6 coins that will increase their value in 2024: how to know if you have one of them

The four US Mints in operation churn out billions of coins every year, between 1921 and 2020 over 816 billion were struck according to research by Wizard Pin. While some of those maintain their face value, others over time can far exceed their modest values fetching millions in some cases.

The coin collection market was estimated to be $8.7 billion in 2022 according to Transparency Market Research and is forecast to reach $20.9 billion by the end of 2031. This year could see a “surge” in both buying and selling of collectable coins according to Patrick A. Heller. He wrote in Numismatic News that economic heads winds and the prospect of a weakening dollar will likely lead to some collectors liquidating their holdings but others seeking to store value, especially in gold and silver.

6 coins that will increase their value in 2024

A similar view on the effect of the 2024 economic forecast in the coin market was expressed by COINage Magazine. The publication for numismatists and coin investors says that while “ultra-rare copper coins can be expected to return to favor if the price of gold bullion shows transitory softness” the spotlight will be on classic gold coins, especially the earliest and rarest. Collectors seeking to complete date sets are expected to put upward pressure on the price of key-date coins.

Here’s a look at the six coins that will be prized in 2024 and could make their owners some money:

How to know if you have one of them

COINage says that the demand for the 1798 half eagle with the small eagle reverse, which was only struck on some, remains “insatiable.” Between 1795 and 1807 the $5 half eagle coins were struck with the Capped Bust Portrait facing right. Later series were minted with the Capped Bust facing left, then a Capped Head and finally what is referred to as the Classic Head.

Collectors recognize three types of the liberty head double eagles: Type I , Type II and Type III. The basic design throughout the run remained pretty much unchanged but there were slight changes to distinguish each. Type II has the motto ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ on the reverse unlike the earlier coins minted. Collectors can identify Type III by the statement of value which “was changed from the shorthand TWENTY D. to TWENTY DOLLARS.”

When sizing up whether you have a Morgan silver dollar worth more than another of these “kings of the hill” you want to see if it is one that comes from a lower mintage as scarcity will increase the value “even though their condition might be a bit less spectacular.” COINage says that the 1880-S and 1881-S exist in large quantities for example.

The key to knowing if your Winged Liberty or “Mercury” dime is worth a premium you want to look at the fasces, a bundle of rods with a projecting axe blade, on the reverse. Collectors are looking for the ones that have a clear separation in the bands that bind the bundle, which are scarce, and “some MS-67 examples with full bands can command outrageous prices.”

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COINage says that coin collectors are looking for Lincoln cents that bear the letters “VDB,” an artistic signature, on the base of the reverse. The initials belong to Victor David Brenner, the coin designer. “Brenner’s three initials seemed to jump right off the coin prompting public protest and leading to their removal,” the publication explains.

The Franklin half dollar’s value lies in the fact that is it’s hard to find. Its production run, which began in 1948, was cut short following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Besides that, there are no major rarities in the series. The Philadelphia halves of 1953 and 1955 have the lowest-mintage issues. Franklin half dollars with grades MS-66 and above could “command substantial premiums.”