Maybe you have a dime at home without knowing it could be worth a fortune. Even though this might seem incredible, some of these U.S. dimes can be sold for thousands or even millions of dollars.
This happens because some old coins or with minting mistakes become very valuable for collectors. So, let’s see why certain coins are worth so much and how we can identify them.
Cents that are worth a lot
Most dimes are worth 10 cents, of course. However, there are some exceptions that may be worth way more for these reasons:
- It has a missing mark: some dimes were made without a small letter called a mint mark. This letter (such as an “S”) shows where the coin was made. When the “S” is missing, it could be a mistake, and that mistake can make the coin rare and valuable.
- It’s very old: dimes made before 1965 are special because they contain 90% silver. Since silver is a precious metal, these coins are worth more than ten cents even for their silver content alone.
- It has a minting error: coins that have errors or defects from the minting process can be extremely valuable. Collectors love rare mistakes because they are unique — no two are exactly the same.
How to identify them
You don’t need to be an expert to identify your cents. Here, we are going to tell you how to know if your dime could be worth more than you think:
- Look for the “S” mark: On many dimes, you’ll see a tiny letter “S” on the front of the coin. If your dime doesn’t have that “S” when it should, it might be a rare coin called a “no-S” dime — and that could make it worth a lot more money.
- Check the year: If your dime was made before 1965, it’s made mostly of real silver, so it’s already worth more than ten cents. If it’s very old, like from the 1800s or early 1900s, it could be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
- Look for anything unusual: Take a close look at your coin. If you see letters that look doubled, missing details, or weird shapes around the edges, it might be an error coin — and that makes it more valuable to collectors.
- Ask an expert: If you’re not sure, don’t guess — get help. You can take your dime to a coin expert (also called a numismatist) to find out its real value. You can also check trusted websites like NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) or PCGS CoinFacts, which let you compare your coin with verified examples and see how much they’re worth.
Examples of valuable dimes
Now, let’s see some real examples of coins that are worth more than 10 cents:
- 1874-CC Liberty Seated Dime: Around $5,000.
- 1914-D Mercury Dime: More than $3,000.
- 1916-D Mercury Dime: Worth over $10,000.
- 1968-S Roosevelt Dime (no S): About $7,500.
- 1975 Roosevelt Dime (no S): Sold for about $450,000.
- 1894-S Barber Dime: One of the rarest dimes ever made — sold for $1.9 million in 2016.
Coin mistakes
Coins are made using metal stamps called die presses the design onto a blank coin. If the die is cracked or broken, it can cause an error, leaving a raised bump or missing area on the coin. This is called a die break or cud.
Errors like this are very rare because the U.S. Mint checks coins carefully before they leave the factory. Most coins with defects are destroyed before they reach people, but when any escapes it becomes a very valuable piece of collection.
The $1.9 million coin
One of the most popular cents is the 1894-S Barber Dime. Only 24 coins of this type were made in the San Francisco Mint. This year the mint was short $2.40 in its accounts that year so, to balance the books, the mint superintendent approved the creation of 24 dimes and recorded them in the official ledger.
He later gave some of those coins to his friends and family, including three to his daughter. Today, only nine of those coins are known to still exist and, because they are so rare, one of them sold for $1.9 million in 2016.
So, you never know if that tiny cent in your drawer might just be worth a fortune.