Whats the rarest U.S. coin?

[bajablu]

Not including the 33 double eagles. Those are the most expensive yes, but whats the rarest?

[EZ_E]

The 1870 S half dime which was struck for the new San Francisco mint which opened that year. Although there is only one known to exist, it is highly probably that another lies waiting under the cornerstone of The Old Granite Mint.

[bajablu]

Thats the one I was thinking about, but I figured Id ask because I always learn new stuff from you guys.

 

 

 

[thebeav]

Gee......I thought that this would apply to any coins I have in my inventory.....

 

Paul

[bajablu]

Sure, we can do that too.

 

 

Ok people, whats the rarest coin, medal, token, or whatever currently in your collection?

[MarkFeld]

Thats the one I was thinking about, but I figured Id ask because I always learn new stuff from you guys.

 

 

 

Do patterns count as "coins"? If so, there might be a few tied-for-rarest coin candidates among them. Even if not, I believe that there are probably at least a few unique early (19th century) Proof coins.

[bajablu]

Sure, anything coin related really. I wont discriminate. I collect everything anyway, so sure...

[rrantique]

The 1870 S half dime which was struck for the new San Francisco mint which opened that year. Although there is only one know to exist, it is highly probably that another lies waiting under the cornerstone of The Old Granite Mint.

 

 

1870-S three-dollar gold piece.

[Zoins]

Here are a few candidates:

 

Business Strikes

 

1?: 1870-S SH10C

1?: 1870-S G3D

 

Proofs

 

1: 1844-O G1D Proof

1: 1844-O G10D Proof

1: 1851-O S1D Proof

1: 1854-S G20D Proof

1: 1866 No Motto S50C Proof

1: 1884-O S1D Proof

 

1?: 1837 G5D Proof

1?: 1847 G5D Proof

1?: 1850 G1D Proof

1?: 1850 G10D Proof

1?: 1850 G20D Proof

1?: 1851-O S3C Proof

1?: 1852 S3C Proof

1?: 1854 G1D Proof

1?: 1854 G5D Proof

1?: 1854 G10D Proof

1?: 1854 G20D Proof

1?: 1855 G5D Proof

1?: 1855 G10D Proof

1?: 1855-S S25C Proof

1?: 1856 G5D Proof

1?: 1856 G10D Proof

[bajablu]

zoins, now there are some coins I didnt even think about. Thanks everyone so far.

[physics-fan3.14]

Sure, we can do that too.

 

 

Ok people, whats the rarest coin, medal, token, or whatever currently in your collection?

 

I like this question better - I think it is more interesting. My rarest coin is currently an 1827 O-140 CBH, with an R4+ rating (80-200 known). There are a couple of my world coins that I have a suspicion are almost that rare, after people melted the rest down and such, but I have no definite numbers on that one.

[bajablu]

World coins are fine too. Im just looking for the rare stuff.

[cpm9ball]

If pattern coins are included, then the 1849 Double Eagle would have to be on or tied for the top spot since there is only one and it is in the Smithsonian collection.

 

Chris

[michael]

a two way tie

 

1849 double eagle in the smithsoniam

 

1870-s three dollar gold in the bass collection currently at the ana

 

 

i know of an offer of at least 10 million on the three dollar which is of course currently not for sale

 

the 49 double eagle would bring over 10 million at auction

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

The 1841-O half-eagle is rarer than any coin mentioned so far. It is my favorite "ultra-rarity", and if you do a little reading up on it, you'll quickly find out why it's THE rarest of the rare!

[Oldtrader3]

The 1894-S dime is one of the rarest.

[Oldtrader3]

The 1825/4 half eagle is another rare coin with only two specimens known, both in private hands. Followed by the 1822 half-eagle of which (3) are known.

[rrantique]

a two way tie

 

1849 double eagle in the smithsoniam

 

1870-s three dollar gold in the bass collection currently at the ana

 

 

i know of an offer of at least 10 million on the three dollar which is of course currently not for sale

 

the 49 double eagle would bring over 10 million at auction

 

 

 

1870-S three-dollar gold piece. Uniqueness counts! Here's another coin with just one example known -- and that alone would be enough to catapult it into the Top 10. For good measure, though, it also has a touch of romantic appeal: This single example is said to have been found in the cornerstone of the San Francisco Mint. Although it is not in mint condition, having been graded Extremely Fine-40, it brought $687,500 at the 1982 auction of gold coins from the Eliasberg Collection.

 

 

 

[MarkFeld]

The 1841-O half-eagle is rarer than any coin mentioned so far. It is my favorite "ultra-rarity", and if you do a little reading up on it, you'll quickly find out why it's THE rarest of the rare!

Sorry, I believe that your entry is ineligible. There are countless (other) coins of which NO examples are known. And seeing as how they aren't known to exist, they don't qualify.

[Conder101]

There are several other unique US coins that have not been mentioned yet, not including die varieties that are known by a single specimen.

 

1873-CC no arrows dime

1795 heraldic eagle rev eagle (I'm going on memory on that one.)

 

Of the five "unique" coins mentioned so far

 

The 1849 double eagle is currently unique but there is a second one out there somewhere, its location today is unknown.

 

The 70-S half dime and three dollar gold should each have a second specimen in the Mint cornerstone.

 

The 1873-CC no arrows dime and 1795 heraldic rev eagle are unique with no second specimen claimed.

 

As for the rarest coin in my collection, it's a Conder token, Shropshire 13bis currently unique. I also have a Shropshire 11 whose rarity is uncertain. Dalton & Hamer called it Rare, but every one I had ever seen called an 11 was misattributed, Talking with the major dealers, they have never seen a correctly attributed one, and one of the top persons in the field with over 40 years experience has never seen one. they tell me that it is just an error that D&H made in the book. Then on Feb 15th of this year I bought a Shropshire piece with a poor picture that I thought was an 11bis on eBay (An unlisted variety that I discovered in another collectors set.) But when it arrived it turned out to be the mythical Shopshire 11. This may the only confirmed piece seen since 1910.

 

In US coins my rarest is probably my 1797 S-121a large cent with about 20 or so specimens known, or my 1802 NC-2 with about 18 known. If you ignore die varieties and just go by date and mint then it is my 1885 three cent piece. Mintage of 1000, with maybe 200 to 300 still existing.

[BillJones]

The 1849 $20 Gold piece should head the list. Back around 1910 J.P. Morgan offered the U.S. Treasury $10,000 for the coin, which was a staggering sum for a coin at the time. The offer was declined. Today only traced example is sitting the National Coin Collection at the Smithsonian. It is impaired and has some minor damage.

 

There have been rumors of other examples, but aside from a copper pattern with gold plating that was last sold in the 1890s, there are no other decent leads. That copper pattern has not been traced. If it were to show up and prove to be genuine, the auction price might give the 1933 $20 gold coin a run for its money.

 

Edited to add:

 

An interesting fact about the unique 1870-S $3 gold piece is that it would or should get a body bag if it were submitted for grading. The piece was used for jewelry. It has been polished, has a removed mounting at the top and has the numbers "893" pin scratched into the reverse.