The best way to find out if your coins are worth money is getting a professional coin appraisal, especially if you’re thinking of selling your coins. You can research ahead of time to get an idea of the possible coin categories that could be worth money and rule out obvious duds, but only a qualified appraiser can make the final determination.
No matter the coin domination ($0.01, $0.05, $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, and $1), or whether you have been coin collecting, found them on the ground, or have them in a jar, or inherited a collection of coins, they can be worth more than just spare change.
There is no way to know exactly which coins are worth more than their face value without doing some research. And, there is no way to know which coins are worth serious or life-changing money without having an expert look at them.
Coinfully offers a free, zero-pressure coin appraisal to help you learn more about any coins in your collection, including their worth. Reach out if you have any coins and want a professional to give you an exact price.
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What Makes Your Coins Worth Money?
Some things to consider when trying to figure out the worth of coins are mintage, material, errors, survival rate, type, and condition.
If a coin is worth a lot of money, it will have one or more of the following:
- Mintage: The amount of coins produced in one year at a certain mint is that coin’s mintage. Coins are produced in different quantities each year. The coins produced in lower quantities, or mintage, tend to be worth more than ones with higher mintage.
- Material: Coins made from precious metals, like silver and gold coins, are worth more due to their metal value. Depending on the percentage of precious metal, it can add a little to the price of your coins or a lot. Selling coins made of gold will always be worth more thanks to their gold value.
- Error: Sometimes during production, a batch of coins can come out differently than planned. This can happen in several ways, from typeset to coin features being misprinted. Since these error coins are supposed to be melted down, the ones that make it out can be extremely rare.
- Survival Rate: With older coins, the amount that still exists is far less than the amount minted. This is due to coins being melted down, destroyed, or simply lost. Coins with only a handful still in existence are usually worth more than ones with hundreds or thousands remaining.
- Type: With every denomination of coin there are several different types, where the head and/or tail designs (or obverse and/or reverse designs) of the coin are different. Older designs that are no longer being minted tend to hold at least a little more value than the current coins being minted. Everyone knows about the Lincoln wheat penny versus the Lincoln Memorial or shield pennies.
- Condition: The final thing determining your coin’s worth is its condition. When a coin gets closer to mint condition it becomes a more expensive coin. If two coins are exactly the same in every aspect except condition, the one closer to a mint state will be worth more. With some very rare coins, the condition is not as important to coin collectors.
All of these help determine if a rare coin is worth money.
Having Trouble Figuring Out If Your Coins Have Worth?
If you are having trouble figuring out your coins’ worth, get a coin appraisal.
If you are unsure about any of the coins you own, an expert can tell you what they are worth during an appraisal.
Appraisals can tell you more than just what your coins could sell for. Your appraiser should be able to tell you exactly which features contribute to your coin’s worth. The experts at Coinfully want to make sure you know as much as you can about your coins after an appraisal. Coinfully offers zero-pressure, 100% free, online or at-home appraisals with top numismatic experts.
Valuable Coins To Look For
Since there is not just one thing that applies to every coin when figuring out if old coins are worth money, here are some key dates in each coin denomination to look out for.
Some of these will be coins in circulation worth money, others will be more expensive and collectable which means you might only find them in private collections or coin shows.
Pennies Worth Money
Keep an eye out for 1943 and 1944 steel wheat pennies.
In 1943, during World War II, the United States government was looking for ways to save on copper, so they removed it from pennies. The copper was replaced with steel which caused the pennies to become magnetic and 13% lighter.
In 1944 the same steel was used to make pennies by mistake. Less of the 1944 pennies were made with the same steel as the previous year. Since this was never supposed to happen and there are fewer than the 1943 steel pennies, the 1944 steel pennies have been sold for more. At an auction held by Heritage Auctions, one 1944 steel penny sold for $373,550 in 2008.
The fact that these years are made of steel instead of copper puts them high on the list of American coins worth money. Other valuable pennies include Indian Head Cents and Lincoln Cents.
Nickels Worth Money
1913 Liberty Head nickels are nickel coins worth more money than regular nickels.
In 1913 the Indian Head/buffalo nickel design replaced the Liberty head on the nickel. However, it seems that five nickels in 1913 were minted with Lady Liberty still on the head’s side of the coin. Of the five only two are in private collections, the last one sold for $3.7 million in 2010. The other three are in museums.
Like pennies, any nickels made during World War II (1942-1945) are made with different metal than normal years (56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese) and are also worth more.
Dimes Worth Money
The 1894-S Barber dime is one of the rarest US coins worth the most money.
For an unknown reason, 24 Barber dimes were minted at the San Francisco mint in 1894. All 24 were minted as proof coins. Out of those 24 dimes, only nine still exist. The most expensive dime was a 1894-S Barber dime that sold for $1.9 million in 2007.
Quarters Worth Money
Out of all coins worth money, quarters from 1796, or Draped Bust Quarter, as some of the most valuable.
In 1796 only 6,146 quarters were minted, most have been either lost or melted down. With many left, less in good condition are around. Though, in circulated condition, these quarters can sell between $11,500 and $100,000. Uncirculated versions of these coins can sell for $25,000,000, making these quarter coins worth the most money out of every quarter.
Half Dollar Coins Worth Money
The 1873-S Seated Liberty no arrows silver half dollar is claimed to be the rarest half dollar.
There were only 5,000 Seated Liberty silver half dollars without arrows minted in 1873 at the San Francisco mint. All of the 5,000 are believed to have been melted down. Owning one would mean that you have a half dollar worth a significant amount of money. Most believe it will be well over one million dollars.
One Dollar Coins Worth Money
Some dollar coins with high values are Morgan silver dollars or gold dollar coins.
Morgan silver dollar coins worth money were minted in San Francisco in 1893. These Morgan dollars are incredibly rare with good conditions of these coins worth $1,250,000.
Gold dollar coins were only minted between 1849 and 1889. The gold dollar coin worth the most money is the 1854-P Liberty gold dollar. An error version of that gold dollar has sold for $700,000 at auction.
What To Do With Your Coins After You Find Out Their Worth?
After you have found the worth of your coins your options are to keep or sell your collection.
There are many reasons why people want to keep their coins even after they find out the coin’s worth. The biggest of the reasons is that people are collecting the coins for themself and not to resell them. The other reason happens when people have inherited a coin collections they do not know what to do with, so keep them to feel close to the person who gave the coins to them.
The biggest reason people decide to sell their collections after they find out how much their coins are worth is that they would like the money.
When selling your coins, you can take them to most coin shops or collectors. If you do get an appraisal through Coinfully, you can sell your coins to the appraisers for the amount they said your coins are worth. This eliminates the need for you to carry your coins around from potential buyers to coin shops looking for the best price.
If you choose to sell your coins online after an appraisal you will send your coins to Coinfully and receive a check one business day after they receive your collections. For at-home appraisals the expert is able to write you a check right after telling you your coins’ worth.
Do not wait to find out the worth of your coins. Reach out to Coinfully if you have any questions or want to learn more about your coins and their worth.
