4 Least Valuable American Coins Still in Circulation
Written by
Vance Cariaga
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If you want to know the least valuable American coin, check your pockets or your change jar. If you see a Lincoln penny of recent mintage in average condition with no unique features, that’s your answer. It’s worth exactly one cent and there is probably nothing in the world you can buy with it. But if you want to know the least valuable American coins intended for collectors, it’s a little more complicated.
First, about those pennies. Although rare and older versions can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the collectibles market, most have such little value that some lawmakers want to end them altogether.
Beginning in the 1980s, several bills have been introduced in Congress proposing to eliminate the one-cent coin or at least switch the coin’s metal composition to a cheaper option, according to the Professional Coin Grading Service. But none of those bills have made it into law and are not likely to anytime soon.
As for the least valuable collectible U.S. coins: A blog on the Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers did an analysis and came up with these four:
Sacagawea Dollar
The U.S. Mint started issuing the Sacagawea Dollar in 2000 in honor of Sacagawea, the Shoshone Native American who as a teenager helped guide Lewis and Clark on their famous westward expedition. The dollar coin was issued near the 200th anniversary of the expedition. However, these coins were “unpopular and rarely used” in commerce, Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers noted. Two things contribute to the Sacagawea Dollar’s low value among collectors: a design many consider unattractive and a metal mix that includes copper and Manganese.
Presidential Dollars
As with the Sacagawea Dollar, U.S. Presidential Dollars have a copper core and manganese brass cladding, so there’s “little value in their content,” according to Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers. The presidential dollars also have a “plain look.” Only a few are worth more than face value and those contain mint errors.
Susan B. Anthony Dollar
Susan B. Anthony Dollars are prized by historians and others because they are the first U.S. coinsto depict a non-fictional woman. Susan B. Anthony coins were minted from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1999 to honor the women’s rights advocate, abolitionist and champion of fair labor laws. Some of the coins are worth up to $500.
However, the vast majority have not caught on with collectors for a few reasons, Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers noted. One problem is that their “smaller size” and metal content are too close to the size and content of a quarter. Few people used them unless they accidentally confused them with quarters. In addition, the U.S. government set aside a stockpile of 500 million coins before any others were released, meaning supply is high while demand is low.
Eisenhower Dollar Coins
Following a 35-year period when no new dollar coins were issued, in 1971 the U.S. Mint introduced the Dwight D. Eisenhower dollar. But there was “nothing beautiful about them,” according to Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers, and the metal content of circulated coins — a combination of copper and nickel — reduces their value in the metals market.
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