Oldest Coin In The World

‘The Lydian Lion' coin is believed to be by many experts the world's oldest coin. It originates from Sardis, Lydia (what is now known as the territory of Turkey), and was issued around 600 BC by King Alyattes. It's made from ‘electrum' or what we call ‘white gold' today, which is an alloy from gold and silver particles. Myself, Nibbler, Doug, and Leroy all spent the day digging at a 1700's farm and barn. This gracious farmer no longer plants so all the land was available to. Below, you'll find the value of old coins that you're most likely to find in the typical fashion — pocket change finds, coin roll searching, and as heirloom pieces. If you're looking for coin values that you don't see below, we'll tell you where else you can find an old coin's value at the very end of this article. Ephesus' great temple of Artemis has provided evidence for the earliest coins yet known from the ancient world. The first structures in the sanctuary, buried deep under the later temples, date back to the eighth century BCE, and from that time on precious objects were used in the cult or dedicated to the goddess by her worshippers.

Finding a treasure hidden in an old dresser drawer or the attic is the stuff of dreams. So is rooting through your jars of coins and coming up with a rare one that's worth serious money. Striking it rich is a remote possibility for folks who have built up a sizable collection of coins, but you may still be able to find some loose change that's worth a significant amount more than you would otherwise expect.

Many of the coins in the list below are not likely to be hiding in your attic, since they are tremendously rare, but not all of them are super expensive either. Some more recent examples (coins from the 20th century) may be relatively affordable and those are more likely to be tucked away someplace quiet or in a safe deposit box at your parents' bank.

Before you rush out to buy these coins - if you have a spare million sitting around for some of them - you'll want to hear from an expert coin collector, a numismatist, as they're called.

Educate yourself - watch out for fakes

'Coins are both a hobby and [an] investment,' says Warren Zivi, head numismatist and president at American Rarities, a coin dealer based in Boulder, Colorado. 'You have to make good choices in what you pick.'

For those getting into the field, it's important to understand what your goal is - to have a good time with your collection as a hobbyist or try to make some money as an investor.

Either way, says Zivi, you want to know what you're doing. His motto for new entrants to the field is 'Buy the book before you buy the coin.' The book he's referring to is 'A Guide Book of United States Coins,' known among experts as the 'Red Book.' He also recommends a subscription to Coin World, which includes current information on the state of the industry.

Zivi says that there's a lot of misinformation on the internet now about coins, with scammers taking a common coin and trying to sell it as a valuable coin on an auction site.

'There are tons and tons of fakes,' he says, so it's important to get access to expert knowledge, especially as you're starting out, so that you know what you're buying is indeed authentic. Still it can be difficult to spot a fake, even for the pros.

'Recently I had two individuals send us coins that were graded by a nationally recognized grader, and they turned out to be fake,' says Zivi.

More valuable coins offer the potential for higher profits for scammers, of course, but such coins are also very rare. Even if you're not paying millions of dollars for a coin, you want to know that you're getting what you pay for.

'It's easier than ever before to get an opinion on authenticity and valuation,' says Zivi. 'Buyers or sellers can send in pictures or even whole collections.'

7 of the most valuable coins in the world

Below are some of the most valuable coins in the world, but they're not all limited to museums and wealthy private collectors. A couple of these might just turn up in your couch cushions.

1. The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar

The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar may sit atop the rankings of the most expensive coin ever sold, at least for now. Some experts believe that it was the first silver dollar struck by the U.S. Mint. The front features a profile of Lady Liberty with flowing hair, while the reverse shows an American eagle. Fewer than 1,800 of these coins were ever produced, and one expert puts the number of remaining coins at between 120 and 130, so it's quite rare.

The coin sold at auction for just over $10 million in 2013.

2. The 1787 Brasher Doubloon

The Brasher Doubloon was made by Ephraim Basher, a New York City goldsmith and silversmith, in the late 18th Century. The front of the coin shows a state seal with a rising sun, while the reverse shows the American eagle with a shield. The coin is already rare, but certain versions of it have fetched various prices, depending on their specific characteristics.

