Start here: is it silver, copper, or gold?
The fastest money is in the metal itself. Check the date — that alone tells you a lot.
Tip: a quick weigh and a date check sorts most of a jar in minutes. Silver coins also "ring" brighter and won't stick to a magnet.
Spot the winners — key dates
The common-looking coins that are secretly worth real money. Values are rough collector-grade estimates — condition swings them hard.
Not on the list? It can still be worth a nice premium in high grade, or hide a variety. When in doubt, get it checked.
Read any coin in 30 seconds
Four things decide a coin's value. Run them in order.
- Date. Some years are keys (above). Always start here.
- Mintmark. A tiny letter — D (Denver), S (San Francisco), CC (Carson City), O (New Orleans), or none (Philadelphia). It's usually on the reverse of older coins, on the front near the date after 1968, and under the date on Lincoln cents. The mint can multiply the value.
- Condition. Sharp, lustrous, and original beats worn — and never clean a coin (it can cut value in half). Cleaned or polished surfaces are a red flag.
- Variety / error. Doubling in the letters, a repunched mintmark, an off-metal strike — the hidden jackpots that turn an $80 coin into a $900 one.
The pennies worth a small fortune
Don't write off copper. A handful of cents are worth hundreds — sometimes far more.
Copper color matters too: collectors prize full red (RD) over red-brown (RB) over brown (BN) — an original-red old cent is worth a real premium.
Found a maybe?
Don't guess — and please don't clean it. Reply to our first email with a clear photo of the front and back, and we'll identify and value one coin for you, free.
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