10 Rare Foreign Coins That Outvalue the Dollar:- The hobby of coin collecting, which is often referred to as numismatics, is a major business. In order to get the rarest specimens, collectors from all over the world are willing to pay massive sums of money. However, what exactly are those coins, and how much do they currently cost?
10 Rare Foreign Coins That Outvalue the Dollar
We are going to find out the answer to that question! In this tour, we are going to take a look at the ten coins that have arrived on the market that are the most precious. And what it is that makes them so unique will be revealed to us.
1. Sestertius Of Hadrian, Ancient Rome
In our list of old coins, this one from Rome is one of the oldest. A sestertius was a very rare coin made of brass or silver that was only made for certain events. It was made during the rule of Emperor Hadrian and is thought to be from 135 to 136 A.D.
The age, quality, and state of a sestertius all have a huge impact on its value. You can get samples for less than $100. Some, though, can be much more useful. The first ones were made of brass and were a lot bigger than the later ones that were made of silver.
This gave the engravers more space to make images with lots of small details. People really like Sestertii from the time of Nero, which was 54–68 A.D., because they are so well made. This coin was made a lot later, but it sold for $1.65 million at sale in 2006. It sold for a very high price for two main reasons.
The first reason was that it was in great shape. The second reason was that it was strongly thought to have been made by the famous artist Antoninianos of Aphrodisias. People who collect coins went crazy bidding on this one because they thought it was a work by a famous artist.
2. 100 Ducats, Sigismund III Vasa, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In terms of value, this 100 Ducat example is the most expensive Polish coin ever made. Its value comes from the one-of-a-kind time in history when it was made. In 1586, King Stephen of Poland died without any children. After many wars, the Very Catholic Swedish Prince Sigmund III Vasa became king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
At that time, this was the biggest and most powerful country in central Europe. It is thought that this coin was made to honour the Battle of Chocim in 1621. There, the Commonwealth troops held out against the Ottoman Army, which had looked unbeatable up until that point. Isidore, a Catholic, saw it as a win for Christianity over Islam.
There was no silver in the coin. On the front, Sigismund was shown wearing armour with decorations and a commander’s sash. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s crowned coat of arms was shown on the back. It was sold for $2.16 million in 2018.
3. 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar, Umayyad Caliphate
The year 723 AD is written on this gold dinar coin. But its worth comes from more than just how old it is. It is made of solid gold and was made during the Umayyad Caliphate. Many people think it’s very pretty, but similar dinar coins have been sold for several hundred dollars. This one sold for the same amount as the highest price ever paid for an Islamic coin at sale in 2021.
What is it about this coin that makes it unique? The answer is written on it in Islamic script. “Ma’din Amir al-Mu’minin bi’l-Hijaz” is written here. “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hijaz” is what it means. This is the first Islamic coin that talks about a specific place. Today, the mine in question is in Saudi Arabia.
The Caliph, who is a straight descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, is meant to be called “Commander of the Faithful.” This means that the coin is important for both history and religion. It is also one of only about 12 known specimens.
The auctioneer thought it would make around $1 million, but when it went under the hammer, it made a lot more than that. It cost more than $4 million in the end.
4. Edward III Florin, England
Treasure hunters all over the world can take heart from this coin’s story. A man with a metal detector found it in 2006 at a place that was not made public. There are only three known copies of the gold coin. Two schoolkids in the 1800 s found the other two together in the river Tyne in the north of England.
These coins are now kept in the British Museum in London. This coin was made of 23-karat gold and was used in trade from December 1343 to July 1344.On one side is a picture of King Edward III sitting on a chair, with two leopards on either side. People who collect coins call them the “double leopard” because of the design.
On the other side, there is a cross with crowns, leaves, and cats all around it. The coin was sold at auction the same year it was found. At the time, it was a record for a British coin to sell for about $850,000. But now, its value has gone through the roof. It’s thought to be worth around $6.8 million now.
5. Athenian Decadrachm, Ancient Greece
When it was sold at auction in 2012, this decadrachm coin set a new record for Greek silver coins. It is thought to have been made in the coastal city state of Agrigentum between 409 and 406 B.C. This was a part of the Greek empire in the area that is now Sicily. As always, how rare it was made it very valuable. People knew of only ten of these coins.
This one was in great shape, with only a small crack on the back. Not bad for a coin that is more than 1,600 years old. Like with the Sestertius of Hadrian, the people who engraved this coin were very important to its value. People thought these were Polyainos and Myron. The image on the back of the coin is thought to have been engraved by the first person.
Birds of prey have landed on a dead hare to eat it. It is thought that Myron made the front of the coin. It shows a man driving a chariot pulled by four horses, and above it is an eagle carrying a snake.