A 2011 sale saw a version of the doubloon with Basher's signature EB on the breast go for nearly $7.4 million. A 2018 private sale of another doubloon with the signature EB on the bird's wing went for more than $5 million, according to Coin World.

3. The 1787 Fugio cent

The Fugio cent hasn't set the kind of astronomical records as the first two coins on this list, but it can still be a pricey collectible, and it has an interesting history to it. The Fugio cent, also known as the Franklin cent, after founding father Benjamin Franklin, may have been the first coin circulated in the newly formed United States.

In line with Franklin's humor, the coin shows a sun and sundial with the Latin motto 'fugio,' suggesting the sun and time are flying. At the bottom, the coin says 'mind your business,' an invocation for the bearer to literally pay attention to their business affairs. The reverse of the coin has the motto 'We are one' with 13 links in a chain to symbolize America's first 13 states.

Zivi suggests you could buy a Fugio cent for a few hundred dollars, making it relatively accessible for a coin with such an interesting history. Coins in better condition may go for a few thousand dollars and perhaps as high as $10,000, while extremely rare variants may sell for tens of thousands.

4. The 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar

The 723 Umayyad gold dinar is one of the most prized Islamic coins, and it was struck from gold mined at a location owned by the caliph. The coin bears the marking 'mine of the commander of the faithful' and it's the first Islamic coin to mention a location in Saudi Arabia. About a dozen examples of the coin are in existence, according to experts.

Rare Oldest Coin In The World

In 2011, the coin fetched 3.7 million pounds (about $6 million) at auction, the second-most expensive ever sold at auction. In 2019, another version of the coin was sold for the same amount in pounds, but the dollar value came to about $4.8 million.

5. The 1343 Edward III Florin

Another one of the world's most expensive coins is an oldie and goldie. The 1343 Edward III Florin is just one of three such gold coins known to exist. Two examples are housed in the British Museum in London, both of which were found in the River Tyne in 1857. The third coin was found by a prospector with a metal detector in 2006.

The front of the coin shows King Edward III on his throne with two leopards' heads on either side, while the reverse shows the Royal Cross inside a quatrefoil. Because of its design, the coin is also known as the Double Leopard.

The coin found in 2006 was sold at auction for 480,000 pounds, or about $850,000 - a record at the time for a British coin. It's now estimated that the coin is valued around $6.8 million.

6. The 1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny

Here's another coin that you just might find tucked inside a dresser sometime, and it's the conditions surrounding its production that make the 1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny interesting and valuable.

While pennies were normally made of copper and nickel, the U.S. needed the metals for war efforts, so the mint started using steel to produce the coin. But it mistakenly still struck a batch of pennies with copper, potentially because blanks remained in the press when the mint began making new steel pennies. Experts estimate that about 40 pennies of these exist, though some say fewer than 20 examples remain.

The U.S. Mint says these coins are frequently counterfeited because of the relative ease of coating steel pennies with copper and altering the date on coins struck in 1945, 1948 and 1949. But to see if the coin is actually steel, you can see if it sticks to a magnet.

While a regular steel 1943 Lincoln penny might fetch you 30 or 40 cents - again about 30 or 40 times more than its face value - the special copper versions fetched $204,000 at a 2019 auction. This specimen of the coin had been held by a man for some 70 years since boyhood after he found it at his school cafeteria.

7. The 2007 $1 Million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

The $1 million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin is a novelty coin, if there ever were one, and it tips the scales at a whopping 100 kilograms or about 220 pounds. Only six of the nearly pure gold coins have ever been made, as of early May 2020, and each has a face value of $1 million. They were used as a promotional showpiece for the mint's one-ounce Gold Maple Leaf coins.

In October 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records certified the coin as the world's largest gold coin. The coin's front shows Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse shows a Candian maple leaf. The coin is 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) wide and just over an inch thick.

The coin was sold at auction in 2010 for 3.27 million euros, or just over $4 million at the time.

BONUS: Check your change jars for these pre-1964 American silver coins

The 'silver' coins of today are not really made of silver, but these low denominations at one time were! Silver coins minted before 1964 contained 90 percent actual silver, and of the coins on this list, these are the most likely to be found floating around your house or in an old garage, tied up in a shoebox or a coffee can.

