YOUR nickel could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, so long as it has a few special features.
Coins can bring in serious money for collectors or the average consumer who happens to find a rare version in their spare change.
There are pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters from several years that go for considerably more than face value.
For example, a 1915 nickel went for over $240,000 at auction in November, per Heritage Auctions.
Of course, a 1915 nickel would be much harder to find in your spare change, and this wasn’t any ordinary version, either.
During that year, the Philadelphia Mint produced a minute amount of 1,050 “proof” Buffalo nickels.
Proof coins are different than business strike coins because they’re not supposed to be used in daily American commerce.
Instead, they offer higher quality and are specially struck through a unique minting process, meant to be kept as a long-term investment, per the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).
The United States Mint also offers proof sets, which include all the proof coins made for the current year, which is most recently 2024 — the 2025 proof sets haven’t been released yet.
While it didn’t come in a set back then, the 1915 Buffalo nickel coin sold at auction was one of the 1,050 proof versions, and it was found in immaculate condition.
TOP QUALITY
The PCGS ranks rare coins by quality on a scale of one to 70 — one being barely recognizable and 70 being undeniably perfect.
For the 1915 Buffalo nickel in question, it was given a PR69 rating, meaning it was very close to flawless.
Exact detail on the obverse of your quarter to make it worth $74,400 – but you need to look for the pinkish/olive hues
Heritage Auctions said it was PCGS’ “single-finest example” of the 1915 Buffalo nickel ever found.
Experts also verified it was authentic due to it being made of 75% copper and 25% nickel, the appropriate proportions during 1915 for the proof nickels.
Additionally tones of “orange-tan, emerald-green, blue, and salmon-pink” were visible on the coin’s surface.
While the tonality and quality of the 1915 Buffalo proof nickel make it considerably valuable, it is the low mintage of the coin that truly adds to its worth.
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.
- Rare Lincoln penny sells for $201
- This buffalo nickel sold for $1,165
- 1971 Eisenhower silver coin sells for $264,000
- Lincoln double die obverse penny sells for $2,000
- Half cent sells for $3,383
- Rare nickel sells for $1,956 on eBay
- 1889 CC Morgan Silver dollar coin sells for $1,850
- Lincoln 1992 penny can be worth up to $25,000
- Standing Liberty quarter sells for $565
- Lincoln coin minted in 2020 sells for $525
Those graded in the high 60s are highly sought-after, and there are only about 700 believed to remain from the original 1,050.
KEEP LOOKING
Consumers should still be on the lookout for valuable versions of the coin from other years.
There are even four other rare nickels worth a combined $3.7 million.
A particular version from 1879 could get you up to $84,000.
Keep an eye out for pennies from relatively recent decades as well.
There’s a version of the 1982 penny that’s going for $15,000 at auction that’s confusing collectors.
Additionally, a 1992 penny could be worth $26,000 so long as it has a rare detail.
