Guide · Cents
Wheat Penny values
Which dates and mintmarks matter, why condition outweighs age, and how to tell a common cent from one worth setting aside.
Read the guideCoin value guides
Understand what drives a coin's value before you price anything
Value comes from a combination of date, mintmark, condition, and demand — never age alone. These guides walk through identification and value factors for the coins people ask about most.
The four factors that drive coin value
- Date and mintmark. The specific year and mint of production can turn an otherwise common design into a scarce one — a single-year or single-mint variation is often the entire story.
- Condition. Wear, strike quality, and surface preservation separate a coin worth a small premium from one worth many multiples of that. Two coins of the same date and mintmark can have very different values based on condition alone.
- Demand. Some series are more actively collected than others, which affects how quickly a coin sells and at what premium over its metal or face value.
- Authenticity and originality. Cleaned, altered, or counterfeit coins are worth less than genuine, unaltered examples — sometimes dramatically less.
Age by itself doesn't create value. A common coin from the 1800s can be worth less than a scarce coin from the 1970s if the 1800s coin was minted in huge numbers and the newer one wasn't.
Start here
Coin value guides
Guide · Dollars
Morgan Dollar values
Reading dates, mints, and surfaces on one of America's most collected silver dollars.
Read the guide
Guide · Nickels
Buffalo Nickel values
Why worn dates are common, what a full-date example changes, and how to handle them.
Read the guide