There is a chance that this is a charm instead of a coin. Also, it might be a little older and have something to do with the chariot races at the 92nd Olympic Games in 412 B.C. No matter what the truth was, the coin (or pendant) sold a lot of copies. At sale, it went for just over $2.9 million.
6. Single 9 Pond, South Africa
The “King of South African Coins” is the gold Single 9 Pond. And that coin has a deep connection to the fight for freedom in that country. In 1899, Britain was at war with Dutch residents who spoke Afrikaans over two Boer states. The Transvaal, also known as the South African Republic, and the Orange Free State were these places.
Paul Kruger, the president of the South African Republic, ordered that new coins be made to show that the country was independent. Germany was asked to send new dies, but the British stopped them before they could get to South Africa. But Kruger wasn’t going to give up. He told them to use dies from the previous year again.
To bring the pattern up to date, a 9 would be punched over the last 8 of 1898. But it was clear there was a problem when the first coin was made. The 9 was too big, and it stuck out from the picture of Kruger on the coin. The coin was put aside, and 130 more were marked with smaller 9s.
The US consul general, C. E. Macrum, was eventually given this first coin, the Single 9 Pond. The gift was given at an event that made the South African Republic a separate country. At least six times since then, it has been owned by different people. It sold for $4 million at its last auction in 2010.
7. Canadian $1 Million Gold Leaf, Canada
The Royal Canadian Mint made six of the biggest gold coins ever in 2007. It was called a “Big Maple Leaf” coin and was worth $1 million. And they were definitely big. Each one was 20 inches across, more than an inch thick, and a crazy 100 kilogrammes heavy. It goes without saying that coins this big were never meant to be used as money.
Instead, they were a way for the Mint to promote their new line of 99999 pure 1-ounce Gold Maple Leaf coins. Several private buyers asked for six to be made because they wanted to own one. One of the coins was last sold in 2010 and was worth $4.07 million.
Another coin was stolen from a museum in Berlin in 2017, though, which caused a lot of trouble. It was never found again. Since gold dust was found on the thieves’ clothes and the car they used, it’s likely that the gold was melted down.
8. 10,000 Yuan, 10th Anniversary Of Panda, China
The Canadian case shows that not all old coins are very valuable. This is another example of a younger but still valuable coin that was never meant to be used in money. The Chinese Shenyang Mint made the 10,000 yuan gold coin in 1991. It was made to honour the anniversary of a different gold coin, the more familiar panda coin.
It had a girth of 6 inches and weighed 10.7 pounds. There was a panda with a bamboo plant in the middle of the coin. Ten small copies of the designs used on panda coins over the past ten years were placed around it.
The worth of the coin is 10,000 yuan, which is about $1,500. That being said, such a big coin is worth more than $200,000 in gold. Collectors value it even more because it is a special piece that is hard to find. It went for more than $1 million at auction.
9. Silver Ruble Pattern, Russia
There is a picture of Emperor Constantine’s head on this Russian silver roll pattern. But Constantine was never really ruler of Russia. How did it come to be, then? Okay, so Alexander I, Constantine’s older brother, died in 1825 without any legal children. The throne was next to Constantine, but he didn’t want it.
He had already seen his father killed and didn’t want to go through the same thing. He gave the crown to his younger brother Nicholas instead. From the time Alexander died until Constantine officially gave up the throne—just 15 days—this coin was made. During that time, six specimens were made, five with writing on the edges and one without.
It looks like two more coins with plain edges were made later. Three of these silver rubles from Constantine are now in public museums and other places. The coin in this picture has a straight edge and was sold at auction in 2021. It was listed for between $400,000 and $600,000 back then. It did sell, though, for a huge $2.64 million.
10. Servilius Caepio (M. Junuis) Brutus AV Aureus, Ancient Rome
A second coin that blew away its pre-sale estimate was this gold coin from ancient Rome. The bust of the ruler Brutus was on it. It was made in 42 B.C. On the back, there was a pileus, which is a type of cap, with two daggers on either side of it. People thought the design was an obscene way to honour the killing of Julius Caesar two years before.
An angry group of up to 30 Roman Senators stabbed Caesar 23 times. One of the swords on the coin was Brutus’s own, and the other was Cassius’s, who was one of his partners in crime. This coin was one of a kind because of its bloody past. It was also very rare—one of only three known examples of its kind. Two were left.
One was on long-term loan to the British Museum, and the other was in the German Bundesbank’s collection. Collectors wanted this species because it was so rare and valuable. Last but not least, it was in great shape, with lovely details and a brilliant shine.
The sale was in October 2020, and the starting bid was $500,000. It sold for more than $3.5 million that day thanks to the fierce bids.