Such coins include the Morgan silver dollar, the Mercury dime, and even Washington quarters, says Zivi.

While some of these coins may have collectible value independent of their silver content, such as some of the Morgan silver dollars, the value of common coins is boosted by their bullion value. Some speculators focused on owning real silver may buy these coins for their precious metal content, rather than for their collector value.

Bottom line

Coin collecting can be a fun hobby, as you collate and sift through coins. But don't forget that making money on collectibles creates a tax liability, too. So before you decide to turn your hobby into a business - even a side gig - examine what taxes you'll owe on your profits. Unfortunately, a collectibles tax rate of 28 percent can be higher than rates on stocks and other financial assets.

(Featured image by MEIR JACOB / Getty Images.)

Learn more:

Money is something that we use to quantify the value of something. Each note or coin has a face value which is clearly shown, and this is the global system that is applied so that people can exchange money for products in the purchasing process. However, there are some coins that become significantly more valuable than their face value denotes. This is usually because they are extremely rare or very old. They may have been part of a limited production of a particular coin or be one of only a few remaining examples of a coin from a specific era in history. If this is the case, the coin becomes highly collectible and collectors are willing to pay huge sums of money to own the rare coins. Here are five of the most valuable coins that have been sold at auction and it may surprise you to learn how much someone was willing to pay to own such a small metallic object.

Most Valuable Coin In The World

5. Edward III Florin 1343 – $6.8 Million

It is the age of this coin that makes it as valuable as it is and is why someone was willing to pay $6.8 million for one at auction. When you consider that this coin has been around for more than 670 years, it is a wonder that any have survived. Just think about how many coins are lost from circulation over the years because people have dropped them down the drain or lost them down the back of the sofa. There are now only three known examples of an Edward III florin in existence. Therefore, it is one of the rarest of all the coins in the world.

4. The Brasher Doubloon 1787 – $7.4 Million

A Wall Street investment firm paid $7.4 million for a Brasher doubloon at auction. The coin was designed by Ephraim Brasher, who was a talented goldsmith. He wanted New York State to start minting coins using his design in copper. However, the state disagreed and said that they did not want coins made from copper. Brasher went ahead with his design anyway but minted most of the coins in bronze. He made just a few of 22-carat gold and it is these that are now so valuable.

3. The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle 1907 – $7.6 Million

Oldest Coin In The World For Sale

This is another coin that has sold at auction for $7.6 million. The coin was originally designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Unfortunately, this design was extremely complicated and it posed a problem as to how the United States Mint could produce such a coin. To simplify the design for commercial production, the Mint's chief engraver, Charles Barber, decided to make some modifications to the original design. He removed the phrase ‘In God We Trust' from the design of the coin. Congress were not pleased with this modification so, although it was produced, only a limited number were made. For this reason, the coin is now extremely rare and valuable.

Oldest Coin Ever

2. The Double Eagle 1933 – $7.6 Million

This coin has become so valuable because of a circumstantial quirk. This gold coin was pressed in 1933. However, the coin was never released into circulation. This was because President Franklin D. Roosevelt had banned everyone from owning gold in the same year. He did this as part of an attempt to bring the banking crisis to an end as the country's financial situation was causing devastating problems in the United States at that time. Despite them never being officially released, twenty of these coins slipped through the net and these coins now have a staggering value.

The 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar may sit atop the rankings of the most expensive coin ever sold, at least for now. Some experts believe that it was the first silver dollar struck by the U.S. Mint. The front features a profile of Lady Liberty with flowing hair, while the reverse shows an American eagle. Fewer than 1,800 of these coins were ever produced, and one expert puts the number of remaining coins at between 120 and 130, so it's quite rare.

The coin sold at auction for just over $10 million in 2013.

2. The 1787 Brasher Doubloon

The Brasher Doubloon was made by Ephraim Basher, a New York City goldsmith and silversmith, in the late 18th Century. The front of the coin shows a state seal with a rising sun, while the reverse shows the American eagle with a shield. The coin is already rare, but certain versions of it have fetched various prices, depending on their specific characteristics.

