News & Trending Collectibles

11 Rare Coins That Have Sold for More Than $1 Million

A famous silver dollar could be worth a cool $10 million.

By Calista Headrick , Edited by Sara Albertelli

Updated June 1, 2026

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Coin collecting is a popular hobby and sometimes, a fun and relatively simple way to put extra cash in your pocket. While there are many coins that are worth more than their face value, due to rarity, minting errors, or other factors that make them unique, it's still quite uncommon to have a coin worth more than $1,000, and there's only a handful that have sold for more than a million.

Still, anyone looking to get into collecting should be aware of these 11 coins worth millions.

Editor's note: All auction records come from the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

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1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagle

This $20 gold coin is the perfect way to kick off a list of valuable coins, as it currently holds the record for the most expensive coin ever sold at more than $18.8 million.

According to legend and the PCGS, more than 400,000 of these coins were originally struck, but they were ordered melted down and never monetized. Some allegedly survived, but only one (the $18 million+ one) was ever legally monetized.

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1794 flowing hair silver dollar

The 1794 $1 coin is the first silver dollar ever struck, and several versions of these coins, which are known as "flowing hair" due to Liberty's head with free-flowing locks on the coin's obverse, have sold for well over a million dollars.

Currently, the auction record for one of these silver dollars, suspected of being the first one ever struck, is more than $10 million.

1804 draped bust silver dollar

Silver dollars stamped with the year 1804 were actually minted decades later, a unique history that makes these rare coins extremely valuable. The design is known as the "draped bust" dollar and features Lady Liberty on the obverse.

There are different classes of the coins, but the most valuable, known as Class I, was minted in 1834. The auction record exceeds $7.6 million.

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1922 capped head $5 coin

The 1922 $5 gold coin, also known as a half eagle, is one of the rarest gold coins in existence today. Only three are known to exist, and only one is in the hands of a private owner, and that owner paid $8.4 million for it back in 2021.

The coin's obverse features Lady Liberty with a cap on, and it's more than 90% gold.

1861 Paquet reverse $20 double eagle

Only a few versions of the 1861 double eagle with a reverse design known as "Paquet" made it out of the Philadelphia mint due to perceived design flaws. The design added longer letters and a very narrow border. One of these eagles sold for a whopping $7.2 million in 2021.

A couple of thousand of the coins made it out of the San Francisco mint, but even the more common Paquet double eagle has an auction record of over $300,000.

1870-S $3 coin

The $3 coin struck in San Francisco in 1870 is valuable because of its rarity and its legend. According to PCGS, a ceremony was held at the San Francisco Mint in 1870, and one $3 coin was struck specifically for the occasion, but there is some debate about the coin's creation, whether others exist, and more.

Thanks to that elusive history, the coin sold for $5.5 million at auction in 2023.

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1804 draped bust $10 eagle

Like 1804 silver dollars, $10 gold coins of the same year have been known to sell for millions as well. The coin design looks similar to the silver dollars with the same face and year, yet the $10 eagles are even rarer, with only four known to exist.

One of those, with a PR65+ grade, sold at auction for more than $5.2 million.

1821 capped head $5 coin

Half eagles from 1821, which feature a capped Lady Liberty, are incredibly rare, with only a few dozen thought to still exist. According to PCGS, only about two or three of those are proofs.

A proof version of the 19th-century coin, graded PC65CAM, sold at auction for over $4.6 million in 2022.

1913 Liberty Head nickel proof

Only five 1913 nickels featuring Lady Liberty on the obverse are known to exist, and even the lowest graded proof (PR55) has sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

The highest graded version, PR66, has a storied past and has passed through the hands of several major players in the coin-collecting world. The record sale was for $4.5 million in 2018.

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1927-D Saint Gaudens $20 double eagle

Similar to its 1933 counterpart, which is considered essentially "uncollectable" by coin enthusiasts, the 1927 Saint-Gaudens double eagle's worth comes from its rarity. Only about a dozen of these coins are thought to exist today, and all the known specimens are in extremely well-preserved mint state.

The auction record for an MS66 graded version is $4.4 million.

1885 trade $1 proof

According to PCGS, only five proof examples were created of the 1885 trade dollar, and because their existence was not known until nearly 25 years after their mintage, many questioned their authenticity.

Today, they are considered one of the rarest issues in coin collecting, which explains the $3.9 million payday a PR66 graded version earned at auction in 2019.

Bottom line

Stumbling upon a coin worth millions is obviously a dream for those getting into coin collecting and/or trying to find an online side hustle. Unfortunately, the extremely valuable coins listed here tend to be held by museums or major players in the collecting game.

It is possible, though, to earn big paydays from coins you might have in your home right now. Even rare pennies have sold for thousands. To make the most of any sales, consider getting any coins you think may be valuable professionally graded by a service like PCGS.

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