10. A 1793 Chain cent- $275,000

Bearing Liberty’s head on one side and a circular chain on the other, the most expensive US penny is the 1793 Sheldon NC-1
Chain cent. The chain’s fifteen links  surrounding the words “ONE CENT” represent the unity of the fifteen colonies extant in the US at the time.
The design was simple enough to allow an appreciable relief of Liberty on the obverse side.

Designed and minted by Henry Voight, a reputedly unskilled die cutter,Chain cents were the first regularly minted coins in the United States.They drew criticism for the lack of artifice employed and for the use of the chain, which can easily be seen as symbolic of slavery. Due to this universal criticism, under 40,000 of these coins were minted before Voight
hired Adam Eckfeldt to re-design the currency.

Fewer than 2,000 of these expensive pennies survive to this day. Five varieties of the Chain cent were minted before its discontinuation. After Dr. William H. Sheldon, author of “Penny Whimsy”,these varieties are referred to as Sheldon 1-4 and NC-1. Designated as non-collectible, NC-1 is the rarest of these varieties; only four are known to exist today. With an estimated value of $275,000, NC-1 is not only the rarest, but also the most expensive penny.

9. A 1936 Canadian “dot cent” – $402,500

Canadian penny billed as “the king of Canadian coins” was purchased for $402,500 US at a New York auction Sunday.

A 1936 Canadian “dot cent” had garnered considerable online traffic after bidding began earlier this week on the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions website.

Only three of such pennies are known to exist; the makeshift coin was struck but never circulated after the death of King George V.Canadian authorities had prepared to produce coins with the effigy of King Edward VIII, who succeeded George V, but Edward VIII then stepped down from the throne to marry an American divorcee and the dies for the coins carrying Edward’s image could not be used.In response, the 1936 coin was put back into production with only a tiny dot below the date to differentiate
it.“This is the rarest, the most valuable, the most charismatic and legendary Canadian coin that exists,” said Cristiano Bierrenbach, director of international sales with Heritage Auction, last week. “In Canada, there is nothing that is worth more individually than the 1936 Dot Cent.” The famed 1936 Canadian “Dot Cent” was the highlight of a group of coins billed as the single most substantial collection of Canadian coins ever offered at public auction.Heritage Auction,which ran the sale, had predicted the penny would fetch at least $300,000.

The penny is rare because it’s one of only three known 1936-dated Canadian cents struck by the Royal Canadian Mint with a small but distinctive dot below the date to indicate it actually was made in 1937.The penny bears the image of King George V, who died in January 1936 but coins with his image continued to be made that year.When George’s successor, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in December of the same year,the coin-making dies prepared for 1937 with Edward’s image were no longer valid.The mint experimented with 1936-dated coins struck in 1937 with a dot added to the design to distinguish them from coins struck earlier.Dot Cents were long considered unavailable as all three were held by noted American numismatist John Jay Pittman, who paid $250 for them in 1954.They were auctioned off after his death in 1996.

8. The Australian Proof 1930 Penny – $517,345

Number 8 in the list is this Australian 1930 penny. According to numismatic experts, only 6 of such coins were struck by the Melbourne Mint. In order to make this penny, the mint used polished blanks and dies, which were specifically treated. Three coins are held by private collectors, one can be seen at British Museum, another 1930 penny is presented at  Museum Victoria and the last one is held by the Art Gallery of South Australia.

In 2005 one of the rarerest 1930 pennies was sold for A$620,000 (which is about US$517,345), thus becoming the most expensive coin in Australia and the most expensive copper coin in the world.

7.The Spanish Segovia Coin – $1,202,566

The world saw its most expensive coin at the recently held auction in Barcelona. Organised by Auero & Calicó, this grand event had a participating coin that is being  celebrated as the last one from the 1609 centen coin which is  remarkable as the biggest solid gold coin to be ever minted in Spain.

The coin in question was minted in Segovia and belonged to the priceless Knight of the Yndias collection that was on auction in Barcelona.

A very rare money, this coin attracted a lot of attention from bidders, onlookers and media alike. Finally, it was sold to a huge bid of $1,202,566. The identity of the lucky bidder has been kept anonymous. We just know him as the bidder no. 74 and that this super rich person came from Europe. In fact, the surprised on his face was quite evident when he saw that absolutely no one challenged his opening  bid of 1,202,566.

6. 1870-S Seated Liberty Dollar Eliasberg Specimen – $1,300,000

This extremely rare coin is believed to be a numismatic treasure in the U.S.
It’s a very mysterious coin, and it is worth mentioning that usually such coins are not formally registered as being minted. Experts consider that 11 coins of this type survived till nowadays. However, only three of those are in mint condition. PCGS
graded this particular coin AU53 and Stanford Coins and Bullion was able to sell this coin for $1.3 million.

5. 1894-S Barber Dime – $2,500,000.00

This coin is considered to be one of the rarest in the United States. It was
graded PCGS Proof-64. According to the information provided by the U.S.Mint, only 24 pieces were minted and only 10 are known today.
Experts state that this particular proof coin represents one of the three specimens of the 1855 $50 round strike retained by John Glover Kellogg when minted and
preserved with his personal effects. The 1894-S Barber Dime. Recently sold
for $1.9 million, this Barber Dime is the most expensive dime in US history.

