5 Silver Coins Worth Money
Written by
Andrew Lisa
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Amber Barkley
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According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 1.74 million metric tons of silver have been mined to date, compared to just 244,000 metric tons of gold. Because of that gaping disparity in supply, along with gold’s mystique and association with wealth and luxury since antiquity, gold is by far more expensive than silver — over $2,000 an ounce to roughly $25 an ounce as of March 7.
But when you press silver into currency, melt value and spot price go out the window, and today, the world’s most coveted silver coins are worth more than all but their most treasured gold counterparts. Here’s a look at the most valuable silver coins and what you can expect to get for them if you find one in your couch cushions.
1794 ‘Flowing Hair’ Silver Dollar
- Sale price: $10.02 million
Until 2013, the most expensive coin in the world was a rare silver dollar that fetched $4.14 million at auction in 1999. But on Jan. 22 of that year, the hammer fell at a Stacks Bowers auction for a coin that is believed to be the first silver dollar ever struck by the U.S. Mint, in an America that was still emerging as a country and a concept.
The fledgling U.S. Mint struck the 1794 “Flowing Hair” silver dollar to test its new dies and coining press during the presidency of George Washington. Nearly 220 years later, it commanded $10,016,875, more than double the sale price of what had been the world’s most valuable coin for nearly 15 years.
1804 ‘Original’ Draped Bust Silver Dollar
- Sale price: $4.14 million
The coin that held the record until it was obliterated by the 1794 “Flowing Hair” silver dollar was an especially rare and pristine example of the 1804 Draped Bust silver dollar.
By far the finest specimen of what Stacks Bowers called “America’s most famous rarity,” it was part of the legendary Childs Collection — which dates back to 1870 — and was presented as a gift by the United States government to the Sultan of Muscat in 1835, the first known distribution of any specimen of this iconic coin.
1804 Draped Bust Silver Dollar, Dexter Specimen
- Sale price: $3.29 million
Discovered in Germany in 1884, the so-called Dexter specimen of the most famous and coveted coin in American history is one of just eight known Class I Original Draped Bust silver dollars, which were coined to distribute as gifts from the U.S. government to foreign heads of state. Since 1885, they have been known as the “King of American rarities.”
Instantly recognizable by the tiny “D” stamped on the reverse to denote the ownership of wealthy 19th-century numismatist James V. Dexter, the Dexter specimen fetched nearly $3.3 million at a Stacks Bowers auction.
1797 ‘Magnificent Pogue’ Draped Bust Half Dollar
- Sale price: $1.68 million
On March 25, 2021, the finest known example of the Small Eagle half dollar, a 1797 Draped Bust half dollar, set the record as the most valuable U.S. half dollar in history at a Stacks Bowers auction in Las Vegas.
Part of the vaunted D. Brent Pogue collection, it was produced for only two years in 1796 and 1797. Its design is considered the rarest among all American silver coinage. The only other example of comparable quality, the Norweb-Koshkarian specimen, twice set the record as the most valuable half-dollar — $966,000 in 2004 and $1.38 million in 2008 — but the Magnificent Pogue example earned an even higher grading.
1870-S Seated Liberty Dollar
- Sale price: $1.3 million
In 2008, Numismatic News reported that Stanford Coins and Bullion of Houston, Texas, sold one of the few known 1870-S Seated Liberty dollars to Certified Acceptance Corp. in a private transaction. Once owned by legendary U.S. coin collector Louis Eliasberg, it is one of at least 11 examples known to exist, although no official mintage was recorded for dollars at the San Francisco Mint in 1870.
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