No, You Don’t Have A $124 Million Penny, Advises Professional Numismatists Guild

Recent online stories about pennies allegedly worth $124 million and billion-dollar 1976 Bicentennial quarter dollars are either false or grossly misleading, advises the Professional Numismatists Guild, a nonprofit organization composed of many of the country’s top rare coin experts.

“Unfortunately, these clickbait stories and videos with absurdly inflated rare coin values often get picked up by major search engines. The misleading or inaccurate stories raise false hopes to people who may mistakenly think they have a fortune when in fact their coins may only be worth face value or have drastically less collector value than they were led to believe,” cautions John Feigenbaum, Executive Director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG).

“For consumer protection and education, it is important to rely only on expert sources, such as long-time hobby/trade publications and price guides as well as members of the Professional Numismatists Guild and the PNG’s trusted partner, Numismatic Guaranty Company. Depend on experts when you want coins evaluated for authenticity and market value,” emphasized PNG President James Sego.

Numismatic Guaranty Company offers a free online price guide where anyone can determine the approximate retail value of their old coins.

“Recent headlines that proclaim a rare penny might be worth more than $100 million or a 1976 Bicentennial quarter might be worth $1.5 billion are pure fantasy. The highest price ever paid for a rare coin sold at auction was $18.9 million. Also, some deceptive headlines and stories claiming you might find a certain rare coin in circulation involve genuine coins that have not been produced or in pocket change for a century or more,” stated Feigenbaum who also serves as Publisher of Greysheet, an authoritative rare coin price guide.

PNG President Sego recalled a recent encounter with a disappointed coin owner:

“The customer mistakenly believed he hit the rare coin jackpot because of a misleading video he watched online. He thought his 1926 silver dollar was incorrectly made at the United States Mint with severe gouges and now could perhaps be worth tens of thousands of dollars. However, the deep scratches on the coin occurred after it left the Mint, and because of that unsightly damage the coin is now only worth melt value, about $25 for its silver content.”

“If you don’t know rare coins, you better know your rare coin experts,” emphasized Sego.

The Professional Numismatists Guild was founded in 1955. The group’s motto is “Knowledge, Integrity, Responsibility,” and PNG members must adhere to a strict code of ethics in the buying and selling of numismatic merchandise.

For a list of PNG member-dealers, visit online at www.PNGdealers.org and click the Find A PNG Dealer link at the top of the page, or contact PNG by phone at 951-587-8300 or by email at info@PNGdealers.org.