Your pocket change may be worth a small fortune!

It’s sad: Rare coins are spent every day

You might—at this very minute—have a small fortune in your pocket or purse. In fact, it’s estimated that several million Americans every year do, and they end up spending it as “regular money.”

Rare coins have more worth than their face value. A penny might be worth $300 and a quarter $3,000. What a tragedy if you spend one of those buying a candy bar!

While it’s true you probably won’t find a coin worth $10,000 in your pocket change, it has happened. But finding a rare coin in your pocket may not be as unlikely as you think. Lots of valuable coins are still in circulation.

The reason why these valuable coins haven’t been snapped up is threefold: there aren’t that many collectors, there are billions of coins in circulation, and most people have no clue that one quarter in their pocket is worth 25 while the other is worth $50.

The following list will help you find the treasures hidden in your everyday pocket change.

You can find rare coins everywhere

Rare pennies

The 1943 copper penny is like a winning lottery ticket. The last auction sale of this little gem went for more than $200,000.

The reason why it’s rare is because of its lineage. The pennies in 1943 were stuck from zinc-coated steel. Copper was in short supply and needed for the war. It’s estimated somewhere between 40 to 50 1943 copper pennies are still in circulation. Hopefully you never spent one!

The 1955 double-die penny (a doubling of the letters and numbers) can be worth more than $1,000, depending on its condition. If it’s worn it’s still worth several hundred dollars. Double-die coins are a minting error and the coin—or part of it-was struck twice. More than 20,000 of these are thought to be out there—in other people’s pockets.

The 1960-P “small and large date” penny is one that most collectors—even kids—are aware of and keep an eye out for in pocket change. The mint changed dies and the date is smaller on one version than the other. The small date fetches several dollars if it’s in excellent (fine) condition. If the coin is uncirculated it’s worth around $50.

The 1969-S penny with a doubled-die obverse (front of coin) is very rare. There are some counterfeits in circulation. You’ll know you have a genuine one if the entire obverse is double struck except for the mint mark. The true doubled-die has a mint mark only struck once. If the entire coin was doubled, it’s only worth a few dollars. A real 1969 doubled-die goes for around $35,000.

The 1970-S penny was nicknamed the “atheist cent” by collectors because the phrase “In God We Trust”  was accidentally obliterated when many of the coins were struck at the San Francisco mint. It’s easy to find one in change and worth about $5. If that doesn’t thrill you, consider that $5 is 500 times the value of what you’d get if you spent it as a penny. By the way, what can you get for a penny nowadays?

The 1970-S “small-date” penny is a relatively rare coin that all but the most avid collectors miss. This coin is worth up to several times as much as the much more touted 1960-P small date. To identify this coin, check the tops of the numbers in the date: the large date’s 9 and 0 are higher than the top of the 7 while the tops of all four numbers are the same in the small date variety.

1970-S “small date” penny doubled-die obverse is the rarest of the three San Fransisco mint’s errors. It combines the two errors of the coins listed above.

The 1972 doubled-die obverse penny features an obvious doubling of the date and the inscriptions on the obverse. These pennies can sell for $100 or more and are popular. It’s estimated at least several million are still in circulation that are worth up to $500 apiece.

The 1983 doubled-die penny reverse. Worth about $100 in good condition, double that if mint condition. Not hard to find in your pocket change if you’re looking for it and persistent.

The 1984 doubled-die penny obverse is a classic example of ‘if you can’t get it right the first time, make sure you blow it again the second time.’ And the mint did just that, this time on the obverse instead of the reverse. It’s worth about the same as the 1983 penny.

The 1995 doubled-die obverse penny is found in circulation daily. There’s a clear doubling if the words “Liberty” and “In God We Trust.” It’s worth about $20 in extra-fine condition and $60 uncirculated.

1999 wide “AM” penny reverse is one of three types. The mint mistakenly used a proof die to mint regular coins from 1998 through 2000. !999 is the rarest. You can see the “AM” in “AMERICA” are wide letters that look distinctively different from the rest of the letters in the word. And the “A” and “M” are almost touching each other. The worth is dependent on the condition of the coin with prices on excellent coins garnering as much as $600. The 1998 and 2000 errors run from $5 to $25.

Check your pocket change!

Rare nickels

The 1964 nickel with the motto “E Pluridus Unum” instead of “Pluribus” is a moderately rare coin with moderate demand. Worth from $20 to $300 depending on the condition.

The 2005-D, nickle has an error on the reverse side beginning at an angle from the E in “STATES” it appears a “spear” is bisecting the bison. A “five-legged” buffalo error also exists. The value of these mint oddities are increasing; the current market price for either is in the $20 range.

Rare dimes

1965 silver Roosevelt dime is worth $10,000 or more. The reason why it’s a valuable coin is the minting of silver dimes was discontinued during 1964. I 1965 all dies were supposed to be made from an amalgam of copper and nickel, but a few silver ones slipped through. While only a few have been discovered, mint records suggest there are many more silver ’65s out there.

The real silver dime has a silver edge while the common copper and nickel coin has a strip of brown running around the edge of it.

The 1982 “No P” dime has a circulated value of $100. If the dime is in mint condition it will fetch a much higher price. Uncirculated ones go for more than $3,000.

Rare quarters

The 1989 “No-P” quarters command about $50. According to numismatists there are a lot of these quarters in circulation, so if you keep an eye out for them sooner or later one should turn up in your change.

The 2001-P double struck “New York State” quarter has a market value of up to $3000. Circulated examples start at $400. When you first spot this coin you may think you’re suffering from double-vision. The off-center image of George Washington and the Statue of Liberty are almost disconcerting. Someone at the mint should have been fired for this.

The well-publicized 2004-D Wisconsin State quarter has an extra corn stalk leaf. Worth hundreds of dollars, a die defect makes the coins look like there’s an extra leaf on the lower left-hand side of the ear of corn. You can spot it on the reverse side of the coin if you’ve got one in change. There are two types: the “high leaf” and “low leaf.”

Rare half dollars

The 1972-D Kennedy half dollar without the designer, Frank Gasparro’s initials. On the normal version of this coin the initials “FG” appear just to the right of the eagle’s tail.

The 1972-D is the scarcest of the half dollars with this error, but there are also examples of a missing or partial “FG” in these years:

1966-D No FG
1973-D No F the G is weak
1977-D No F the G is weak
1982-P No FG
1983-P No FG
1989-P No FG

The coins will go for $30 to as much as $500.

The 1974-D doubled-die Kennedy half dollar obverse is worth several hundred of dollars to you. There’s a doubling of the mottoes.

Rare dollars

The 2007-D Sacagawea dollar with edge lettering has just sold at auction for $10,000. Although it is the only one known, experts say there must be more out there. Since it’s minted on the same press as the Presidential dollars, the mint made an error and inscribed the edges of the Sacagewea coin. If you have any, check them. And check everyone you get in the future. There may be hundreds—even thousands—more out there.

The Presidential Dollar Series edge-lettering errors have been cropping up since the first in the series—Washington in 2007—was minted. Often you can find the lettering on the edges partially or completely missing. More rare is finding a coin with the lettering stamped several times. When you get these coins check the edge. If the inscription is missing or doubled you have something more valuable than a dollar. Depending on the president, a coin with such an error can get between $50 to $3,000.

Yes, your pocket change might have hidden treasures. But if you’re aware of what’s rare, and you check your pocket change every day, the odds are you too can stake a claim to a small fortune.

It’s literally found money.

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