we’ll share more about later on.

There was a time when coins were made with precious metal. It just so happened that this was the last year the half dollars were made from 90% silver. In the following several years, the amount of silver in these silver dollars dropped by half. Beyond that time, the half dollars were made of other materials.

In the early 70s, the cost of copper was above logic. So, 1,500,000 of these aluminum versions were stamped out. Of course, just as these were going to get rolling out, the whole project was pushed off the table and into the trash. Not before some got out, though. One of these could buy you a house today.

As a promotion, these Sacagawea dollars were placed in an undisclosed number of Cheerios boxes. During an awkward turn of events, General Mills needed to employ the assistance of the U.S. Mint in order to see their contest through fruition. So, a different version of what the cereal manufacturer had put together was used. Only a handful have been recovered. If you happen upon a stale box of cereal with one, it would be like winning a contest, since you’d get almost $2,700 for it.

As you might have picked up from the image, there’s one glaringly obvious omission. Yep, instead of putting Sacagawea on her own coin, they put George Washington. So, you have a gold George on the front with the Sacagawea eagle on the back. It’s sad, but it’s true. So sad, in fact, that only 16 are known to exist.

As a slap in the face to our nation’s mascot and history, we have wounded the inspiring eagle on the back of this coin. We are left with what looks like the majority of an arrow piercing the mighty symbol’s side. There are 200 floating around today.

What made these dimes incomplete was the missing “S” that denotes where it was stamped. So, when you compound the factors that brought this collector’s coin into existence, it’s no surprise that it’s now worth half a million dollars!

The missing letter happened during production on one of the machines that were used to press the image. Apparently, an overabundance of grease accumulated over time had a lasting impact on the end result.

In an effort to give a facelift to the Presidential Dollar, the revamp took out the famous line, “In God We Trust.” Was it a statement? Was it happenstance? Perhaps an overlooked design omission. Whatever it was, it wasn’t missed.

More than 200 years later, these coins are highly sought after. It might be years before you find one since there are about a dozen left. Something you might not know unless you were a collector, is that the date is a lie. These dollars were not actually minted until the 1830s.

Just like with modern-day computers, sometimes things go wrong and there really is no decent explanation for it. Machines, like all technology, sometimes have a mind of its own. That’s the case here with the double-lobed Lincoln. Some view it as an offensive, hideous mess. Some can barely notice it.

Unlike the last penny, this one is a little more obvious. At first glance, you may assume that this penny meant business due to the bold text. Then, you notice the more defined Lincoln. No, he didn’t get a new design, he just got stamped. Twice.

The error shows up most easily in the “B” and “L”. While whoever was in charge of this flaw might have gotten in trouble two and a half decades ago, today they’d be pleased to know these coins are worth 5,000 times more than its face value, making it a $50 treasure.

This penny was so fantastic, it was too good to be true to the government. The reason was that it was so thoroughly stamped over and over that it looked like a fake that was trying too hard to be perfect. Unlike some double-stamp jobs, each letter here is amusing.

We know it was from the home of the Golden Gate Bridge due to the “S” signature. The text, once again, is emboldened on the penny. Also, the font size for the date is actually smaller than usual for the time. Such tiny detail could make you $37,000 richer.

Well, someone had to do it. This 1982 dime was the first coin ever made stateside that did not have a mark indicating which mint it came from. If you have some old coins in your pocket, you might want to keep a lookout for this one.

Rather, they wanted to make use of their findings. Turning money into more money. Imagine how these same people would feel to learn that their precious gold $20 coin was now worth closer to $20,000,000!

Since they would no longer count as currency, they were ordered to undergo a state-sanctioned meltdown. Two were donated to the Smithsonian. A couple of handfuls were rescued before destruction. If one were to be found on the market, it would have a listing price of $9 million.

You see, back in the day when trains were used to travel across vast distances, there was a strange thing wealthier men would do. They’d shoot buffalo from the train for sport. It was barbaric. This nickel was actually an accident, but it makes it look like there is a spear through the buffalo.

The San Francisco Mint wasn’t even built yet and it was still causing problems. This singular coin was designed and stamped to be part of the cornerstone of the Mint. Yet, somehow, it was exposed to the elements. Were there two of these coins made, purposely, to throw everyone off? Never put anything past San Francisco.

At this point in time, we, as a country, were still trying to figure out what we wanted our coins to look like. What made this one different from the other coins in 1793 was the addition of “America” as well as removing the periods on the front after “Liberty” and the date.

This penny did not party like it was 1999, clearly. The “A “was beefing with “M” in the word “America” on the back. On every other penny, the two are so close they practically touch. What happened between these two? We may never know.

What makes this particular dime so interesting to collectors, aside from Lady Liberty being able to have a seat, is the lack of arrows surrounding the year. She was as special then as she is 150 years later.

As time went on, and the US saw its way out of the Philippines, these were melted down because they were 100% silver. Any remaining coins could fetch a pretty penny, or peso, today. The last authentic peso was sold for $40,000 in 2019.

This 1937 penny was brought to life in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, someone forgot about marking it so it’s sort of naked, as far as pennies go. We don’t come across change as much as we used to, as a society, but going forward you might want to stay on the lookout for these pennies.

Maybe she thought it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. Maybe the artist thought it was important for the structural integrity of the image.

Whether you find a quarter with a high or low leaf, you’ll still be making money, but the high leaf has a bigger payout. If you have this storied piece, it’s worth around $168.

So, the agreement was that starting in 1943, the pennies would be comprised of steel instead. These were called war pennies at the time. In the transition to steel, there were some copper sheets mixed into the new year’s batch. By accident, about 40 copper pennies from 1943 were stamped.

Religious people alike were also in the chaos of gold rushing. Those who would identify as Latter-day Saints participated in the hunt and managed to discover some of the shiny stuff to bring back home. Thus, the $5 coin was born.

In 2018, this buffalo nickel sold for $4,500,000. It’s hard to imagine how many hands this coin has passed through since 1913.

This particular coin was part of the first batches of production. It sold for about $10 million in 2010 but the value increased even more to match inflation in recent years.

A total of seven were produced but only one has the initials of the creator (E.B.) which makes it one of the most valuable coins in the world.

Three of this kind of coin have been uncovered between 1857 and 2006. The most recent coin was found in England by metal detector. Imagine that kind of luck!

The most recent of which was sold for almost $5.5 Million in 2017. The inscription on the coin translates to “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hijaz”. The original price of this coin is a mystery lost in history.

Only 6 of these huge coins were made, which is why they are so valuable today. The most recent was sold in 2010 for more than $5 Million. We wonder how they were able to carry it home!

Two of the five are in museums on display while the other three are in private collections. The most recent was bought in 2018 for $4.5 million, which would be more than $5 million today.

However, one batch was made from copper instead and 20-40 of these pennies are still hanging around today. The different versions cost more or less. Some versions are worth between $100,000 and $500,000. The most expensive of which is worth more than $2 million.

However, they do hold a spot on the “most expensive coins ever sold on eBay” list. Many of this kind of coin have sold for thousands of dollars. The most expensive of which are from the year 1893.