If you do many internet searches about rare coins you’ll soon be promised that you might find a “fortune in your pocket change”.

You might.

But, it’s extremely unlikely.

Coins - even in today’s increasingly digital world - are almost always produced in enormous numbers.

So rarity is, well, rare.

Most modern coins are worth their face value.

A very small and select group of them have more value.

And the same is true for most historical coins.

Although more than 1 million of the 1917 sovereign were minted, many were melted down making it a much-prized rarity today. 

Most are common.

Even extremely old coins. Ancient ones even.

Here’s how coins get valuable.

A guide to rare coin value

Rarity:

Coins may be rare because:

They are old.

Coins are designed to last but they still suffer from attrition. Gold coins are particularly prone to damage and defacement. The longer they’ve been around, the less likely there are to be a lot of them.

Limited numbers were produced.

Mintage numbers aren’t the be-all-and-end-all for rarity in most cases.

But they’re a good starting point.

As a measure, most modern British circulating coins are issued in multiple millions.

A recent, and much sought after “rarity” was a 2009 50p with a Kew Gardens design. That was limited to 210,000.

This sort of induced rarity is uncommon in standard-issued circulating coins, but not in the collector’s coins that mints produce.

Mintage numbers may be limited because:

They are high value.

Very valuable coins made of precious metals are the most limited.

The British gold sovereign hasn't been a circulating coin since the 1970s.

Since the middle of the 20th century very few gold or silver coins have been issued as standard circulating coins. Even before then, those coins were relatively limited in numbers.

For example, a famous rarity, the 1917 George V Sovereign, had a mintage of just over 1 million. (While that’s low, the coin’s huge value is because the UK Government melted down large numbers of the coins to pay war debts in bullion gold.)

It’s a limited issue.

Collector’s coins are often issued in numbered limited editions, but commemorative coins also usually have a shelf life. While few of these become so rare as to make the lists of the rarest and most valuable coins they are more likely to be collectible, particularly if they have a very attractive or unusual design or they commemorate something very special - anniversaries of that commemoration will help value.

It’s the end of an era.

Coins are often linked with a particular monarch. When a king or queen dies, new coins will be struck for their successor.

Short reigns are good news for coin collectors.

The rarest British coins are those for the reign of Edward VIII, who abdicated almost as soon as he ascended the throne and before coins could be completed for circulation.

Coin collectors love the playboy prince who chose his lover over his throne. 

Mistakes

Errors very often provide the best returns for collectors.

Coins are made very carefully and multiple safeguards are put in place to protect their integrity. Mistakes are usually quickly picked up.

Odd ones do get out though.

These include production errors - misstrikes, double strikes, mismatches and so on.

The Saint-Gaudens double eagle was very beautiful but hard to make. Now you'll probably need to pay hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to get one.

And also design errors. The famous Saint-Gaudens double eagles of 1907 were designed beautifully, but impractically. The level of relief needed for the design couldn’t be reproduced in a single-strike minting process. Surviving examples of the attempts to get the design right are super valuable.

Design stages

Testing is an important part of making coins and if you can source a test, essay or proof piece you’re likely to be rewarded.

In 1792 the US issued some cents that were a copper surround around a silver plug centre. It was a trial that didn’t work out and the resultant coins are very valuable.

Rarity and value

Rare coins are likely to be more valuable than common ones. But not all rare coins are very valuable.

There needs to be a demand.

Chinese coins have recently seen a massive boost in values because there’s a huge growth in demand from buyers in China who now have money and access to world markets.

That wasn’t always the case.

And, coins need - usually - to be in good condition to be worth money.

Buy rare coins today

We have rare coins for sale and we also sell good quality, rare historical coins to our clients.

You can see just a little of what we have on offer here.

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