Coins can sometimes be more valuable than their face value or worth in the metal they have been cast in. Sometimes, they can even be worth millions of dollars. But, for that to be the case, they have to be rare and have some particular story attached to them. There have been more than a few such coins in the history of the United States. Today, we are going to look into the three of the most valuable ones.
1822 Capped Bust Gold $5 Half Eagle
There are only three 1822 Capped Bust Gold $5 Half Eagle specimens known to be in existence despite 17,796 coins being minted. Two are being held by the Smithsonian Institution, while only one is held in private hands. If the privately-owned 1822 Capped Bust Gold $5 Half Eagle even hits the market, it is estimated it would fetch a price of more than $10 million.
1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar
The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar is highly sought-after among collectors because it is the first dollar coin issued by the U.S. federal government. It is estimated that only between 120 and 150 of these coins remain in existence. One of these coins, featuring a silver plug and believed to have been the first coin to come out from the press, was sold at an auction in 2013 for $10 million.
1933 Double Eagle
This is arguably the most valuable coin of all time. Around 445,500 specimens of 1933 Double Eagle coins, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and with a denomination of $20, were minted, but they never went into circulation. Instead, they were melted down, with two being kept for the U.S. National Numismatic Collection. However, it was later discovered that an additional 20 specimens of the 1933 Double Eagle coin were somehow stolen and made their way to collectors. Nine of those coins were recovered and destroyed, and 10 are held at the United States Bullion Depository because it is illegal to privately own them. The remaining coin was sold to collector Stuart Weitzman in the early 2000s before being re-sold in 2021 for $18.9 million.