You just opened a box of coins your grandfather left behind. Or maybe you've been collecting casually for years and finally want to know what you actually have. Either way, you're asking the same question millions of people Google every month: how much are my coins worth?

Coin valuation depends on six factors that professional numismatists have used for over a century, and a seventh that didn't exist five years ago. This coin value guide walks you through all of them. You'll learn what makes a coin valuable, how to value old coins step by step, how to handle an entire collection without losing weeks to research, and how AI is making the whole process faster than it's ever been.

Whether you're holding a single coin or staring at a shoebox full of them, this is where you start.

What's My Common Coin Worth? Quick Reference Table

These are general ranges for common dates. Key dates, high grades, and varieties can be worth significantly more. Always check the PCGS Price Guide for specific date/mint/grade combinations.

What Makes a Coin Valuable? The Six Factors

Six factors drive every coin's value. Understanding them won't make you an expert overnight, but it will give you the framework to evaluate any coin in your collection and have an informed conversation with a dealer or grading service.

1. Rarity and Mintage

Rarity is the single biggest driver of rare coin values. The fewer surviving examples of a coin, the more collectors will pay for one.

Mintage figures tell you how many coins the U.S. Mint produced in a given year. But surviving population matters more than original mintage. A coin with 500,000 minted but only 50 known survivors is extraordinarily rare. PCGS and NGC population reports track how many of each coin and grade combination have been professionally certified, giving you real data on how scarce a coin actually is.

Take the 1893-S Morgan Dollar. The San Francisco Mint produced just 100,000, making it one of the rarest coins in the entire Morgan series. In lower circulated grades, it trades around $3,000-5,000. In gem Mint State condition, it has sold for over $700,000 at auction.

Error coins and varieties add another dimension. A manufacturing anomaly like the 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent transforms an otherwise common penny into a coin worth thousands because so few examples survived with the striking error intact.

2. Condition (Grade)

Condition is where value multiplies. The same coin in different grades can differ by orders of magnitude.

The numismatic industry uses the Sheldon Scale, a 1-70 grading system that maps a coin's physical condition to a number. At the low end, Poor (1) describes a coin barely identifiable by type. Good (4-6) shows heavy wear but all major details visible. Fine (12-15) has moderate wear with clear features. Extremely Fine (40-45) shows light wear on high points only. About Uncirculated (50-58) has minimal wear, and Mint State (60-70) means no wear at all.

The concept every new collector needs to understand is the grade cliff. Value doesn't increase linearly with grade. It jumps. A 1916-D Mercury Dime in Fine-12 sells for roughly $1,500. The same coin in MS-65 sells for over $30,000. That exponential relationship between condition and price is the most important dynamic in coin valuation.

Two coins at the same technical grade can also command different prices based on eye appeal: the quality of the strike, the character of any toning, and the overall visual impression. A coin with attractive original toning often sells for a premium over a technically identical but visually bland example.

For a deeper look at how AI is changing condition assessment, see our complete guide to AI coin grading and valuation.

3. Date and Mint Mark

Every U.S. coin carries a date and, in most cases, a mint mark indicating which facility produced it. Certain date and mint mark combinations are dramatically more valuable than others.

Mint marks identify the production facility:

• P (or no mark): Philadelphia

• D: Denver

• S: San Francisco

• W: West Point

• O: New Orleans (historical)

• CC: Carson City (historical, highly collectible)

Where you find the mint mark depends on the coin's era and denomination. On older coins (pre-1968), it's typically on the reverse. On modern coins, it appears on the obverse near the date. Always check both sides.

Key date coins, where a specific year and mint combination had low production, drive significant premiums. Carson City Morgan Dollars, 1916-D Mercury Dimes, and 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cents are classic examples where the mint mark transforms an ordinary denomination into a valuable collectible.

4. Metal Content and Melt Value

Every coin has a floor value determined by its precious metal content, called the melt value.

Pre-1965 U.S. silver coins contain 90% silver. Gold coins contain the stated weight of gold. These melt values fluctuate daily with metal spot prices. For a quick check on current melt values, Coinflation.com calculates them automatically based on live metal prices.

When melt value matters most: bulk common-date silver coins are typically valued at a multiple of their face value tied to the current silver spot price. Pre-1965 U.S. coins contain 0.715 troy ounces of silver per dollar of face value, so the multiplier fluctuates daily. Check Coinflation.com for the current number. For these common coins, the silver content is the primary value driver.

