Coin collecting goes back to medieval Mesopotamia. Because of this long history, many people expect older coins to have more value. This isn’t the case. For example, even though the United States is young among nations, its coinage is in high demand and often more valuable than coins from places like ancient Greece.

So, which coins from around the world are the most valuable? These 50 have sold for the highest prices. Several were at one point able to boast that they fetched “the highest price ever paid for a coin of its kind.”

Combined, these valuable coins are worth $125 million.

Sold at auction: $687,500

There were 17,796 of these $5 coins minted in 1822, yet only three are known to exist today. (Most were melted down after the reduction of gold content in coins in 1834.) There is nothing particularly special about this coin. There are no errors. It was not a commemorative coin. It was struck as regular currency.

Its rarity makes it valuable (like many of the most valuable collectibles). Unlike other desirable coins needed to complete a series collection (one coin representing each year of a design), the Mint did not produce restrikes of this coin. Two reside at the Smithsonian. This one, known as the Eliasberg specimen, is said to be the finest of the three.

Experts believe today’s value is in the millions and would likely break all sale records. The $687,500 sale took place in 1982.

Sold at auction: $705,000

The Liberty Cap cent was inspired by Dupre’s Libertas Americana medal of 1783 and was produced from 1793 to 1796. A variety of portrait styles were produced during these years, with a total of 69 die marriages (combinations of head and tail side dies).

Liberty Cap coins produced in 1796 were struck from six different obverse (head side) dies before the motif was changed to the Draped Bust of Liberty design mid-year.

While many of the 109,825 coins minted still exist, few are of high quality. This gem state coin is the finest surviving example.

Sold at auction: $763,750

Construction on the San Francisco Mint was completed in May 1870, and items placed in the cornerstone time capsule included a full set of U.S. coins dated 1870.

There’s no Mint record of dollars produced at the San Francisco Mint that year, leading experts to presume those that exist were struck as mementos. It is believed that 12 of these coins were made, and the whereabouts of only nine are known (plus one presumably in the cornerstone of the Mint). Only two are uncirculated.

Sold at auction: $763,750

It is believed that the 1838-O half dollar is the first branch mint proof coin of any denomination, yet there’s no official record it even exists. The New Orleans Mint struck its first coins in May of 1838, a small number of dimes, but the coin press broke down and production was suspended until July. The yellow fever epidemic then closed the Mint from August through November.

These delays resulted in only dimes being produced in New Orleans that year. It’s theorized that up to 20 samples of the half dollar were struck at the New Orleans Mint early in 1839 using the prior year dies to test the coin press. There are nine specimens of this coin known to exist, in various grades; this one is one of the finest.

Sold privately: $841,800

In 1344, King Edward III’s decision to produce gold coins resulted in three denominations: double florin (double leopard), florin (leopard) and half florin (half leopard). The double leopard was assigned a value of six shillings. Created only between January and July of that year, they were replaced by the gold noble in August and demonetized.

Most of these coins were melted down and none were thought to have survived until two were found in the Tyne River in 1857. These are now part of a collection at the British Museum. This specimen was discovered in southern England in 2006 and is considered the most valuable English coin.

Sold at auction: $881,250

The Small Planchet Capped Head $5 coin (or half eagle) was first produced in 1829. It was a refined version of the Large Planchet design that was made starting in 1813. A new screw press in 1827 necessitated design changes in all coins, starting with lower denominations.

1829 was the year half eagles were redesigned. Among the changes was a high retaining rim around the designs that improved the striking detail on both sides of the coin.

More than 15,000 were produced, but not many entered circulation, and few survive today. Two proof (or sample) examples are held in institutional collections as well as one lightly circulated coin. Among the six others known to exist, this one is the finest.

Sold at auction: $940,000

This coin appears today much like it did the day it was created, making it the finest half cent of its time. Both sides are the original mint red color and possess the original luster.

The images are in high relief, and the details are crisp on both sides, which is unusual. Only a few copper coins from the 18th century are graded equal to this one.