A 2011 sale saw a version of the doubloon with Basher's signature EB on the breast go for nearly $7.4 million. A 2018 private sale of another doubloon with the signature EB on the bird's wing went for more than $5 million, according to Coin World.

3. The 1787 Fugio cent

The Fugio cent hasn't set the kind of astronomical records as the first two coins on this list, but it can still be a pricey collectible, and it has an interesting history to it. The Fugio cent, also known as the Franklin cent, after founding father Benjamin Franklin, may have been the first coin circulated in the newly formed United States.

In line with Franklin's humor, the coin shows a sun and sundial with the Latin motto 'fugio,' suggesting the sun and time are flying. At the bottom, the coin says 'mind your business,' an invocation for the bearer to literally pay attention to their business affairs. The reverse of the coin has the motto 'We are one' with 13 links in a chain to symbolize America's first 13 states.

Zivi suggests you could buy a Fugio cent for a few hundred dollars, making it relatively accessible for a coin with such an interesting history. Coins in better condition may go for a few thousand dollars and perhaps as high as $10,000, while extremely rare variants may sell for tens of thousands.

4. The 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar

The 723 Umayyad gold dinar is one of the most prized Islamic coins, and it was struck from gold mined at a location owned by the caliph. The coin bears the marking 'mine of the commander of the faithful' and it's the first Islamic coin to mention a location in Saudi Arabia. About a dozen examples of the coin are in existence, according to experts.

Rare Oldest Coin In The World

In 2011, the coin fetched 3.7 million pounds (about $6 million) at auction, the second-most expensive ever sold at auction. In 2019, another version of the coin was sold for the same amount in pounds, but the dollar value came to about $4.8 million.

5. The 1343 Edward III Florin

Another one of the world's most expensive coins is an oldie and goldie. The 1343 Edward III Florin is just one of three such gold coins known to exist. Two examples are housed in the British Museum in London, both of which were found in the River Tyne in 1857. The third coin was found by a prospector with a metal detector in 2006.

The front of the coin shows King Edward III on his throne with two leopards' heads on either side, while the reverse shows the Royal Cross inside a quatrefoil. Because of its design, the coin is also known as the Double Leopard.

The coin found in 2006 was sold at auction for 480,000 pounds, or about $850,000 - a record at the time for a British coin. It's now estimated that the coin is valued around $6.8 million.

6. The 1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny

Here's another coin that you just might find tucked inside a dresser sometime, and it's the conditions surrounding its production that make the 1943 Lincoln Head Copper Penny interesting and valuable.

While pennies were normally made of copper and nickel, the U.S. needed the metals for war efforts, so the mint started using steel to produce the coin. But it mistakenly still struck a batch of pennies with copper, potentially because blanks remained in the press when the mint began making new steel pennies. Experts estimate that about 40 pennies of these exist, though some say fewer than 20 examples remain.

The U.S. Mint says these coins are frequently counterfeited because of the relative ease of coating steel pennies with copper and altering the date on coins struck in 1945, 1948 and 1949. But to see if the coin is actually steel, you can see if it sticks to a magnet.

While a regular steel 1943 Lincoln penny might fetch you 30 or 40 cents - again about 30 or 40 times more than its face value - the special copper versions fetched $204,000 at a 2019 auction. This specimen of the coin had been held by a man for some 70 years since boyhood after he found it at his school cafeteria.

7. The 2007 $1 Million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

The $1 million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin is a novelty coin, if there ever were one, and it tips the scales at a whopping 100 kilograms or about 220 pounds. Only six of the nearly pure gold coins have ever been made, as of early May 2020, and each has a face value of $1 million. They were used as a promotional showpiece for the mint's one-ounce Gold Maple Leaf coins.

In October 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records certified the coin as the world's largest gold coin. The coin's front shows Queen Elizabeth II, while the reverse shows a Candian maple leaf. The coin is 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) wide and just over an inch thick.

The coin was sold at auction in 2010 for 3.27 million euros, or just over $4 million at the time.

