Coins to Look For: Rare Dates, Silver Coins & What's Actually Worth Checking

Most old coins that turn up in a jar, a drawer, or a jacket pocket are exactly what they look like — old, but not valuable beyond their face value. A small number, though, are worth real money, either because they're genuinely rare or because they're made of silver instead of the copper-nickel blend used today. Here's what's actually worth a second look, and what usually isn't.

Pennies: A Few Dates Matter, Most Don't

The vast majority of Lincoln cents — especially anything from 1959 onward (the "Memorial" reverse) — are worth exactly one cent in circulated condition. Even common wheat-back pennies from the 1940s and '50s are typically only worth a few cents to maybe a dollar in worn condition. There are, however, a handful of dates real collectors watch for:

• 1909-S VDB — the classic key date. Look for a small "S" mintmark below the date and tiny "VDB" initials on the reverse. Low mintage makes this the most sought-after Lincoln cent.
• 1909-S (without VDB) — also scarce, though less famous than the VDB version.
• 1914-D — a low-mintage Denver-struck cent.
• 1922 "No D" — a Denver cent struck from a worn die that left the mintmark barely visible or missing entirely.
• 1931-S — a low-mintage Depression-era date.
• 1943 bronze/copper — 1943 cents were supposed to be struck in zinc-coated steel to save copper for the war effort, but a tiny number of bronze planchets slipped through. Genuine examples are extremely rare and valuable — but so are copper-plated fakes made from ordinary steel cents, so any suspected example needs professional authentication before you get too excited.
• 1955 Doubled Die — a well-known error where the date and lettering appear clearly doubled.

One common misconception: 1943 steel cents themselves (the silvery-colored ones) are not rare — over a billion were struck, and worn examples are usually worth only a modest premium over face value.

Dimes, Quarters & Half Dollars from 1964 and Earlier: Silver

This is the single most reliable rule in old US coinage: dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. In 1965, rising silver prices pushed the Mint to switch dimes and quarters to the copper-nickel "clad" coins still used today. Series to know:

• Dimes: Mercury dimes (1916–1945) and Roosevelt dimes (1946–1964)
• Quarters: Standing Liberty quarters (1916–1930) and Washington quarters (1932–1964)
• Half dollars: Walking Liberty halves (1916–1947), Franklin halves (1948–1963), and Kennedy halves dated 1964

Even in heavily worn, "junk silver" condition, these are worth well more than face value for their silver content alone — we cover exactly how that's priced in our junk silver guide, and you can check today's rate on our live prices page. Beyond melt value, a few dates carry real collector premiums on top: the 1916-D Mercury dime (a famous low-mintage key date), 1921 and 1921-D Mercury dimes, and the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter, among others.

40% Silver Half Dollars (1965–1970)

Here's a detail a lot of people miss: when dimes and quarters went fully clad in 1965, half dollars didn't — they were struck in a reduced 40% silver alloy from 1965 through 1970, before finally going clad in 1971. So a Kennedy half dollar dated anywhere from 1965 to 1970 still contains real silver, just less of it than a 1964-or-earlier half. These are worth checking for and worth more than face value, even though they're a different (and smaller) silver content than the 90% coins above — bring them in and we're glad to take a look.

Other Older Coins Worth a Second Look

Beyond the common series above, a handful of older, less-frequently-seen coins are almost always worth having evaluated, simply because of their age and typically low surviving populations:

• Barber dimes, quarters & halves (1892–1916) — 90% silver plus collector value depending on date and condition.
• Seated Liberty coinage (roughly 1836–1891) — an earlier design era, generally scarcer and more valuable across denominations.
• Two-cent pieces (1864–1873) and three-cent pieces (silver, 1851–1873; nickel, 1865–1889) — unusual denominations that always warrant a look.
• Shield nickels (1866–1883) and Liberty Head "V" nickels (1883–1913).
• Draped Bust and Capped Bust coinage (pre-1837) — genuinely old US coinage where even well-worn examples can carry meaningful value.

A fun bit of trivia: the 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of the most famous coins in America — and one of the rarest, with only five known to exist, each worth well into seven figures. You will almost certainly never find one in real life, and if you think you have — or think you've found any other famous rarity — treat it with extra caution, since counterfeits and altered coins (fake mintmarks added to common dates, for example) are a real and common problem with well-known key dates.

A Few Rules of Thumb

• Never clean a coin you think might be valuable — cleaning can cut its value significantly, even for genuinely rare pieces.
• Condition matters enormously — the same date in worn versus uncirculated condition can be worth very different amounts.
• Mintmarks are small and easy to miss — look just below the date (or check the reverse on older coins) with a magnifier.
• When in doubt, don't guess — bring it in. An in-person look settles the question far better than a photo or a price guide.