The history of humanity in coins and notes

For those who read me regularly, you will know that I’m a bit of a numismatist. What’s that? A nerd. Well, no, not really. It’s someone who is really enthusiastic about studying, collecting and talking about money, coins, cash, medals and related items. That’s me. Sorry. I’m one of them.

Weirdly, I’ve collected a lot of rare bank notes and coins which, when I think about them now, have no idea what they are worth or why I bought them. So, when I saw a post about the rarest coins in the world, it made me realise that you probably don’t even know how much wealth you may have in your pocket or purse.

For example, if you find an old roman coin in your pocket, it could be worth $5 million.

This is the most valuable coin from the Ancient World from 42 BCE. It’s a gold coin dedicated to Marcus Junius Brutus or, if you prefer, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. Strangely, I always thought that was Marc Antony, but it turns out it is not. The truth we understand today is that Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius, on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BCE.

That’s why this rare coin is worth so much because it commemorates the Ides of March murder and is incredibly rare. Only three are thought to exist.

Or take this coin …

This is the Umayyad Gold Dinar, a gold coin issued by the Umayyad Caliphate, an Islamic dynasty that ruled for a significant period from 661 to 750 AD. Bearing in mind that the Islamic religion began just before this coin was issued – Islam originated around 610 CE when the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation in Mecca – this is one of the first coins to recognised the historic moment and is worth about $6 million.

Or take this coin …

It is one of the first coins ever minted in an independent America after the battles with Britain resulting in liberty from the Commonwealth … well, almost. After all, America still loves our Royalty and history but, before getting too political, this is the 22-carat gold doubloon struck by jeweller Ephraim Brasher in 1787. It is one of the first gold coins minted in the US and now, only seven have survived. In 2018, a specimen was sold for more than $5 million.

Or take this coin, minted in 1903 …

The King of Chinese Coins is also the most expensive non-American coin sold at auction. Because it was a trial coin, the silver 1903 Fengtien Tael is a one-of-a-kind. You need to bear in mind that this was the end of the Qing dynasty and, by that time, China was still very largely dominated by foreign, imperial powers and overseas money circulated freely. So, this was one of the first purely internal Chinese coins used to transact.

Interestingly, in 1952, an American collector found the coin in Hong Kong and sold it for a record price of over $150,000 in 1991. Peanuts. In 2022, this unique coin sold at a Beijing ChengXuan Auction for a massive $6.9 million.

As you can see from the above, these coins represent many significant moments in human history, and that’s what I love about notes and coins. They track the traces of how we have become who we are. Will we still have this luxury in the  future when everything is digitised? I doubt it.

Which leaves just one question: what is the most valuable coin in the world and why?

Well, it’s this:

The 1933 double eagle 20-dollar gold coin.

The last time one was sold at auction, it’s value was $18.9 million in 2021 at Sotheby’s and, in today’s prices, it would be around $22 million.

Why is it so valuable?

Because it was the time of the Great Depression and this coin was minted but never circulated. As a result, only one of these coins exist in public domain, which is known as the Weitzman Specimen because it was owned by Stuart Weizman, a designer of shoes. A key to its rarity is that, because the coin was never released to the public, it is illegal to privately own any of the 1933 double eagles, with the exception of the Weitzman Specimen.

That’s why it’s worth $22 million.

You can find out more about these things here: The 20 most valuable coins on Earth, ranked and the key for me is that banknotes and coins tell us our history. It’s going to be a massive loss when we lose them.