When coin melt value is irrelevant: for key dates and high-grade coins, the numismatic premium far exceeds the metal content. Nobody buying a $30,000 1916-D Mercury Dime is thinking about its silver melt value of a few dollars.

5. Market Demand and Collector Interest

Rarity alone doesn't create value. A coin nobody wants isn't worth much regardless of how few exist.

Demand is driven by series popularity (Morgan Dollars are perennially among the most collected U.S. coins), design appeal, commemorative significance, and broader collecting trends. Market timing matters too. Precious metals prices affect bullion coin premiums. Economic uncertainty tends to increase demand for tangible assets. Anniversary years can spike interest in specific commemoratives.

The best real-time indicator of demand is auction results. Heritage Auctions price archives, Stack's Bowers, and GreatCollections all publish realized prices showing what coins have actually sold for, not just what dealers are asking.

6. Provenance and Historical Significance

Who owned a coin before you can add substantial value. A Morgan Dollar from the famous Eliasberg Collection or a coin with documented Civil War-era provenance commands a premium beyond what its grade alone would justify.

Coins connected to historical events carry narrative value. Coins recovered from the SS Central America shipwreck, coins from specific mint runs with documented stories, pieces from famous collections that appear at auction with pedigree labels from PCGS or NGC.

For most collectors, provenance matters less than the first five factors. But for high-value coins at the top of the market, it can be the deciding factor between two otherwise identical pieces.

How to Value Your Coins: A Step-by-Step Method

Knowing the six factors is one thing. Actually applying them to the coins in front of you is another. Here's a practical method you can follow right now.

Step 1: Identify What You Have

Sort your coins by denomination and type. Use reference images to identify the series. Is it a Walking Liberty Half Dollar, a Morgan Dollar, an Indian Head Cent? If you're unsure, the PCGS CoinFacts database has reference photos for virtually every U.S. coin series.

Find the date and mint mark on each coin. Check both sides and the edge. Mint mark location varies by series and era.

One critical rule before you go any further: do not clean your coins. This is the single most common and destructive mistake beginners make. Any cleaning, including polishing, dipping, or rubbing, removes original surfaces and can reduce a coin's value by 50% or more. A dull, original coin is almost always worth more than a shiny, cleaned one.

Step 2: Assess Condition Roughly

You don't need to assign a precise Sheldon grade at this stage. Categorize each coin into broad buckets:

• Obviously circulated: Visible wear on high points, details softened

• Lightly circulated: Minimal wear, most details sharp

• Apparently uncirculated: No visible wear under normal lighting

For comparison, PCGS Photograde and NGC's grading standards provide free reference images at each grade level. Compare your coins side by side.

Handle coins by the edge, never the face. Fingerprint oils cause permanent spots on uncirculated coins that reduce their grade and value.

Step 3: Look Up Comparable Values

Now cross-reference what you've identified with market data:

• PCGS Price Guide and NGC Price Guide: Industry-standard references. Look up your coin by series, date, mint mark, and estimated grade.

• Heritage Auctions archives: Shows actual realized prices, what coins have sold for at auction, not just what dealers are asking.

• Coinflation.com: For bullion coins, check current melt value.

Important: any coin price guide is a starting point, not a guarantee. An individual coin may sell for more or less depending on eye appeal, market timing, and the specific transaction. Think of price guides as a reasonable range, not a fixed number.

Step 4: Determine if Professional Appraisal Is Warranted

If your preliminary research suggests a coin may be worth $200 or more, professional evaluation makes economic sense.

Your options:

• Local coin dealer: Free verbal appraisal, but remember, they're buyers, not objective appraisers. Their offer reflects wholesale value (typically 50-70% of retail). Get multiple opinions.

• Professional grading (PCGS/NGC): PCGS submission fees range from $22 for economy service to $150+ for higher tiers, with turnaround times from weeks to months. NGC offers similar tiers. Professional grading adds market value through certification and slab protection.

• Auction house evaluation: For potentially high-value coins or collections, auction houses like Heritage Auctions offer free evaluation with the goal of securing consignment.

For inherited collections with more than roughly 50 coins, don't try to value each one yourself. The time investment is enormous. Seek professional guidance early.

Valuing an Entire Collection (Not Just Single Coins)

Most coin valuation guides assume you have a single coin. But many people wondering about their coin collection value have inherited or accumulated dozens or hundreds of pieces. That's a completely different challenge.

The 80/20 rule of coin collections. In most collections, roughly 80% of the total value is concentrated in about 20% of the coins. Your first job isn't valuing everything. It's identifying the high-value minority.