BONUS: Check your change jars for these pre-1964 American silver coins

The 'silver' coins of today are not really made of silver, but these low denominations at one time were! Silver coins minted before 1964 contained 90 percent actual silver, and of the coins on this list, these are the most likely to be found floating around your house or in an old garage, tied up in a shoebox or a coffee can.

Such coins include the Morgan silver dollar, the Mercury dime, and even Washington quarters, says Zivi.

While some of these coins may have collectible value independent of their silver content, such as some of the Morgan silver dollars, the value of common coins is boosted by their bullion value. Some speculators focused on owning real silver may buy these coins for their precious metal content, rather than for their collector value.

Bottom line

Coin collecting can be a fun hobby, as you collate and sift through coins. But don't forget that making money on collectibles creates a tax liability, too. So before you decide to turn your hobby into a business - even a side gig - examine what taxes you'll owe on your profits. Unfortunately, a collectibles tax rate of 28 percent can be higher than rates on stocks and other financial assets.

(Featured image by MEIR JACOB / Getty Images.)

Learn more:

Money is something that we use to quantify the value of something. Each note or coin has a face value which is clearly shown, and this is the global system that is applied so that people can exchange money for products in the purchasing process. However, there are some coins that become significantly more valuable than their face value denotes. This is usually because they are extremely rare or very old. They may have been part of a limited production of a particular coin or be one of only a few remaining examples of a coin from a specific era in history. If this is the case, the coin becomes highly collectible and collectors are willing to pay huge sums of money to own the rare coins. Here are five of the most valuable coins that have been sold at auction and it may surprise you to learn how much someone was willing to pay to own such a small metallic object.

Most Valuable Coin In The World

5. Edward III Florin 1343 – $6.8 Million

It is the age of this coin that makes it as valuable as it is and is why someone was willing to pay $6.8 million for one at auction. When you consider that this coin has been around for more than 670 years, it is a wonder that any have survived. Just think about how many coins are lost from circulation over the years because people have dropped them down the drain or lost them down the back of the sofa. There are now only three known examples of an Edward III florin in existence. Therefore, it is one of the rarest of all the coins in the world.

4. The Brasher Doubloon 1787 – $7.4 Million

A Wall Street investment firm paid $7.4 million for a Brasher doubloon at auction. The coin was designed by Ephraim Brasher, who was a talented goldsmith. He wanted New York State to start minting coins using his design in copper. However, the state disagreed and said that they did not want coins made from copper. Brasher went ahead with his design anyway but minted most of the coins in bronze. He made just a few of 22-carat gold and it is these that are now so valuable.

3. The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle 1907 – $7.6 Million

Oldest Coin In The World For Sale

This is another coin that has sold at auction for $7.6 million. The coin was originally designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Unfortunately, this design was extremely complicated and it posed a problem as to how the United States Mint could produce such a coin. To simplify the design for commercial production, the Mint's chief engraver, Charles Barber, decided to make some modifications to the original design. He removed the phrase ‘In God We Trust' from the design of the coin. Congress were not pleased with this modification so, although it was produced, only a limited number were made. For this reason, the coin is now extremely rare and valuable.

Oldest Coin Ever

2. The Double Eagle 1933 – $7.6 Million

This coin has become so valuable because of a circumstantial quirk. This gold coin was pressed in 1933. However, the coin was never released into circulation. This was because President Franklin D. Roosevelt had banned everyone from owning gold in the same year. He did this as part of an attempt to bring the banking crisis to an end as the country's financial situation was causing devastating problems in the United States at that time. Despite them never being officially released, twenty of these coins slipped through the net and these coins now have a staggering value.

1. The Flowing Hair Silver/ Copper Dollar 1794/5 – $10 million

Oldest Coin In The World Value

If only every dollar in your pocket was worth $10 million. Unfortunately, there is just one dollar in the world that has achieved this value at auction. You are probably wondering what makes this dollar so special compared to the dollars that are currently in circulation. Well, the highest valued dollar of all-time was the first dollar ever issued by the United States Federal Government. The coin dates back to either 1974 or 1975 and is made of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. When this coin was minted, it was the first issued after the Federal Mint was founded. It is famous for depicting an image of Liberty with her flowing tresses. One of these coins was sold for $10 million in January 2013.