When you start collecting coins, researching their market value becomes essential—especially when searching for rare specimens that might still be found in everyday transactions. A thriving secondary market exists where collectors exchange valuable coins, offering opportunities to earn substantial profits on sought-after pieces. Professional Coin Grading Services has identified several remarkable specimens that command impressive prices.
1967 Kennedy Half Dollar
Highest Auction Price: $6,995
What makes this coin particularly valuable is the complete absence of a mint designation. Between 1965 and 1967, the U.S. Mint intentionally omitted mint marks from all currency to discourage stockpiling of coins. Production of these half-dollars began in 1964 as a tribute to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination.
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1925-S Lincoln Penny
Highest Auction Price: $54,625
This wheat penny originates from the San Francisco facility and remains highly sought by numismatists. The 1925-S edition stands out as particularly desirable within the Lincoln wheat penny collection due to its scarcity and historical significance.
1932-D Washington Quarter
Highest Auction Price: $143,750
The U.S. Mint released this commemorative quarter to celebrate the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth. The distinctive design achieved international recognition and remained in production until the Mint launched the 50-state quarters program in 1999.
1943-S Jefferson Nickel
Highest Auction Price: $9,000
This nickel belongs to a special collection manufactured during World War II, specifically between 1942 and 1945, when the Mint produced silver-content nickels. The Mint created over 100 million of these pieces, and many have been preserved by collectors throughout the decades.
1909-S VDB Penny
Highest Auction Price: $168,000
This Lincoln penny variant has become legendary among collectors thanks to its fascinating background. Designer Victor David Brenner inscribed his complete signature in miniature lettering on the coin, following standard practice among engravers of that period. Mint official Charles Barber subsequently reduced the signature to initials only. However, newspaper coverage of this change highlighted concerns about designer attribution on public currency. This controversy prompted the Mint to eliminate the initials during subsequent production runs. Remarkably, only 484,000 of these VDB-marked coins entered circulation.
1983 1C Doubled Die Reverse Penny
Highest Auction Price: $7,050
This distinctive penny commanded over $7,000 when auctioned in 2017 and has become increasingly collectible because it carries no mint designation. The absence of a mint identifier eliminates any indication of the production facility. Collectors refer to this variant as the “doubled die reverse” because the striking mechanism misfired, creating a duplicate image impression. Among the 7.7 billion pennies manufactured in 1983, approximately 5,000 exhibited this remarkable striking defect.
1968 No S Roosevelt Dime
Highest Auction Price: $40,250
This uncommon dime achieved a sale price exceeding $40,000 in 2008. Its rarity stems from being the inaugural proof coin the Mint produced without the San Francisco mint mark—an unintended oversight. Documentation suggests the San Francisco facility identified and corrected the error relatively quickly during production.
1916 Doubled Die Buffalo Nickel
Highest Auction Price: $281,750
Among collectors, this extraordinarily scarce coin holds special significance due to its distinctive manufacturing flaw: the date appears doubled on the coin’s surface. Examples can command thousands of dollars regardless of their condition. Designer James Earle Fraser created this series, which was manufactured continuously from 1913 until 1938.
1944-D Lincoln Penny
Highest Auction Price: $115,000
This exceptionally uncommon penny sold for well over $100,000 due to its composition—it stands as one of only two years that employed steel planchets with zinc coating. The 1944 variant proves rarer than its 1943 counterpart. Since 1944 marked the return of copper production for Lincoln Wheat Pennies following wartime restrictions, discovering a steel-composition example from this year represents an unusual discovery. Experts believe a manufacturing error allowed 1943 steel blanks to remain in production equipment, resulting in a small batch of 1944 coins being struck from steel anyway.
Documentation indicates only approximately 30 examples of 1944 steel cents exist today, which accounts for their astronomical auction prices.
