Most US coins are worth exactly their face value, and that is the honest starting point for any jar, roll or box. The coins worth more fall into three groups: silver coins, which are any dime, quarter or half dollar dated 1964 or earlier and any silver dollar dated 1935 or earlier, worth about $4.20, $10.50, $21 and $45 respectively for their metal with silver near $58 an ounce as of late 2026; a short list of key dates, mint marks and varieties in each series, worth from about $10 to many thousands; and coins in genuinely uncirculated condition, where a top grade can multiply the price. Gold coins sit above all of these, since every old US gold coin is worth at least its gold, hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Four things decide the value of a coin: what it is made of, its date and mint mark, whether it is a known variety or error, and its condition. You can check the first three at a kitchen table in a few minutes. Condition is where most owners overestimate, and where a grading service settles the question.
Quick answer
- Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and halves dated 1965 or later are usually worth face value, with a short list of exceptions.
- Dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent silver: about $4.20, $10.50 and $21 each at $58 silver.
- Morgan and Peace dollars hold about $45 of silver and usually sell for about $48-60 worn.
- Key dates and listed errors in each series bring about $10 to five figures. They are rare, and a worn common date is not one of them.
How to find the value of a coin, step by step
- Sort by denomination and design. Put cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves and dollars in separate piles, then split each pile by design: Indian Head or Lincoln cents, Buffalo or Jefferson nickels, and so on. Each design is its own series with its own short list of valuable dates.
- Read the date. For silver, the cutoff is 1964 for dimes, quarters and halves. A 1965 to 1970 half dollar is 40 percent silver. A 1942 to 1945 nickel with a large mint mark above Monticello is 35 percent silver.
- Check the edge. On a dime, quarter or half, a solid silver-white edge means silver. A copper stripe between two gray layers means clad, and clad coins are face value unless they are an error or a top grade.
- Find the mint mark. It is a small letter: P for Philadelphia, D for Denver, S for San Francisco, O for New Orleans, CC for Carson City, W for West Point. On most older coins it is on the reverse; on most coins from 1968 on, it is on the obverse near the date. No letter usually means Philadelphia.
- Compare the date and mint mark with the key list for that series. This is where the money is. A 1909-S VDB cent, a 1916-D dime, a 1932-D quarter or an 1893-S Morgan dollar is a different coin from the same design one year or one mint over.
- Look for a listed variety or error. Doubled lettering on a 1955 or 1972 cent, a missing mint mark on a proof, a coin struck on the wrong metal. Most odd-looking coins turn out to be damage, so check against published lists before getting excited.
- Judge the wear honestly. Look at the high points: Lincoln's cheek, Washington's hair above the ear, Liberty's knee on a Walking Liberty half. Flat, smooth high points mean circulated. Our coin grading scale explains what Good, Fine, XF and Mint State look like.
- Price from sold results. Look at completed sales for the same date, mint mark and grade, not asking prices. For anything that looks valuable, a grading service decides the grade buyers will pay for.
Which guide covers your coin
Every US series below has its own guide with date tables. Start with the one that matches your coin.
| Coin | Usually worth | The ones worth more | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln wheat cent, 1909-1958 | 3-10 cents | 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1931-S, 1955 doubled die | Wheat pennies |
| Indian Head cent, 1859-1909 | $1-3 worn | 1877, 1909-S, 1908-S, 1869, 1872 | Indian Head pennies |
| 1943 steel cent | 10 cents to a few dollars | Top uncirculated grades; a copper 1943 is a famous rarity | 1943 steel penny |
| Lincoln cent, 1959 on | 1 cent | 1969-S and 1972 doubled dies, 1982 and 1983 varieties | What pennies are worth money |
| Liberty V nickel, 1883-1913 | $2-10 worn | 1885, 1886, 1912-S | Liberty nickels |
| Buffalo nickel, 1913-1938 | 10-25 cents dateless, $1-3 dated | 1913-S Type 2, 1918/7-D, 1937-D three-legged | Buffalo nickels |
| Jefferson nickel, 1938 on | 5 cents | 1942-1945 silver war nickels, a few varieties, Full Steps | Jefferson nickels |
| Barber, Mercury and Roosevelt silver dimes | About $4.20 silver | 1916-D Mercury, Barber keys, Seated Carson City | What dimes are worth money |
| Washington quarter, 1932-1964 | About $10.50 silver | 1932-D, 1932-S | Silver quarters |
| Washington quarter, 1965 on | 25 cents | Silver errors, W quarters, state quarter errors | What quarters are worth money |
| Walking Liberty, Franklin and 1964 Kennedy halves | About $21 silver | 1921, 1921-D, 1938-D Walkers; Full Bell Lines Franklins | What half dollars are worth money |
| Morgan dollar, 1878-1921 | About $48-60 worn | 1893-S, 1889-CC, 1895, Carson City | Morgan dollars |
| Peace dollar, 1921-1935 | About $48-55 worn | 1921, 1928, 1934-S | Peace dollars |
| Modern dollars, 1971 on | $1-2 | 40% silver Ikes, 1979-P wide rim, Cheerios Sacagawea | Dollar coins |
| US gold, 1795-1933 | Gold value or more | Key dates and small denominations | US gold coins |
Several series have narrower guides too: the Standing Liberty quarter, the Barber dime, the Mercury dime, the Seated Liberty dime, the Walking Liberty half, the Franklin half, the Kennedy half, the bicentennial quarter, the bicentennial half, state quarters, the 1965 quarter and the 1921 silver dollar. Single-year penny guides cover 1964, 1972, 1982 and 2009.
