EXCEEDINGLY old and unique coins can sell for hundreds of thousands to even millions of dollars.
Some pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters with rare errors made by the United States Mint are even still in circulation.
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That means a significant payday could be sitting in some Americans’ spare change if they were to take a closer look.
Even so, the 1804 silver dollar, considered the “King of American Coins” by numismatists (coin enthusiasts), is extremely scare, and highly unlikely to be found within standard coins, according to what Stack’s Bowers Galleries wrote in an email to The US Sun.
In fact, only 15 have been known to still exist.
At least, that is until the 16th was shockingly discovered this year as part of a stash of rare coins belonging to the grandchildren of New York-based collector James A Stack Sr, who died in 1951.
While Stack’s collection had been sold over the years, the heirs only recently became aware of the 1804 silver dollar.
According to Stack’s Bowers Galleries, who will auction the 1804 silver dollar on December 9, 2025, the coin was among several in a “mostly forgotten collection.”
It’s estimated to bring in up to $5 million when sold at auction.
The last example Stack’s Bowers Galleries auctioned off in August 2021 went for a whopping $7.68 million.
Ahead of the auction in December, it’s also set to be on display at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money at the end this month.
SPECIAL HISTORY
But, what makes the 1804 silver dollar so special?
Coin enthusiasts have been after it since the 1840s after former President Andrew Jackson’s administration requested sets of US coins be sent to world heads of state in 1834.
That included the King of Siam in Thailand and the Sultan of Muscat in modern Oman.
At that time, no silver dollars had been struck by the US Mint since 1804, and so it produced brand-new silver dollars with the 1804 year mark as part of the set.
Except, the actual silver dollars produced in 1804 didn’t have that date, but rather 1803, so the error made them immediately rare.
Rare coins
You may be holding something valuable in your wallet. Check out these articles on rare coins to see if you may have a treasure hidden deep in your pockets.
Basically, anyone who found a silver dollar with the 1804 date would know that it was one of the coins produced in 1834 instead.
PRODUCTION UNDER WRAPS
Because of the instant fame for the coin, the heads of state didn’t sell them, and due to demand, some staff at the US Mint made a small number of 1804 silver dollars “off the books” for sale to collectors.
Over the years, elaborate stories and fake histories have been created about the 1804 silver dollar.
Eight of the now 16 examples are believed by experts to be created in 1834, and seven more made for collectors in the 1860s and 70s.
Given that the new 16th version is thought by experts to have been struck not long after the Civil War, it’s also a collector’s strike.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries expects the auction in December to be “record-breaking.”
Other coins have also sold for serious money recently.
A massive coin collection found in the walls of mans home were valued at $3.5 million by experts in June thanks to some rare details.
An exact date on a quarter could make it worth at least $88,000.