Only one other uncirculated example is known to exist. That one resides in the British Museum and is no longer mint red. It has aged to a dark brown.

Sold at auction: $940,000

This mint-state coin is the finer of two known examples of this overdated $5 piece. The 4 beneath the 5 in the date can clearly be seen. It has significant reflectivity, good luster and sharp details in the strike.

Before 1978, when a second example was discovered, it was believed that this coin was unique. This rare variety was discovered as early as 1864 when it sold for $41, the highest price of any gold coin sold that day and is considered one of the rarest in the series of Capped Bust $5 coins.

Sold at auction: $960,000

In early 1861, the New Orleans Mint was still under federal control, but it was turned over to the Confederacy on March 31.

Almost a million half dollars and close to 3,000 double eagles were struck through April before the Mint was closed as it was deemed too expensive to run. While there was talk of producing Confederate coins, only four half dollars were produced as samples.

This coin is the second-finest example.

Sold at auction: $998,750

This coin was an early strike from this particular set of dies. Sharp details and a cartwheel luster make this coin proof-like, leading some to believe it may have been a presentation (sample) strike rather than one for circulation.

Only 63,140 half cents were minted in 1811, and most of those that still exist are worn. There are only five examples from 1811 graded mint condition.

This is the finest.

Sold at auction: $998,750

Only 36,103 of these coins were minted. Roughly 800 are known to exist.

This particular coin is the finest known example of its kind and the finest Chain cent (named so for the chain link surrounding the words “one cent” on the reserve).

The coin has been well preserved and retains some of the mint color surrounding Liberty’s portrait as well as the cartwheel luster.

Sold at auction: $998,750

The disme (pronounced dime) has a face value of 10 cents. The 1792 coins were authorized by George Washington on July 9, 1792, and 1,500 were stuck on that day or on July 10, possibly from silver melted from his own silver plate.

This may have been the full mintage, though some believe another 500 to 1,000 pieces were produced. Of these, only a few are known to exist today.

This coin is graded About Uncirculated (just below mint state).

Sold at auction: $1,057,500

This coin is proof-like and may be the first coin of the Draped Bust Liberty series. Details are well-defined, and many are perfectly struck.

The design would later be used on cents, half dimes, dimes quarters and half dollars, but in 1795 it was exclusively used on dollars.

This is the only proof coin of its type to be certified.

Sold at auction: $1,298,000

The 2000 Yuan coin commemorates Chinese inventions and discoveries.

Produced at the Shenyang Mint, this proof quality coin is numbered 06 out of a maximum of 10 and is considered among the rarest of all Chinese coins.

A compass is pictured on the obverse, and the reverse depicts the Great Wall of China.

Sold at auction: $1,351,250

Although 193,630 of these $5 coins were minted, only about 75 survive today. Nearly all of these coins were shipped overseas and subsequently melted down for their gold content. Two prominent varieties exist: the large date and small date.

The following year, Congress took action to prevent such loss of U.S. coins by reducing the fineness and weight of gold in coins. The older coins (with the higher gold content) were gradually removed from circulation by the Mint. Those that remain do so because of the value to collectors.

This specimen is the finest example of a proof coin prior to 1835.

Sold at auction: $1,527,500

This was one of the first quarters struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

Of the 6,146 that were coined that year, about 700 still exist, but most are only in fair condition. Only 75 are in mint condition, as this one is.

This coin is considered the finest of its type.

Sold at auction: $1,600,000

This proof coin is one of 10 coins minted in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Panda Gold coin. The reverse of the coin celebrates the engravings found on Panda coins produced from 1982 to 1991.

Created at the Shenyang Mint, the coin features all 10 images on a 150 millimeter diameter coin, the largest of its time. The coin was sold complete with original box and certificate of authenticity naming it coin No. 006.

Coin No. 001 sold a year prior for $975,000.

