Wealthy coin collectors will pay huge sums of money for desirable coins. For the uninitiated, it often does not make sense, but to a numismatist, these small bits of metal are a valuable piece of history. Here are a few coins that have commanded incredible sale prices.
St. Gaudens Gold Double Eagle (1933) – sold for £6.4 million in 2002
You’d think that this coin was extremely rare. However, there were over 450,000 of these coins struck. It was the fact that almost all of them were melted down when new laws were passed to make gold ownership illegal that its value was destined to skyrocket!
The coin found its way into the personal collection of King Farouk. His collection was eventually sold in 1952, and the coin went mysteriously missing. It didn’t show up again until 1996 in the USA. It was decided that the coin would be sold, and it went to a private collector in 2002 for an eye-watering £6.4 million pounds.
The Flowing Hair Dollar – sold for £8.5 million in 2013
Sold in 2013 for an incredible £8.5 million pounds, the flowing hair dollar was a highly sought-after and indeed very rare coin. This year was the first that the US Mint produced silver dollars, and multiple characteristics of this coin would suggest that it was possibly the first coin struck.
The coin shows an earlier die state than any other known specimens. It is the only one like it with proof-like fields. We can all agree that this is an incredible coin… I wonder what the insurance is like?
Liberty Head Nickel (1913) – sold for £3.8 million
You may have heard of this one as it’s well-known in the numismatics world. There were only five Liberty nickels that were struck in 1913 – amazingly, they were all unauthorized.
Laws at the time only allowed buffalo nickels to be minted in 1913, but legend has it that a few rebellious Mint employees struck a few illicit coins!!
These famous coins have been smashing records since the early 70s. In fact, one was the first coin to sell for over $100,000 (£84,000). In 1996, another coin became the first to sell for over $1 million (£848,000). The current record for the highest-selling Eliasberg coin sold in 2018 for $4.5 million (£3.8m).
Ephriam Brasher on Breast Brasher Doubloon (1787) - sold for £6.1 million
Ephraim Brasher was a member of the New York Provincial Army in 1775 and 1776, serving the role of grenadier. was a prominent New York City gold and silversmith who was often asked to weigh and verify the authenticity of foreign gold coins for customers.
He proposed to mint copper coinage for the state of New York. The state refused his proposal but Brasher decided to produce instead a few gold coins, now known as Brasher Doubloons. All bear his distinctive stamp, although only one has it on the breast.
This unique coin was sold for a whopping £6.1 million in 2011.
Bust Dollar (1804) – sold for £3.4 million
Among the Numismatic community, the Bust Dollar is well known. The 1804 dollars have an interesting history as there were no dollars with this date produced in this year! However, in the 1830s a number of 1804 dollars were minted as diplomatic gifts.
These are now known as Class I dollars. When the rarity of the coin became public knowledge, managers working at the mint struck additional coins to line their own pockets. These are known as class II and class III samples.
Umayyad Caliphate Gold Dinar – sold for £5 million
Umayyad Caliphate Gold Dinar was the first gold coin struck by Islamic rulers. It was minted in Damascus, Syria in the year 75 AH (695-696 CE). The Umayyads were the first Muslim dynasty to rule over a vast empire that stretched from North Africa to Central Asia. The Umayyad Caliphate Gold Dinar bears the inscription "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God". The obverse of the coin depicts a standing figure of the Caliph holding a sword in his right hand and a globus cruciger (symbol of authority) in his left. The reverse side of the coin shows a circular inscription within Laurel wreath. Umayyad Caliphate Gold Dinar represents an important moment in the history of Islamic numismatics.
The Umayyad Caliphate Gold Dinar is the most valuable world coins. It was sold in 2011 and is just one of two coins to mention it’s location on the actual coin. This seems to suggest it may have been made from gold from the Caliph’s mine. It’s one of the oldest coins related to the Haj Pilgrimage.