Coin Collecting Legends: 10 of the Most Wanted U.S. Coins

These coins are coin collecting legends! You will need a little more than spare change to be able to add these rare gems to your coin collection.

-1943 Bronze Penny: During WW2, the U.S. was rationing copper and the mint wasn't excluded from these rationing practices. During this time, most pennies were made of a brass-steel alloy. Except for a few rogue bronze pennies (which were outlawed). An easy way to ID these: a brass will stick to a magnet, a bronze won't.

-1776 Silver Continental Dollar: shortly after signing the Declaration of Independence, the US Congress decided to make the first American currency to showcase their new-found freedom from the colonies. The design is attributed to Benjamin Franklin and has the words "fugio" (time flies) and "mind your business".

-1866: Target of a heist, this famous solver coin is owned by the DuPont family. It was recovered only a few years ago. Only a few were produced without the "In God We Trust" motto. According to some sources, a collector and friend of mint executive bribed mint workers with opium to press coins without the motto.

-1870-S Half Dime: This gem comes from a year when construction began on a new mint in San Francisco.

-1913 Liberty Head Nickel: This five cent piece is a coin collecting legend in and of itself. The "Liberty Head" design was retired in 1912, but in 1913 5 nickels were minted with the design. They under ownership of one man who ended up starting a rumor about their existence, which drove up the price as people began to search for them. No one knew that he possessed all five! In a recent purchase, one was sold for 3 million.

-1974 Aluminum Penny: In the 1970s, the price of copper was rising high and to make a penny cost nearly as much as it's worth. So the US Mint tested a few alternatives, including the Aluminum penny, which was sent out to VIPs as a sample. It was never recouped.

-1861 Confederate States Half-Dollar: In 1861, the New Orleans Mint came under control of the Confederate States in 1861. However, they didn't have much of a reserve of precious metals, so they ended up using paper money to support their war efforts.

-Brasher Doubloon: Before states adopted the new constitution in 1798, they had the right to issue their own state coinage. This coin originated in New York when Goldsmith Ephraim Brasher took an artistic route and produced 7 unique and beautiful coins.

-1804 Draped Bust Dollar: As an order by Andrew Jackson, the mint produced eight silver dollars with the year 1803 on them. The coins were to be included in sets to give to foreign dignitaries and are the only silver dollars with that year on them. Today, each coin carries the whopping value of over 1 million dollars.

-1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: When Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard, he recalled all gold coins for melting. About a dozen never went back to the mint or were smuggled out by employees. In 1933, one had a value of $20, and in 2002 one was sold for over 7 million dollars.

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