Over 30 years ago, The Goonies inspired a generation of treasure-seekers after a rag-tag bunch of kids discovered one of One-Eyed Willie’s 1632 Spanish doubloons in their attic. I remember immediately thinking I could find a rare coin or artifact in my basement, but all that turned up was some old “wheat” pennies, which I promptly dropped into the nearest coin-operated candy and sticker machines I found.
In hindsight, maybe one of those worthless pennies was actually worth something.
1944 Steel Wheat Penny – Only a few of these may have made it into circulation, but the numismatic value of this coin is over $100,000.
1913 Liberty Head V Nickel – Valued at between $3.5 million and $4.4 million, only 5 known copies of this five-cent piece exist
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1874 Liberty Seated Dime – Seemingly featuring Lady Liberty using the ladies room, this coin can snag as much as $115,000 at auction.
1804 Draped Bust Quarter – With a little cleavage showing and valued at up to $157,000, this quarter is hard to find, but even in poor condition is worth far more than the silver content value of just $3.
1838 Capped Bust Half-Dollar – These rare coins are valued up to $750,000 and were only issued from the New Orleans Mint.
1893 Morgan Silver Dollar – With only 100,000 ever minted and many having been melted down for their silver, this coin is valued at over $500,000 at auction.
What’s the most valuable coin you’ve ever had? Leave us a message in the comments!