Most old coins sitting in drawers and jars won’t make anyone a millionaire, but a handful of exceptionally rare pieces can sell for staggering amounts when they reach the auction block. That was the case recently when five U.S. coins each sold for more than $1 million, including one that fetched more than $2.5 million.
The five coins were part of Heritage Auctions’ ANA U.S. Coins Signature Auction held from Aug. 31 through Sept. 5, which brought in nearly $40 million in total. While all five are gold coins, their enormous prices weren’t simply about the metal they contain; extreme rarity, condition, history, and, in some cases, having only a handful of known examples helped set them apart.
1879 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella — $2,562,000
The biggest sale was an 1879 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella that brought in $2.562 million, setting an auction record and surpassing the $2.16 million record Heritage says was established the previous year. Heritage Auctions says only five examples have been traced, and one belongs to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection, leaving few opportunities for a private collector to own one.
1879 Coiled Hair Stella — $1,891,000
Another 1879 rarity, the $4 Coiled Hair Stella, sold for $1.891 million and is one of only 14 examples Heritage says have been traced. The coin was graded PR67 Cameo and is tied for the finest certified example, combining scarcity and exceptional condition that can make an already rare coin even more desirable to serious collectors.
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1824/1 Capped Head Left Quarter Eagle — $1,494,500
An 1824/1 Capped Head Left Quarter Eagle reached nearly $1.5 million, and its rarity is hard to overstate: only two proof examples have been confirmed. One is permanently housed in the Smithsonian’s National Numismatic Collection, while the coin sold at auction is the only proof example certified by either leading grading service, according to Heritage.
1876 Liberty Double Eagle — $1,403,000
This 1876 Liberty Double Eagle is a true one-of-a-kind coin, with Heritage reporting that just one specimen is known to exist. The gold pattern sold for $1.403 million in its first auction appearance since the 1980s, setting a new auction record and giving a collector the chance to own something even several legendary coin collections never managed to acquire.
Related: 17 Rare Quarters Worth Some Serious Money
1880 Coiled Hair Stella — $1,189,500
Rounding out the million-dollar sales was an 1880 Coiled Hair Stella that fetched nearly $1.19 million and is considered the rarest of the four Stella varieties. Only 10 examples have been traced, and the coin’s scarcity and place among the celebrated Stella issues helped push it firmly into seven-figure territory.
What made these coins worth so much?
The results remind us that age alone doesn’t determine what an old coin is worth. In these cases, collectors were bidding on coins with exceptionally small surviving populations, unusually high grades, important histories and, in one case, a specimen for which no other example is known.
Together, the five coins sold for more than $8.5 million, while Heritage’s U.S. coin auction overall generated nearly $40 million. For anyone hoping an old coin tucked away at home might be valuable, these sales also show why the details matter so much: a date or denomination alone doesn’t tell the entire story.