Private sale: $1,700,000

In 1943, the Denver Mint used a bronze alloy to make pennies rather than zinc-plated steel due to metal rations during World War II. This is the only one-cent coin known to exist from the Denver Mint using the bronze alloy.

There is no record of others being produced, though it is estimated that up to 20 may have been struck at each of the other two Mints (Philadelphia and San Francisco).

Sold at auction: $1,740,000

The earliest gold pattern to be submitted as a possible U.S. coin, this $10 coin (Eagle) may have been owned by George Washington himself.

He refused the honor of having his likeness memorialized on a coin. No coins or currency bore his likeness in his lifetime.

This is the only gold coin of its kind known to exist.

Sold at auction: $1,840,000

The CC stamp on this coin indicates it is from the Carson City Mint. In 1873, the standard weight of the dime changed, and arrows were used on coinage to indicate which ones met the new standard.

Only 12,400 “no arrows” dimes were produced and were scheduled to be melted down and re-coined at the new standard.

This is the only known mint condition dime of its type.

Sold at auction: $1,840,000

The 1907 double eagle ($20 coin) was produced by presidential order. President Theodore Roosevelt considered the nation’s coinage to be “artistically of atrocious hideousness” and set out to employ the artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design new American coins, specifically the four circulating gold coins (valued $2.50, $5, $10 and $20) and the bronze cent.

The process of rendering the artist’s design into coins proved to be complicated and necessitated making reductions from the models. This required some trial and error and resulted in three complete coins with lettered edges and one with a plain edge and a prominent die crack on the reverse.

Sold at auction: $1,880,000

This coin was designed to replace the troy system of weights with metric. It differs from the regular-issue double eagle ($20 coin) in that the motto IN GOD WE TRUST has been replaced with DEO EST GLORIA (God is Glorious).

The new design was well received by the Coinage Committee, but ultimately not adopted as a new denomination by Congress.

No more than five or six specimens are known to exist.

Sold at auction: $1,897,500

This is one of the rarest gold coins from the 20th century.

While 180,000 $20 coins were minted, only about a dozen survived, and three of these reside at the Smithsonian. Of those in private hands, this one is the finest quality.

It has exceptional luster and sharp definition in the details.

Sold at auction: $1,997,500

The Saint Gaudens Double Eagle design was first used in 1907 and continued until 1933. The 1927-D is considered one of the rarest of the series.

There was little demand for the coins domestically. Many were used as payment to European banks. In the 1930s, many of these coins remaining in the Mint were melted down. When these $20 pieces began to turn up in the 1950s, the1927 was notably difficult to find.

This coin is the second finest of its kind.

Sold at auction: $1,997,500

Out of two million dimes minted in 1894, only 24 were minted in San Francisco and all as proofs. The question of why is one of the big numismatic mysteries.

One theory is that they needed to produce more coins to balance the books, but other records indicate that they may have been produced as souvenirs. At the time, it was not uncommon to present coins to visiting dignitaries or even friends or relatives.

Today, only nine of these dimes are known to exist. This gem quality coin is one of the finest.

Sold at auction: $1,997,500

The 1792 Silver Center Cent, also known as the Judd-1, was one of four sample one-cent coins produced at the new Mint in Philadelphia. One of the first coins struck in the new building, just over 12 specimens are known to exist.

Though the Silver Center coins were appealing and resisted counterfeiting, they were also difficult to produce, especially on a large scale. Revised specifications from Congress resulted in the large copper cent pieces used until 1857 when the size was reduced due to rising copper costs.

Sold at auction: $2,115,000

A month after the first 1907 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle coins had been struck, the Mint director requested two examples struck for the Mint Cabinet. Since the reverse die broke after the first run of coins was produced, another was prepared using a new collar that had differences in the lettering and arrangement of the stars.

In December, the new Mint director requested that additional coins be made, for the designer, the Secretary, the President and himself. Presumably, because President Roosevelt already had one, only three were struck, leaving none available for the widow of Saint-Gaudens.

