Rarest U.S. Coin Is Worth $20 Million
Filed under: Wealth
What is the most valuable United States coin? The coin, shown at right is the Smithsonian's 1849-dated "Double Eagle" $20 denomination gold piece. The unique coin was struck by the United States Mint in Philadelphia during the early days of the California Gold Rush. The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has rounded-up the 2011 PCGS Million Dollar Coin Club and their experts agree that this coin has gone up in value from an estimated $15 million last year to $20 million now. The first $20 gold piece struck at the United States Mint is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. It will be exhibited in Chicago in August at the World's Fair of Money.Here's a reason to start collecting, the group says that the most valuable rare coins have increased in value by an estimated 25 to 50 percent the past year. There are currently 235 historic U.S. coins valued at $1 million or more that are in private collections or museums (an estimated total combined value of $548.6 million).
"It was only 15 years ago that a coin first broke the million dollar mark at auction. That coin is the finest of only five known 1913 Liberty Head nickels, and in 1996 it sold for $1,485,000. It now is valued at $4,500,000," explained David Hall, President of Collectors Universe, Inc.of Santa Ana, California.
The 2011 PCGS Million Dollar Coin Club listing was compiled by Hall and Ron Guth, President of PCGS CoinFacts, in consultation with four other well-known professional numismatists: Jim Halperin, Co-Chairman of Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas; Kevin Lipton, President of Kevin Lipton Rare Coins, Beverly Hills, California; Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions; and Laura Sperber, President of Legend Numismatics, Lincroft, New Jersey.
Coins are some of the most easily passed down collectibles. They are small, often easily stored and immediately cherished as something of value which means they don't end up forgotten in an attic. Luxist reader Jerome sent us some photos of United States coins that he reports belonged to his late mother. The first was immediately recognizable to me as a Morgan silver dollar. The Morgan dollar takes its name from the designer, George T. Morgan and features a profile of Liberty wearing a "Liberty" coronet or small crown surrounded by stars on one side. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings.
When is a penny worth $1.7 million? The cent shown at right is no average coin, it's a one-of-a-kind Lincoln cent, mistakenly struck in 1943 at the Denver Mint in bronze rather than the zinc-coated steel used that year to conserve copper for World War II. It has been sold by 


We hear about a lot of counterfeit items from China but this one has coin collectors on alert. Five coin-collecting organizations have banded together to issue a warning. The 







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