Barber, or “Liberty Head”, coinage was produced around the beginning of
the 20th century and can be identified by the, well, Liberty head. The
condition of the coin can be quickly assessed by the state of the word
“liberty” written on her headband, as it tends to be the first bit to wear.

This particular Barber Dime is famous for the mystery surrounding its origin. Thought at first to be minted to make up a balance at the San Francisco Mint, the currently accepted story is that 24 of these coins were minted to be given to banker friends of the mint’s superintendent, John Daggett. Each of the seven bankers received three of the dimes while the last three were given to his daughter who, reportedly, spent one of them on ice cream. Collectors account for only nine of the expensive dimes.

The most expensive dime was sold by Oakland businessman Daniel Rosenthal to an anonymous buyer who does not, in fact, plan to spend the dime on ice cream. It was transported by a Virginia Beach coin dealer who didn’t eat, sleep or drink until the coin was in the hands of the buyer.

In April 2013 David Lawrence Rare Coins Auction house acquired this coin and resold for 25,00,0000.00$ on 21st May 2013.

4. The 1913-dated U.S. Liberty Head nickel – $3,737,500
A rare 1913-dated U.S. Liberty Head nickel that was
featured in a 1973 episode of the TV series, “Hawaii Five-O,” was
purchased for $3,737,500 in a public auction conducted in Orlando, Florida
by Dallas’ Heritage Auctions last night (Jan. 7, 2010).

If you remember the television series Hawaii Five-O, there was a rare 1913 U.S. Liberty Head nickel featured in a 1973 episode that is now worth a lot more than five cents. It was just sold for $3.7 million dollars at public auction. The Liberty Head nickel is quite rare — it is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist.

The 1913 U.S. Liberty Head nickel, known the Olsen-Hawn piece has been
owned by a few famous owners prior to the auction. The coin’s owners have
included Egypt’s King Farouk and Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss.

The coin is so valuable that it was only seen in close-ups in the 1973 episode of Hawaii Five-O. Producers of the show used a stunt double nickel for most of the scenes. Jerry Buss paid $200,000 for the coin in 1978, and it has been sold several times since then. Records on the Antique sellet sites show that started to sell for millions of dollars in 2003.The Liberty Head nickel is often referred to as the V nickel due to its reverse design. It was minted from 1883 to 1912. Five pieces were minted in 1913 and these are the five rare coins that exist today.

“The U.S. Mint struck tens of millions of Liberty Head nickels from 1883 through 1912, but switched designs in 1913 to depict a Native American on the “head’s” side and a bison on the “tail’s” side. However,five nickels with the new date, 1913, but the old design of the symbolic Miss Liberty secretly were made at the Philadelphia Mint and eventually sold to collectors,” Rohan said in a release.

One of the five fabled 1913 Liberty nickels is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; another belongs to the American Numismatic Association (ANA) Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the
three others, including the coin in the January auction, are privately owned by collections.Three of the nickels are owned privately and two are in museums. One of the five rare nickels, The Norweb 1913 Liberty Head
Nickel, is now a showpiece in the National Numismatic Collection at
the Smithsonian Institution.

The sale of the 1913 U.S. Liberty Head nickel on January 7, 2010 was made at an auction in Orlando, Florida. The name of the seller and buyer has not been released.

3. 1804 Silver Dollar from Queller’s Collection – $3,737,500

A rare collection of silver dollars was presented by David Queller at the Official Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention, where one of the coins, and namely this 1804 Silver Dollar, was sold for $3,737,500. The auction was held by Heritage Auction Galleries and realized for all bids a total of  $44million.

1.1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle Coin – $7,590,020

Let’s start with a little bit of history here. Back in 1933, 445,000 gold Double
Eagle coins were struck. This was the period when President
Franklin Roosevelt decided
to take the United States off the gold standard. People were asked to turn in their gold so there would be no more gold coins to be used in circulation. It was ordered that all 1933 Double Eagles gold coins are destroyed. However, several coins of this type were not melted. Two 1933 Double Eagle gold coins were given to the
Smithsonian Institute for the U.S. National Numismatic Collection. Eight coins were confiscated in 1950s by the Secret Service.

At least 9 coins of this type were sold by a dealer. One of these coins became a part of a collection gathered by King Farouk of Egypt.
Four decades later the coin was presented by a coin dealer in New York. It
was then immediately seized by the Secret Service. Finally the gold coin
was stored in the Treasury vaults at the World Trade Center. However, when back in 2001 a lawsuit was settled,the 1933 Double Eagle coin was set for auction. The auction was held on July 30, 2002. The 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle Coin was purchased for $7,590,020, thus becoming the most expensive coin in the world.

In 2004. ten more specimens of the gold Double Eagle coins were discovered among the effects of the coin dealer who sold the previous specimens. One of his heirs sent all ten to the U.S. Mint to be authenticated and the Secret Service seized them. They now reside in Fort Knox while a new legal battle is fought over their ownership of these copies of the most expensive coin ever sold.