The silver floor
Silver is the single biggest reason an ordinary-looking coin is worth more than face. The silver in a coin does not depend on wear: a smooth 1946 Roosevelt dime holds the same metal as a sharp one. With silver at about $58 an ounce:
| Coin | Silver | Pure silver per coin | Melt at $58 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dime, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.0723 oz | About $4.20 |
| Quarter, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.1808 oz | About $10.50 |
| Half dollar, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.3617 oz | About $21 |
| Half dollar, 1965-1970 | 40% | 0.1479 oz | About $8.60 |
| War nickel, 1942-1945, big mint mark | 35% | 0.0563 oz | About $3.25 |
| Morgan or Peace dollar | 90% | 0.7734 oz | About $44.85 |
| Eisenhower dollar with S, 40% silver | 40% | 0.3161 oz | About $18.35 |
Our silver coin value guide covers what dealers actually pay against these figures, and how to tell if a coin is silver covers the edge, ring and weight tests.
Condition and what it does to price
| Grade | What you see | Effect on value |
|---|---|---|
| Good (G) | Design outlined, most detail worn away, date readable | Silver coins: melt. Key dates: the entry price |
| Fine (F) | Major details visible, high points flat | Small premium on scarce dates |
| Very Fine to Extremely Fine (VF-XF) | Clear detail, light wear on high points | Noticeably more for key dates |
| About Uncirculated (AU) | Traces of wear only on the highest points | Often double a Fine price on scarce dates |
| Mint State (MS60-70) | No wear at all, original luster | Where common dates gain real value, and where top grades bring the record prices |
| Cleaned, any grade | Fine hairlines, unnatural shine | Often half or less of an original coin |
Two things matter more than people expect. First, a cleaned coin loses most of its collector premium, which is why our guide on whether you should clean old coins says no. Second, a common date in worn condition is worth its metal or its face, however old it is. An 1890s Morgan dollar is common; a 1990s proof set can be worth less than its issue price, as our proof sets guide shows.
A worked example
Say you find a coffee can of change in a grandparent's closet. You sort it: 140 Lincoln cents, 30 nickels, 22 dimes, 15 quarters, 4 halves and 2 large dollars.
The cents with wheat ears on the back go in one pile. You check each date for 1909-S, 1914-D, 1922 with no D, 1931-S and 1955. None turn up, so they are worth about 3-10 cents each, roughly $4-10 for the lot. On the nickels you find three dated 1943 with a big P above the dome: about $3.25 each in silver. Of the 22 dimes, 9 have solid silver edges and dates from 1946 to 1964, so about $38 in silver. Four of the quarters are 1964 or earlier, about $42. Two of the halves are a 1964 Kennedy and a 1967 Kennedy: about $21 and $8.60. The two dollars are a 1922 Peace dollar and an 1884-O Morgan, both worn, about $48-55 each.
The can, which looked like about $13 in change, is worth roughly $220-250, almost all of it silver. Nothing in it is a key date, which is the usual outcome. If one of those dimes had been a 1916 Mercury with a D on the reverse, that one coin would have been worth more than the rest of the can together, and it would be the one to send to a grading service.
Common mistakes
- Thinking old means valuable. A worn 1920s wheat cent is worth a few cents. Age matters far less than mintage, survival and condition.
- Missing the mint mark. A 1932 quarter is worth silver; a 1932-D is worth hundreds even worn. Always find the letter.
- Treating damage as an error. Coins that look doubled, bent, discolored or thin are usually damage or wear. Our error coins guide shows the difference.
- Pricing from asking prices. Listings for "rare" common coins at thousands of dollars are everywhere online, and they rarely sell. Only sold prices count.
- Cleaning the coin before selling. It removes the original surface buyers pay for.
- Assuming "gold" dollars contain gold. Sacagawea and Presidential dollars are brass colored, with no gold at all.
How WorthPic reads coin photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. For a coin it reads the design to place the series, then the date and mint mark, and checks them against the known key dates and listed varieties for that series. It looks at the edge where a photo shows it, judges wear on the high points, and flags signs of cleaning such as hairlines or an unnatural shine. It then gives an honest value range for what the photos show, including the silver value where the coin has silver. What it cannot know from a photo is the exact weight, the metal under the surface, or fine details like faint doubling under magnification, and it says so when those decide the price. It identifies and estimates. It does not grade, authenticate or appraise.
What to photograph
- Both sides straight on, filling the frame, in soft even light without glare.
- The date close up, sharp enough to read every digit.
- The mint mark close up, wherever it sits on that design.
- The edge, tilted toward the light, for any dime, quarter or half.
- Any doubling or oddity close up, with a second photo from a slight angle.
- The holder or label if the coin is already in a grading service slab.
When to get it looked at in person
Silver coins sold for their metal do not need grading; a coin dealer will buy them by weight and date. For a coin that matches a key date, a listed variety or a clear mint error, or an older coin that looks fully uncirculated, take it to a local coin dealer or coin club for a first look, then consider PCGS or NGC. They authenticate and grade, and buyers pay for that opinion. Fees start at roughly $20-60 per coin, so it makes sense only where the coin may be worth clearly more. For an estate full of coins, our guide to inherited coins explains how to sort a large lot before you call anyone.