The following year, she was given one of the two from the Mint Cabinet. This coin is identified by the initials ASG engraved on the edge, possibly added by Augustus Saint-Gaudens to differentiate it from another on loan for display at the ANS. At the time, the practice of marking coins was not considered devaluing.

Sold at auction: $2,160,000

The 100 ducat coin was issued for Poland’s King Sigismund III Vasa by Jacob Jacobson van Emden to commemorate Poland’s victory over the Turks in the Battle of Chocim.

The coin measures 2 ¾ inches diameter and weighs about 12 1/3 ounces, and only six exist, all from the same dies.

Sold at auction: $2,232,500

The Eagle on Globe Copper quarter, unlike other coins from 1792, does not exhibit its value. The style of the eagle pictured also differs from that seen on other coins.

Believed to have been engraved by Joseph Wright, some experts question whether this coin was intended to be a quarter or a cent.

The coin is one of only two coins of its type. The other resides at the Smithsonian.

Sold at auction: $2,300,000

Years after the “original” 1804 dollars were minted, but no earlier than 1857, additional 1804 dollars were produced, using a different reverse die. One of these is called a Class II, and six others are referred to as Class III 1804 Silver Dollars.

Four of the six Class III coins were artificially worn to give them the appearance of circulated coins. The other two retain their proof condition and are part of museum collections.

This coin, a Class III 1804 dollar, is the finest quality among the other four.

Sold at auction: $2,350,000

A coin with a face value of $2.50, this Gem coin is the finest example of the rarest U.S. coin. During the early years of the Mint, coins were produced only when private depositors of gold and silver bullion ordered them.

Only 2,710 Capped Draped Bust Quarter Eagle coins were produced in 1808, and this design was only produced in that year.

A Quarter Eagle coin would not be produced again until 1821.

Sold at auction: $2,350,000

The U.S. Mint was first authorized to produce coinage by Congress in April 1792. The facility struck a few pattern (or sample) coins late in that year, but it wasn’t until March 1793 that the first coins for circulation were produced at the Mint in Philadelphia.

The 1793 one-cent coin was the first federal coin, and 36,103 coins were produced. Today, 28 mint state Chain cents are known to exist.

This coin is the second-finest certified example and in 2012 sold for a record price for any U.S. cent at public auction.

Sold at auction: $2,585,000

The 1795 eagle ($19 coin) was the largest gold coin authorized by the Mint Act of 1792.

Conceived by Thomas Jefferson, Congress declared by resolution that the coin, which was to be stamped with the image of the American eagle, would be called an Eagle.

This coin is the finest example of its kind. Both sides exhibit bold details.

Sold at auction: $2,585,000

Named for its designer, Robert Birch, the Birch cent was a prototype for America’s first coins.

Four types were produced, of varying weights.

This one is a Gem, uncirculated coin and is the finest of its kind.

Sold at auction: $2,820,000

The U.S. dollar coin was the first coin struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1794, and it’s likely that the complete run of 1,758 was minted in one day. About 150 are thought to remain today. The coin was designed by chief engraver Robert Scot, who modified the image seen on Augustin Dupre’s Libertas Americana medal of 1782.

The coin includes 15 stars around the border, representing the 15 states in the Union in 1794. Most of the known examples of this coin are softly struck, due to misalignment and also because the coin press was designed for smaller coins.

Of the six known mint state coins of this type, this one ranks fourth in quality.

Sold at auction: $2,990,000

This nearly perfect coin was exceptionally struck and well preserved. Ultra High Relief coins were struck seven times and annealed between each striking. This process heated the coin until it was cherry-red, then cooled in a weak nitric acid solution, producing a surface of nearly pure gold.

Only 19 or 20 of these coins are known to exist, and this is the only one known of this quality. I

It was the first coin to sell for more than $200,000, in 1974.

Sold at auction: $2,990,000

Brasher doubloons were made by Ephraim Brasher who lived next door to George Washington in New York City after the Revolutionary War.

