What old coins are worth money?

According to logic the older the coins, the higher is their value. But lets understand the drivers of the value.

President Theodore Roosevelt would be very surprised, because one of those last gold coins that he had sent for remelting in 1933 became the most expensive monetary unit in the world in less than 90 years.

This coin called Double Eagle was sold for record-setting amount of 19.5 million USD on June 8, 2021 at Sotheby's auction in New York. What is the value of such a relatively young coin?

Actually there are a lot of factors, which influence the price. We’ll tell about the main ones:

- Rarity of old coins. This factor is the most important one, because all rare coins have the highest price when selling at auctions.

- The market demand

- Condition of the coin, and a number of other factors.

And the story of Double Eagle would be very short, if not for human greed. But it was the greed that helped to save this unique piece for future generations.

It was decided to close the door on the history of American gold coins in 1933. Double Eagle was minted at that time, and was withdrawn at once. Several pieces were lost during transportation, and were not found until 1996.

And since that time the price of Double Eagle has been increasing.

Valuable old coins

So, the rarity of a coin is one of the main criteria for its assessment. Selling price of Double Eagle proves this statement as a perfect example. The most expensive pieces, which numismatists valued, are not so old as per the standards of history.

Apart from Double Eagle there is a rare coin that has a very romantic name Loose Hair. It was issued in 1794. By the way, those coins were the first American dollars. 2000 items were issued. Only about 200 coins have been saved to our times for various reasons. One of those valuable old coins was sold for 7 850 000 USD.

Another example of a rare coin is Brasher Doubloon of 15 USD. It is of almost the same age as Loose Hair is. And the amount paid for it was just a little less: 7 350 000 USD.

Old coins for sale

All the coins you can see here, on our website, have their own history. Everyone who is looking to sell old coins knows it isn't just a piece of metal.

If coins could speak, they would tell us about events, which we know about only from ancient manuscripts or stories told. It gives you a thrill, when you realize that knights of the Teutonic or Livonian Order paid for their armor, weapons or horse with this small coin. And that money was minted by European principalities. A small piece of metal was a witness of feuds, palace coups, and the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The age of settlement or event is determined via coins found at archaeological excavation sites. The coins let us see how the princes or rulers looked, because their images were minted mostly on the coins.

When you see the announcement ‘Oldest coin for sale’, don't simply scroll through, as you have an opportunity to consult with experts on our website. And be sure that coins are also great investments.

You never know when a rare coin like Double Eagle or Loose Hair is waiting for you. As a matter of fact, the Eagle was bought in 2002 for 7 370 000 USD first time, and it was sold for 19 500 000 USD in 19 years.

Our catalog of coins is updated constantly. The coins are sold every day. New pieces appear. You will make a great investment, if you buy a coin from our catalog, because its value increases year by year.

The rarest old coins

However, in any way the oldest coins in the world would not have survived up to our times. They are difficult to carry in a wallet or bag, there is a little space for them there. And besides they would resist such arbitrary treatment. Because the first unit of value mentioned in the history of mankind was ... a bull. Homer wrote in his poem dated the 8th-7th centuries BC that golden armor cost 100 bulls, for example.

Cattle were counted by heads, and the modern word ‘capital’ originated from the Latin word ‘caput’ (the head).

But to be serious, we would like to add gold Double Florin of Edward III (dated 1343) to the rarest old coins list consisting of the mentioned Double Eagle and Loose Hair. This coin was used only until 1344.

The image of the King himself and the image of his throne is clearly visible on this coin. Now Double Florin is a part of a private collection. It was sold at auction for 6.8 million US dollars.

Collectors paid a little bit less (6 029 400 USD) in 2011 for rare Umayyad Dynasty coin - Gold Dinar (dated 723 BC).

Old silver coins

Far fewer gold coins than silver ones have survived up to our times for obvious reasons. And silver coins were used more often.

Silver sigils were official coins at the times of Persian King Darius. By the way, they are referred to in the Bible as ‘shekel’. Drachmas of Ancient Greece were competitors to sigils at that time. Those old silver coins were the first analogues of euro or dollar, i.e. analogues of international currency.

Much later piastres played the same role. Do you remember the characters of the novel Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson, who were looking for Captain Flint's Chest with piastres?

And so ‘piastre’ is translated as ‘silver bar’, i.e. actually ‘silver coin’.

Piastres have been distributed for several hundred years from North and South America to China. And almost every state minted them.

Prices of old coins

Both silver and gold coins were forged from the beginning of the history of their manufacture. Minting counterfeit money was a normal daily routine.

Buyer of old coins should know that he or she can buy counterfeit coin made skillfully, even if it is an ancient one, when buying it not on the collectors website, but privately. Such coin could be forged one, even if it was made in the old days.

‘It is better to forge a coin than the truth’. These words were carved on the wall of Apollo Sanctuary in Athens.

This aphorism tells us that there were a lot of coin counterfeiters at that time. Counterfeiters along with murderers, rebels and coup plotters were punished by death in ancient times. In some cases the they were expelled, which was equal to death as per the norms of that time. But such punishment did not stop those who liked ‘fast money’. Counterfeit coins are found at sites of archeological excavation of settlements, battlefields, etc.

You will avoid buying forged coins when dealing with us. Our website and our experts are acknowledged to be world best ones in many respects.

Who buys old coins? Collectors, investors, antique lovers do it. Apart from it, a coin is a unique, original and memorable gift. That is why people buy coins for this purpose.

We have a great choice of checked rare coins, which become worthy pieces in private collections or museums after being sold.

Buying old coins is a great investment at the times of instability of the world economy, inflation, and economic crisis, because their price will increase year by year. Visit our website and we’ll help you make an excellent and right choice.