Five of the Rarest Coins in the World

Numismatists dream of finding and owning extremely rare (and, therefore, valuable) coins. Few, of course, will achieve that dream…

Here we look at five of the rarest coins known to man.

1. 1849 Double Eagle Gold Coin

In January 1848, James W. Marshall, a carpenter and sawmill operator struck gold in California, on a mill owned by John Sutter. News spread like wildfire and sparked the legendary “California Gold Rush.” Over the next 7 years more than 300,000 hopefuls, from across the United States and from abroad, swarmed the region.

This had a major impact on the American economy and led to, amongst other significant events, Congress authorizing the production of gold dollars in 1849. The so-called “double eagle” with a face value of 20 dollars was minted from 90% gold, with full-scale production beginning in 1850 and continuing until 1907. It was then re-designed and issued through to 1933.

The 1849 Liberty Head Gold Double Eagle was designed by James B. Longacre. This featured a majestically posed eagle protected by an American shield and flanked by a banner with the inscription “E Pluribus Unum.” This translates as “one from many”, adopted by the Continental Congress when a single country was created from the existing thirteen colonies. 

The U.S. Mint produced only one of Longacre’s creation to be presented as a template for future gold double eagles. That single existing specimen now resides in the Smithsonian Institution and is estimated to be worth up to $20 million.

2. Silver Flowing Hair Dollar

Created by Robert Scot, the Flowing Hair dollar silver coin was the very first dollar coin to be issued by the U.S. federal government, in 1794. The size and weight of the silver dollar was intentionally similar to the Spanish dollar, a popular coin at that time. Minted from 90% silver and 10% copper, the coin featured a bust of Lady Liberty on one side and an image of an eagle on the other. It had, though, a very short lifespan of only one year, as a result of newly appointed Mint Director Elias Boudinot ordering that the legal fineness of 0.892 (89.2%) silver be used for the dollar rather than the unauthorized fineness of 0.900 (90%) silver that had been used since the denomination was first minted in 1794. 

It is this short life and historical significance that gives the Silver Flowing Hair Dollar its rarity, making it a sought-after favorite amongst collectors, and in 2013, a specimen sold at auction for a then record-breaking 10 million dollars.

3. 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin

Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, at the time America’s preeminent sculptor, the 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin shows Lady Liberty carrying a torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other. Around 400,000 coins were minted but none went into circulation as, later in 1933, then-President Franklin Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard in hopes of bolstering an economy ravaged by the Great Depression. As a result, in 1934 the U.S. Mint’s director ordered the melting of all 1933 Double Eagles. Two specimens were given to the Smithsonian Institution, which now houses the coins in the National Museum of American History.

Despite the best efforts of the US Mint, a small number were stolen and eventually ended up with collectors. Some of these were recovered and melted down, but prolonged litigation led to one “being the only example that the United States Government has ever authorized, or ever intends to authorize, for private ownership.” This particular coin is the only one of its kind that a private person can lawfully own and it was initially sold at auction to Luxury shoe designer Stuart Weitzman in 2002 for US$ 7.59 million. He subsequently auctioned it to an unknown buyer for an amazing US$18.9 Million! 

The Double Eagle coin was the last gold currency struck in the United States.

4. 1787 Brasher Gold Doubloon

The 1787 Brasher Doubloon was the first gold coin ever struck in the US and represents one of the most important items in America’s numismatic history. 

Five years before the federal mint opened, It was created by its namesake, goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, who single-handedly crafted it of his own accord when the State of New York legislature refused his appeal to mint new copper coins

Brasher designed two variants, both featuring his distinguishing hallmark. One coin, which included the hallmark on the eagle’s breast, sold for an astounding US$ 7.4 million in 2011, the most money ever paid for a coin minted in the United States at that time. This record was then broken in January 2021 when a Brasher Doubloon was sold by Heritage Auctions for US$ 9.36 million.

5. 2007 Queen Elizabeth II Maple Leaf Gold Coin

At the time, the biggest coin ever produced, the 2007 Queen Elizabeth II Maple Leaf Gold Coin was produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. Consisting of 100 kg of gold with an impressive purity level of 99.99%, it was the very first coin to obtain a face value of $1,000,000. Now, it is valued at over 4 times that.

The coin, of which only six were produced, features on the front (obverse side), Queen Elizabeth II as she has appeared on Canadian coinage since 2003, while the reverse reverse design offers a stylized maple leaf by RCM artist and senior engraver, Stan Witten.

In March 2017, a Big Maple Leaf was stolen from the Bode Museum in  Berlin, Germany. The coin had been lent to the Bode Museum in 2010 by private owner Boris Fuchsmann. It has never been recovered and it is believed that the thieves may have melted the coin down.