Each coin is stamped with his hallmark EB (as were his works as a silversmith), as well as those coins he certified as containing the correct gold content.

This is the only coin known to exist with the EB stamped on the eagle’s breast.

Sold at auction: $3,172,500

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is among the most coveted coins in the U.S. Only five uncirculated specimens are known to exist.

At one time, all were owned by Samuel W. Brown before being sold to Col. Edward H.R. Green. After his death, his estate sold the coins. Today, only three remain in private hands.

This one, also known as the Walton specimen, and one displayed at the ANA Money Museum in Colorado Springs (known as the McDermott coin) are the only two that are flatly struck across the coin on the reverse.

Sold at auction: $3,290,000

Known as the “Dexter specimen,” this coin is distinct as it has a tiny “D” stamped into cloud 7 on the reverse side of the coin.

While it gets its name from James V. Dexter, who owned the coin for 14 years at the end of the 19th century, it is believed that William Forrester Dunham (the coin’s longest owner) is the one who placed the mark on the coin.

One of the original eight coins minted in 1834, at some point this coin took on a fingerprint, which can be seen on the obverse right center of the coin.

Sold at auction: $3,737,500

Another of the three privately held 1913 nickels, this coin, known as the Olsen Specimen, had several owners after Col. Edward H.R. Green.

One of these was King Farouk of Egypt, who also owned the 1913 nickel coin, known as the Norweb, that currently resides at the Smithsonian Institution.

This coin was the first coin to sell for more than $100,000, in 1972. It may have been the second 1913 nickel struck and is considered the second-finest specimen.

Sold at auction: $3,877,500

This coin is one of eight produced in 1834 and known as Class I or Lettered Edge 1804 Silver Dollars. It is the sixth-finest quality coin of its type.

Known as the Mickley coin, it appears this coin may have entered circulation as Joseph J. Mickley reported he acquired the coin from a bank teller in Philadelphia.

While it was not the first coin to sell for more than $1,000,000, it came close when it broke a world record, selling for $990,000 in 1989.

Sold at auction: $4,000,000

At 220 pounds and a diameter of 21 inches, this is the world’s largest coin and the world’s first million-dollar coin.

Originally designed as a showpiece to promote the Canadian Mint’s new Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins, a limited number were made available for sale to investors.

Private sale: $4,000,000

First created during the Anglo-Boer War, Pond coins were produced from 1898 dies, which were then punched with a “9” to indicate the year. However, the “9” was too large and infringed on the image of the bust of President Kruger. Fortunately, this was discovered on the first strike, and the design was subsequently changed to include two smaller 9s (referred to as Double 99).

This coin was set aside and presented to the United States Consul General C.E. Macrum as part of a ceremony establishing the Boer Republic’s independence. The coin later appeared in King Farouk’s collection before returning to South Africa when a coin collector purchased it in 1954.

The coin changed hands five more times before this record-breaking sale.

Sold at auction: $4,140,000

Though the date on this coin and seven others like it is 1804, it’s believed they were struck at a later date. From 1804 to 1836, the Mint did not produce silver dollars at all.

In 1834, the Mint began creating complete sets of proof coins to be given by the State Department as diplomatic gifts. Since there were no silver dollars available, a small number were then produced with the date 1804, the last date on record for producing silver dollars. Mint researchers believe that the dollars recorded as being struck in 1804 were actually dated 1803.

This coin, given to the Sultan of Muscat, is considered to be the best-preserved coin of its type.

Sold at auction: $4,560,000

The most valuable of the 1913 nickels, this coin was purchased by Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. in 1948. Known as the Eliasberg specimen, it is the finest of the five. Its surface is like that of a proof coin. The remaining two are now held by public institutions.

The McDermott coin is the lowest quality (perhaps because Mr. McDermott liked to carry it in his pocket to show it off). It is on display at the ANA Money Museum in Colorado Springs. The other, the Norweb coin is at the Smithsonian.

