What's The Rarest Coin You've Found In Circulation?

A 1991 Canadian quarter.

@ just carl..


Wow, nice..

@ Joseph7420..


..I've have never found one in circulation, had to buy mine..

Which reminds me that I once got a Monaco 2 Euro coin in change. Can't remember the mintage year, have to look it up (it's in a box somewhere). And then to think that I paid 350 Euro for a complete FdC set of these, when I also just can get them in change... ;)

I got this shilling in change from a vending machine at my school shortly before they resized the 5p to the smaller size in the early 1990's.

I have found plenty of proofs and NIFC coins; I think the rarest was a 2009 half dollar business strike. What I really prize the most are the coins that don't last long in circulation before being snatched up:

- 1950-D nickel
- MS-65ish 1940 nickel with 5 full steps
- Full roll of dateless Buffalo nickels
- 1891 V nickel

If it counts, I am also the go-to guy for searching huge jugs of change that are headed to the coinstar. The disorganized semi-collectors usually have the best stuff in there, especially the ones with small kids. My favorites from those jars:
- 1909 VDB cent
- 192? SLQ
- 1860s Belgium 5 or 10 centimes
- AE3 of Valentinian I in a jar of cents

Oldest: 1903 V nickel, 1903 IHC (tie)

Rarest: none really, probably some early teen S mint wheats (a very worn 1910-S being the oldest of those)
I find the occasional Mexican and Canadian coins in change. Oldest Canadian is 1937 cent.

Weirdest: a late 60's Swiss 20 rappen. No idea how it ended up in change in the US. Also found an Italian 10 lire from 1990s in the parking lot at the supermarket.

Interesting question and interesting finds.

I was thinking along the way that NIFC finds might be among the rarest finds; lower mintage proof/SMS coins and the like for example. I was surprised to find my first impaired proof but since then (<3 years), I've found several. And I've found a couple 1950D Jefferson nickels, in AU/BU condition. I'm not sure that I can count either the proof/SMS or 1950D coins rare finds; they are all liberated from old collections and shouldn't really be there for the taking. I suspect if my 1950D Jefferson nickels were worn, circulated specimens I'd feel different.

With that in mind, I took a look at my various coin folders/albums. Rarest finds -

LWC - 1912S, 1910S
Buffalo nickel - 1915S(pickled), 1914S, 1914D(pickled), 1913D(pickled)
Jefferson nickel - 1938S, 1938D

Perhaps the two rarest finds are items that shouldn't have been there: 1915 Austrian Ducat and a 1901 Oldsmobile Sterling Silver mini bar. Rolled and sent to the bank.

And then there are the variety/error coins. Impossible I suppose to know just how many of this-or-that coin was minted. A few hundred thousand? A million? Less? Rare? Anyway, it's neat to see the wonderful finds by our fellow enthusiasts!

Good luck on the hunts!

A couple of years ago I found a 1911 LWC in change. Then there was a time about 10 years ago when I got a silver dime back in change from a vending machine. I believe it was a late-50s vintage, not particularly rare as silver dimes go but certainly rare to find silver in the wild. Haven't seen one since.

I can remember when I was in high school in the 1980s in Arkansas, I would occasionally get Canadian cents or quarters in change, but it's been many years since I've seen a non-US coin in circulation.