Here are some of the most interesting and valuable coins throughout the history
The Gold Stater Of Croesus, 550 BCE
This coin also known as a croesid was discovered in Lydia, or modern-day Turkey (Asia Minor) around 550 BCE. The gold coin was minted in Sardis, the capital of Lydia, and has been attributed to the King of Lydia, Croesus, who is given credit for creating the first coinage. Coins made in Lydia during the 6th century BCE were made of electrum The gold coin was stamped with a lion and a bull facing each other. The coins minted were used for trading and the paying of mercenary fighters in Lydian society. The coin has a height of 1 cm and a width of 2 cm.
Coin (silver) from Syracuse, Greece around 466 BCE
The Athens Decadrachm, 460-430 BCE
The Naxos Tetradrachm, 460 BCE
Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt, 285-246 BCE
The Brutus “Eid Mar” Denarius, 42 BCE
The Ides of March coin, also known as the Denarius of Brutus or EID MAR, is a rare version of the denarius coin issued by Marcus Junius Brutus from 43 to 42 BC. The coin was struck to celebrate the March 15, 44 BC, assassination of Julius Caesar. It features a bust of Brutus, who was one of the assassins, on the obverse while the reverse features a pileus cap between two daggers. The coin was minted in both silver and gold. Approximately 100 of the silver coins are known to exist, but only three of the gold examples have survived. The coin is considered one of the rarest ancient Roman coins.
The Portrait Denarius Of Cleopatra And Mark Antony, 32 BCE
The Titus Colosseum Sestertius, 81-82 AD
Silver denarius of Hadrian, 117-138 AD
Silver antoninianus of Herennia Etruscilla, 249-251 AD
723 Umayyad Gold Dinar
The 723 Umayyad gold dinar is one of the most prized Islamic coins, and it was struck from gold mined at a location owned by the caliph. The coin bears the marking “mine of the commander of the faithful” and it’s the first Islamic coin to mention a location in Saudi Arabia. About a dozen examples of the coin are in existence, according to experts. In 2011, the coin fetched 3.7 million pounds (about $6 million) at auction, the second-most expensive ever sold at auction. In 2019, another version of the coin was sold for the same amount in pounds, but the dollar value came to about $4.8 million.
1343 Edward III Florin
The 1343 Edward III Florin is one of the oldest and rarest coins in the world, it was circulated from December 1343 to July 1344 in medieval England. It is just one of three such gold coins known to exist. Two examples are housed in the British Museum in London, both of which were found in the River Tyne in 1857. The third coin was found by a prospector with a metal detector in 2006. That’s precisely why the Edward III gold coin, minted in 1343, is so rare and valuable. It was sold for $6.8 million.
1787 Brasher Doubloon
1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar
The 2007 $1 Million Canadian Gold Maple Leaf
The Big Maple Leaf (BML) is a $1 million (CAD) gold coin weighing 100 kilograms (220 lb) (3,215 troy ounces). Only six of the nearly pure gold coins have ever been made, as of December 2022, and each has a face value of $1 million. It was recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2007 not only for its status as the world’s biggest gold coin but also for its unparalleled gold purity of 99.999 per cent. The coin is 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) wide and just over an inch thick. The coin was sold at auction in 2010 for 3.27 million euros, or just over $4 million at the time. In 2017, one of the coins was stolen from a Berlin museum. Three men were convicted of the crime and sentenced to years in prison, but the coin was never recovered.
