I think that we’re all pretty used to taking the money in our wallets at face value.
After all, it’s not hard to guess how much a quarter is worth; the 25-cent value is printed right on the coin. Meanwhile, we all recently learned that $20 is $20, no matter what.
That’s why we were surprised to learn that, sometimes, a quarter isn’t just a quarter.
There’s a whole market for rare and collectible coins, but you may be surprised by some of the common forms of currency that are worth a lot more than a pretty penny these days.
It’s actually a bit shocking to realize how much the loose change in your couch cushions may actually be worth. While everyone assumes most rare coins are out of circulation, you should probably take another look at what’s in your wallet.
If you’re lucky, you could be hanging onto an old quarter or an unusual bill that a collector might just pay thousands for!
Photo Credit: Flickr
The most persistent rumor circulating these days is in regards to 1970 quarters.
A commonly misinterpreted factoid states that many U.S. quarters printed in 1970 were mistakenly struck on Canadian coins from 1941.
As a result of this misprint, the coins are often stated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars, which isn’t precisely true.
But, before you despair and toss your pile of 1970 hopefuls back into the change jar, take a closer look.
While it’s not true that all (or even most) quarters from 1970 were misprinted on Canadian coins, there are a few coins like this around, which may have mistakenly entered circulation in isolated cases.
One eBay listing for a coin like this sold for $35,000, so it’s worth checking your 1970 quarters for the faint mark of the year 1941!
While you’re looking through your quarters, you should also take a moment to sift for any printed in 1964 or earlier.
These quarters aren’t worth even close to the Canadian misprints, but they are worth a lot more than 25 cents.
That’s because quarters struck in 1964 or earlier are usually 90 percent silver and can be purchased and priced much like silver jewelry.
In other words, you might be putting an hour on the meter with the equivalent of a nice ring or pair of earrings.
It’s also worth leafing through the bills in your wallet.
Misprints are always valuable to the various collectors who specialize in these things, but your bills might have another surprisingly collectible quality: their serial number.
Certain collectors are willing to pay big bucks for serial numbers that repeat the same digit many times or feature palindromes, ascending digits, or other patterns.
If you’re curious about the values of your bills, go through all of the bills in your wallet and look for interesting patterns in their serial numbers.
Then, check them against the site CoolSerialNumbers.com.
They buy and sell these kinds of bills, which can range in price from $40 all the way up to $5,000 for especially rare and unusual bills.
The most valuable bills currently on the site are mostly from 1928, but some of the bills listed were printed as recently as 2013.
If you found any bills or coins that might be worth something from our guide, make sure to let us know in the comments, and keep an eye out for future windfalls.
And don’t forget to SHARE with friends and family!