This was the first coin to sell for more than $1,000,000, in 1996.

Sold at auction: $4,993,750

This mint-state dollar is one of two kept for almost 170 years in a Chippendale cabinet originally belonging to Lord St. Oswald and one of six that has been professionally graded.

Unlike many other existing coins of its type, the first three stars are full and the image of Liberty is precisely struck.

Considered to be a die state II, it is among the earlier strikes. Coins produced later show more die lapping and softer images.

Private sale: $5,000,000+

This mint-condition coin is the finest of the seven coins of this type known to exist.

Six of these have the creator’s hallmark EB punched on the wing. One has it on the breast.

Sold at auction: $6,013,157

The Umayyad gold dinar, struck from gold from a mine owned by the caliph, is one of the rarest Islamic gold coins. It may have been a special issue from his pilgrimage to Mecca.

The date on the coin is A.H. 105, (about 723 to 724 A.D.), and it is the earliest Islamic coin that mentions a location in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Text on the coin indicates the gold is from “Mine of the Commander of the Faithful,” which has been determined to be Ma’din Bani Sulaim, northwest of Mecca.

Sold at auction: $7,590,020

The object of intrigue, this coin should never have left the mint. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered all 1933 $20 coins destroyed before they were declared legal currency, reserving two for the Smithsonian Institute.

In the 1940s and 1950s, nine were discovered and were seized by the Secret Service to be melted down. Another ended up in the collection of Egyptian King Farouk. It disappeared when his collection was sold in 1954, reappearing in 1995 in the possession of London coin dealer Stephen Fenton, starting a court battle over whether the coin could legally be owned. The proceeds of the sale were split between Fenton and the U.S. Mint.

In 2002, the coin was declared the only 1933 double eagle legally issued, making it legal currency. The coin’s owner, who remains anonymous, claims to not be a coin collector but one “captivated by the story,” has allowed the coin to be displayed at both the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York Historical Society.

Sold at auction: $10,016,875

The first American dollars were produced in 1794, making this coin one of the oldest in the nation. There is only one variety of die used for the 1794 dollar, and it was apparently retired that year.

With a grade of “Specimen,” the strike of this coin is the same as one at the Smithsonian, which is believed to be an initial “test” strike. These two coins are the only ones known to have this particular pattern. Later coins show evidence of die clashing, which results in less crisp features and imperfect die alignment that produces uneven images.

This coin also has a proof-like surface that provides a deep mirror reflection.

Related: Most Valuable Pennies

Maybe you’ve read about a single coin that sold for $1 million. Perhaps you found a coin from the 1800s or earlier, or maybe you’ve inherited a collection of coins. How can you tell which coins are worth money? Once you’ve found a rare coin that’s valuable, how do you sell old coins?

This is not as difficult as it may seem. Make a habit of looking at your coins. If you know what an everyday coin looks like, you are more likely to notice when one is a little different. Set aside those that look different until you have time for a closer examination.

It’s not likely you have a $1 million coin in your pocket, but if you were given a collection, some of those coins might have significant value. (If you have a complete set, they may be worth more together.) To determine this, says Rod Gillis, the education director at the American Numismatic Association, “You have to look through every one of them.”

Here’s how to investigate, learn what coins are wanted by collectors, and what to do if you find a coin of value.

The annual A Guide Book of United States Coins is known in collecting circles as the “Red Book.” This book can give you a ballpark figure of what your coins are worth.

Gillis describes it as “sort of the bible of United States coins. There’s probably no serious collector out there that does not have a copy,” adding that it’s available in both hardcover and spiral bound forms, with the latter being less expensive and easier to use. The Red Book, he says, “lists the average retail price of every United States coin, based on grade. [It] gives you a really basic idea of how to look for particulars for technical grading, and is written in a way that you don’t have to be numismatically savvy to understand it.”

It’s important to note that the book provides retail values, not wholesale, which is what dealers would typically pay.