Triage methodology:

1. Separate bullion from numismatic coins. Bullion (American Silver Eagles, Gold Eagles, common-date silver) can be valued quickly at a multiple of melt.

2. Sort numismatic coins by type and series.

3. Identify key dates and coins that appear to be in high condition. These are your priority items.

4. Group remaining common-date circulated coins by denomination. These are likely worth small premiums over face value or melt.

The time trap. Spending 20 hours researching a collection worth $500 total is a poor investment. Common-date circulated coins make up the bulk of most collections and trade at modest premiums. Don't research individual values for $3 coins. Batch them.

When to call a dealer vs. an auction house. Dealers buy at wholesale, typically 50-70% of retail value, but offer speed and simplicity. Auction houses take a 10-20% consignment fee but may achieve higher realized prices for valuable pieces through competitive bidding. For large collections with potentially valuable coins, auction houses are usually the better option.

This is also where technology changes the equation. AI-powered coin identification apps can triage a collection in minutes rather than hours, separating the "probably worth $5" coins from the "worth investigating further" coins. For a 500-coin inherited collection, that kind of rapid sorting is more useful than no information at all.

How AI Is Making Coin Valuation Instant

Everything you've read so far, identifying a coin, assessing its condition, looking up comparable values, checking authenticity, takes an experienced specialist minutes per coin. A knowledgeable collector might spend 15-30 minutes per coin. A beginner could spend hours. For a 500-coin collection, the math becomes prohibitive no matter your experience level.

AI coin valuation compresses that timeline.

What AI does with a coin image: It processes high-resolution photos to identify the coin (series, date, mint mark, variety), assess condition across the same criteria experts use (surface preservation, luster, strike quality), then cross-reference population data, recent auction results, and market demand to produce a valuation. Seconds, not hours.

Consumer apps make this accessible to anyone with a smartphone. CoinSnap has surpassed 10 million downloads and can identify more than 300,000 coin types with instant value estimates. CoinKnow offers grading accuracy within a 2-point range on the Sheldon scale for U.S. coins, plus automatic error coin detection. Coinoscope covers a database of 300,000+ coins. These work well for quick identification and rough estimates.

Why "rough" is valuable. For the heir with 500 coins, a rough AI triage that separates the collection into "probably common" and "possibly worth investigating" in minutes is enormously more useful than no information. It enables informed next steps rather than blind guessing.

Production-grade AI goes further. Deep category models integrate condition assessment with real-time market data, population counts, auction records, and demand signals. Vardera's coin model, the world's first production AI coin category model, is live and in customers' hands, analyzing the same factors this guide teaches but doing it across thousands of coins per hour. Trained on a proprietary dataset of over 200 million unique items, it doesn't just identify what a coin is. It determines what that coin is worth, given its condition, in today's market. The methodology you just learned is exactly what production AI automates.

The key insight: AI doesn't use different valuation factors than human experts. It evaluates the same six factors, rarity, condition, date, mint mark, demand, and provenance indicators, just faster and at a scale that manual processes can't match. As more coins are processed, the models get smarter, creating a compounding data advantage that improves accuracy over time.

Want the full technical picture?

Learn how AI coin grading technology analyzes mint marks, surface conditions, and casting variances in our complete guide to AI coin grading and valuation.

Common Mistakes That Destroy Coin Value

Before you do anything with your coins, avoid these mistakes that cost collectors real money every year.

Cleaning coins. This cannot be overstated. Any cleaning, whether polishing, dipping in chemical solutions, or rubbing with a cloth, removes original surfaces and can slash a coin's value by 50% or more. Professional graders can detect cleaning instantly. A dull coin with original surfaces is almost always worth more than a bright, cleaned one that's lost its natural luster.

Handling improperly. Always hold coins by the edge. Fingerprint oils from touching the face cause permanent spots on uncirculated coins. If you're handling valuable pieces, use cotton gloves or simply don't touch the surfaces at all.

Storing poorly. PVC-containing holders cause a green, corrosive chemical reaction over time that damages coin surfaces. Use acid-free flips, Mylar holders, or archival-quality albums. If your coins are in soft, flexible plastic flips, check whether they contain PVC and replace them if so.

Accepting the first offer. A single dealer appraisal gives you one data point at wholesale value. Check against PCGS and NGC price guides. Get multiple dealer opinions. A coin worth $500 retail might get a $250 first offer, and a $350 second offer from the dealer across town.

