Economic History

Everyone is familiar with coin money. As a child, it was exciting to have a bag full of pennies. As we get older, we realize pennies are pretty much useless because, lets face it, you can't even put them in a vending machine. Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, half dollars, and even the dollar coins are all a common place in everyday life.

There are some coins that are rarer than others though.

1) The most expensive coin is the gold capped bust dollar coin from 1796-1807. This coin was made in a time when $2.50 was a good weeks wage. Because of this, very few of the coins were made. The coin changed designs several times including adding and retracting stars, adding "The United States of America", and one version had Martha Washington's face. Of the original 1797 version, only 20 are thought to still be in existence. This makes the selling price for one of these coins from $85,000-$100,000 at auction.

2) Another discontinued coin, though not as rare or expensive but still cool, is the Wheat Penny. It is also known as the Strawpenny, Wheatback, Wheatie, or Wheat Head. These were made from 1909-1958. The designer of the penny, Victor David Brenner, was so proud of his work that he displayed his initial on each penny. Some wheat pennies are worth around $8,000 depending on when they were made, where they were made, and what material they were made out of. The later ones are far less rare and not worth much at all.

Pennies are some of the more fascinating monies because although they are pretty much useless, their designs have changed so much.

These were for Abe Lincoln's 200th Birthday

This is the 2010 penny. It represents the United States being a whole and being United.

3) There are also "novelty dollars". For example, this one has Santa on it. I have read these are legal tender because they are real dollar bills with Santa's face on them but the only source I could find about them is not credible. Either way they're cute and fun to have.