The hobby of gathering different coins, or so to say, numismatics is considered as one of the most famous and looked upon hobbies in the earth A number of people are passionate about collecting coins of different countries and different kinds. These coins apart from their unique metallic appearance also comprise of a value that serves money for you. Though the value of coins is considered as lesser than that of the notes, yet there are some coins, the value of which goes beyond your comprehension. These coins are rare and their value reaches upto millions of dollars. The value of these coins clearly depends on their historical importance as well as uniqueness of the piece. Minting errors is also yet another aspect regarding which the value of a coin is estimated. Here are the top ten rarest and the most valuable coins of the world.
1.1849 Double Eagle – $20 million
The United States Mint in Philadelphia created this extremely rare coin in 1849 during the start of the California gold rush. This Double Eagle gold piece was released in denominations of $20. Just a couple of years ago, the value of the coin was estimated to be at $15 million. Just a year later, its value has risen by a third. The first-ever piece of the 1849 Double Eagle can be found at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Numismatic Collection.
2.1877 Half Union – $15 million
The Smithsonian holds two types of this coin, one with pattern J-1546 and the other with pattern J-1548. The 1877 Half Union is a gold pattern coin released in denominations of $50. Its estimated grade is Proof 67. A couple of year ago, the coins were valued at $10 million each. It has since gone up by 50 percent.
3.1907 Saint Gaudens – $8.5 million
A complicated design produced by Augustus Saint-Gaudens proved too difficult for the U.S. Mint to make in commercial quantities, which led to the modification of the design. Rather than remove anything of Saint-Gaudens’ design, Charles Barber, the Mint’s chief engraver, chose to strike the words “In God We Trust†from the coin. Congress blew a gasket, and though the coin went through production, it’s now incredibly rare.
4.1794 Silver Dollar – $7.85 million
This 1794 coin is believed to be the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint. It is also known as the Flowing Hair dollar. This coin is the most expensive coin that is owned by a private collector. It is considered to be extremely rare and a veritable national treasure.
5.1933 Double Eagle – $7.59 million
This 20-dollar gold coin was minted in 1933 by the United States. However, it was withdrawn in the same year, despite minting more than four hundred thousand specimens. Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the coin depicted the Lady Liberty, holding a torch and olive branch. The coins were never circulated and almost all the pieces were melted down, although a few were stolen and got into the hands of collectors. Some of them were recovered and destroyed. Less than 15 specimens exist now, including one that was sold for $7.59 million in an auction in 2002. U.S. National Numismatic Collection houses two and ten others are held in Fort Knox.
 6.1804 Silver Dollar – $7.5 million
Only 15 of this silver dollar were ever minted in 1834. A Class I, or original, silver dollar was given to the Sultan of Muscat in 1836 as a diplomatic gift by the American ambassador in behalf of then U.S. President Andrew Jackson. This coin with Proof 68 is now valued at $7.5 million. A similar coin, minted in the same year and belonging to the same class and coming from the batch of gift to the Sultan, has a lower grade of Proof 67. This second coin has been valued at $6.5 million.
7.1822 Half Eagle – $6 million
This coin is considered as one of the rarest coins ever in the history of coin-collection. This coin was released by the US mint in $5 denomination. The coin features a capped head half eagle that was designed by John Reich. This coin was produced in gold and around 17,796 pieces of it were released. Today, only three specimens of this coin are known to exist. Two for these specimens are housed in the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution. The third specimen of the coin was sold in the year 1982 for seven hundred thousand US dollars.
8.1913 Liberty Head – $4.5 million
The Liberty Head is actually a 5-cent coin released in 1913. Only a limited quantity was ever minted, and reports have it that it was done without the authorization and approval of the United States Mint. The coin has held several records, including being the first one to break the hundred thousand dollar barrier, when a specimen of this coin was sold for over that amount in 1972. Just 24 years later, it became the first coin to break the one million dollar barrier when it went for $1.485 million in 1996. Only five Liberty Head coins are known to be in existence, with two displayed in a museum and the other three remaining in the hands of private collectors. In 2010, a collector bought one of the five coins in an auction for $3.7 million. The coin is now said to be worth around $4.5 million.
9.2007 Queen Elizabeth II Million Dollar Coin – $4 million
 
Produced in 2007 by the Royal Canadian Mint, it was the first coin in the world with a face value of a million dollars. Each specimen was made of 100 kg gold with 99.99% purity. Depicting Queen Elizabeth II on one side and three Maple leaves on the opposite, they were made to promote Canada’s new line of Maple Leaf gold coins. Five of the coins have been purchased so far. One specimen was sold for $4.02 million at an auction in Vienna in 2009.
10.1787 Brasher Doubloon EB on Wing – $2.415 million
This is a gold coin made by the goldsmith Ephraim Brasher. The coin features an eagle, with the goldsmith’s initials printed on its wings. There is actually a similar coin that has the same characteristics, though the initials are printed on the breasts, not the wings.