Ignoring authentication. Counterfeit coins are a real and growing problem, particularly for high-value pieces purchased online. Professional certification from PCGS or NGC includes authentication. AI-powered counterfeit coin detection is also emerging as a faster first line of defense. For significant purchases, the cost of grading or AI verification is insurance against counterfeits.

Over-grading your own coins. Everyone thinks their coin is Mint State. Use reference photos from PCGS Photograde and be conservative. Better to be pleasantly surprised by a professional grade than disappointed.

Where to Get Your Coins Valued and Sold

You've identified your coins, assessed condition, and have a rough sense of value. Now what? Here's a decision framework based on what you're working with.

AI apps (free to low cost): The modern coin worth calculator. Best for initial identification, rough valuation, and collection triage. CoinSnap, CoinKnow, and Coinoscope provide instant results from a smartphone photo. Limitations: estimates are rough, not formal appraisals.

Local coin dealers: Free verbal assessment, but they are buying at wholesale. Best for common coins and quick sales. Always get at least two opinions.

Professional grading services (PCGS/NGC): $22-150+ per coin, 2-10 weeks turnaround. Best for coins potentially worth $200+. Certification adds market value, provides authentication, and protects the coin in a tamper-evident holder. Compare how AI pre-grading stacks up against PCGS and NGC to understand where each option fits.

Auction houses (Heritage, Stack's Bowers, GreatCollections): Consignment-based, taking 10-20% of the hammer price. Best for rare or high-value coins where competitive bidding drives prices above what a dealer would offer.

Online marketplaces (eBay, etc.): Maximum audience reach but requires knowledge to photograph, list, and describe coins accurately. Best for intermediate collectors with some selling experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find out what my coins are worth?

Start by identifying the coin (denomination, date, mint mark), then assess its condition roughly against reference photos. Look up comparable values on the PCGS Price Guide or NGC Price Guide. For coins that appear valuable ($200+), seek professional appraisal from a dealer or grading service. For a full walkthrough, see our step-by-step method above.

Is there an app that can tell me the value of my coins?

Yes. Several AI-powered apps provide instant coin identification and value estimates from a smartphone photo. CoinSnap identifies over 300,000 coin types, CoinKnow offers grading within a 2-point range for U.S. coins, and Coinoscope covers a broad international database. These are good starting points for casual use and initial triage, though estimates are rough compared to professional appraisal.

How much does a coin appraisal cost?

It varies by method. Local dealer verbal appraisals are typically free (but the dealer is a buyer, not an objective appraiser). Professional grading from PCGS costs $22-150+ per coin depending on value and turnaround tier. NGC offers similar pricing. AI app estimates range from free to $5-15 per month for subscription tiers. For most coins potentially worth $200+, the cost of professional grading is justified by the market value it adds.

Should I clean my coins before getting them valued?

No. Never clean your coins. Cleaning removes original surfaces, destroys natural luster, and can reduce a coin's value by 50% or more. Professional graders detect cleaning immediately and assign lower grades or "details" designations to cleaned coins. Leave them exactly as they are.

What is the most valuable coin in the world?

The 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle holds the record at $18.9 million, sold at Sotheby's in 2021. But record-breaking prices aren't what makes coin valuation interesting for most collectors. Many "common" coins become surprisingly valuable in high grades. A Morgan Dollar worth $30 in average circulated condition can be worth $500+ in uncirculated grades and thousands in gem condition. Condition, not just rarity, drives most of the value surprises collectors encounter.

How do I sell my coin collection?

It depends on volume and value. For small collections of common coins, a local dealer offers speed and simplicity. For large collections, start with AI triage to identify the high-value pieces, then consult an auction house for the best items. See our decision framework in "Where to Get Your Coins Valued and Sold" above.

Your Coin Valuation Checklist

The six factors that determine coin value haven't changed in a century. What has changed is how fast you can evaluate them.

Here's your quick-start checklist for valuing any coin or collection:

• Identify each coin: denomination, series, date, and mint mark

• Assess condition using PCGS Photograde or NGC reference images (and never clean a coin)

• Look up comparable values on PCGS or NGC price guides and check Heritage Auctions for realized prices

• For collections of 50+ coins, use an AI app to triage before spending hours on manual research

• For any coin that appears worth $200+, invest in professional grading from PCGS or NGC

• Get multiple opinions before selling, and consider auction houses for high-value pieces

The traditional methodology that experts have used for decades still works. AI is just making it accessible to everyone and scalable for the professionals who do it every day.