Coin collecting is a serious pastime for some and a casual hobby for others, but it can also be an investment with high returns. While most of the coinage one encounters in everyday life is worth only face value — and some its value in silver, as is the case for silver war nickels minted between 1942 and 1945, according to Gainesville Coins — some truly rare nickels from the past could fetch sky-high prices.
Below are some of the most valuable nickels.
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1913 Liberty Head V Nickel
According to Luxe Digital, this is the most valuable U.S. nickel in existence. Only five examples are known to have been created and just three of these are in the hands of private collectors.
One such example (graded PR66) sold for $4.56 million in 2018 and another, graded PR63, sold for $4.2 million in 2022, per USA Today. Condition was almost certainly a factor when considering the price differential of these sales, despite inflation, given that high-end coin auctions are subject to a great degree of volatility.
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1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel Doubled Die Obverse
While it’s unlikely to find this error coin in the wild, anything is possible. This Buffalo nickel was originally struck with a date of 1917, then struck again with a date of 1918, meaning the 7 is still visible beneath.
As Luxe Digital pointed out, one finer example of this coin sold for $350,750 in 2006. That would equate to $549,202 in 2024.
1926-S Buffalo Nickel
With the S denoting that this variety of Buffalo nickel was struck at the San Francisco Mint (and only 970,000 were minted, with other mints producing millions of examples by comparison), finding one of these coins in mint condition could fetch you a princely sum.
According to the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), a particularly impressive example of this coin (graded MS66 by competing grading service Numismatic Guaranty Corporation or NGC) sold at a 2008 Bowers and Merena auction for $322,000. That’s the equivalent of $472,096 in 2024’s currency.
1867 Shield Nickel With Rays (Proof)
1867 is a key date for shield nickels, which were minted from 1866 to 1883, but when the 1867 coin was set to be issued, a variety of rays surrounding the numeral 5 on the reverse were to be removed. Some coins escaped this removal, while keeping the 1867 date intact — and these are the most valuable.
Accoding to PCGS, an NGC-graded PR66 example sold via Heritage Auctions in 2004 netted the seller a cool $132,250, which is about $220,998 in value today.
Other Modern (and More Common) Nickels
While the vast majority of extremely valuable nickels are quite a bit older than most, some more recent examples can be found in circulation. Watch out for the aforementioned silver war nickels, as any shield nickels start out at around $16 in value, according to The Spruce Crafts.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: These 4 Rare Nickels From Over 20 Years Ago Are Worth a Ton Now
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