In an era of high overall prices and economic uncertainty, many people are actively seeking various ways to earn extra income to increase savings and prepare for a secure and comfortable retirement life. Some people take on multiple part-time jobs, while others sell items online after finishing their main job during the day. But don’t forget, if you are lucky enough to have a rare coin, it can relieve your worries about retirement life.
Coins are one of the most common items in every household. If you are a collector, you may have various types of coins, or you may find some coins left behind by your parents or grandparents in a drawer.
Never underestimate these coins, as they may bring you unexpected wealth. Owning a rare coin can earn you several million dollars or even tens of millions of dollars.
Here are five particularly noteworthy rare coins summarized based on a report by GOBankingRates:
This coin not only has a poetic name but is also extremely valuable. First minted in 1794, it is the first one-dollar coin issued by the United States federal government.
According to Atkinson’s Bullion and Coins, this coin is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, with the obverse and reverse sides featuring the designs of the Statue of Liberty and an eagle.
The 1794 Flowing Hair Liberty Silver Dollar is widely considered one of the rarest and most valuable American coins. If you happen to find this coin at home, you are in luck: in 2013, a 1794 Flowing Hair Liberty Silver Dollar was sold at auction for a price of $10 million.
Although the 1933 Double Eagle gold coin may not have such a long history as some other rare coins, and the Mint produced over 40,000 of them at the time, this coin is extremely rare. What happened? In 1933, then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to abandon the gold standard for the dollar and discontinued using gold coins as the circulating currency. Thus, authorities ordered the already minted Double Eagle gold coins to be melted down into bars for storage. However, a few coins were stolen and ultimately became treasures for collectors.
According to Atkinson’s Bullion and Coins, there are currently fewer than 15 1933 Double Eagle gold coins, with one being sold at auction for $7.59 million.
The 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle $20 gold coin is a rare gem. It is said that on December 22, 1849, only two of these coins were minted, one of which is at the Smithsonian Institution and remains there. The other was given to the Secretary of the Treasury at that time, but nobody knows where that coin is now.
If this coin miraculously appears in your grandparents’ coin collection, you can fetch a good price of $10 million to $20 million if you sell it. This money can help you cover a significant portion of your retirement expenses.
According to the Las Vegas Jewelry and Coin Exchange, this coin is one of the rarest gold coins in the United States, with only three remaining. The Smithsonian Institution owns two, while the third is in private hands. If you happen to have this coin, you could potentially auction it for over $8 million.
It is reported that only five 1913 Liberty Head Nickels remain. To this day, no one knows for sure how or why these five nickels were made. The American Numismatic Association states that in 1913, the old Liberty Head design was replaced by the new Buffalo design, so the Mint was not expected to produce any more Liberty Head Nickels that year. It wasn’t until December 1919 that Samuel W. Brown, who had worked at the Mint, advertised in “The Numismatist” magazine, offering to purchase any of these nickels for $500, which revealed their existence to the public.
If you find a nickel like this in a drawer, you could make a fortune. Las Vegas Jewelry and Coin Buyers state that possessing such a coin could yield over $5 million in income.