Some of the rarest coins in the world are worthless, and their existence is unknown; they slowly fade into history. On the other hand, there exists coins so rare, with rich history, circumstances, and stories, making these rare coins appeal to rich coin collectors. Some of the world’s rarest coins often go for millions in auctions as collectors jump at the chance to own a once-in-a-lifetime collectible. What are some of the world’s rarest and most valuable gold coins and how much are they worth? Let’s start with the infamous Saint-Gaudens $20 Gold Double Eagle. 

Saint-Gaudens $20 Gold Double Eagle 

The 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle is infamous, both for its history and its scarcity in the present day. Minted during the middle of the longest and most extreme depressions of human history, this gold coin was never officially circulated. To offset the general banking crisis caused by the stock market crash, President Theodore Roosevelt implemented an Executive Order outlawing the circulation and possession of gold coins, prompting the general populace to trade in their gold for fiat currency. The 1933 double eagles were minted after this Executive Order passed; therefore, all but 2 of the 445,500 coins were melted down for their gold content. The remaining two coins were to be housed in the US National Numismatic Collection and the National Museum of American History, respectively. The coins in the museums were supposed to be the only existing copies left; however, it was discovered that 20 of the 1933 eagles were smuggled out to Philadelphia jeweller Israel Swift and sold to collectors. As the coins were illegal to own privately, some of the smuggled coins were seized by the secret service and destroyed at the mint. Currently, only 13 of these coins are known to exist in the world, cementing the 1933 Saint Gaudens double eagle as one of the rarest gold coins in the world. 10 of the coins found by the Secret Service are housed in the United States Bullion Depository, and the remaining coin was sold in 2002 to Stuart Writzman for $7.59 million. The coin was sold again in 2021 for $18.9 million, making it the most expensive coin ever sold in an auction.

1898 Single 9 

South Africa’s rarest coin, the single 9 gold coin, is a legend and widely known across South Africa, but relatively unknown elsewhere. The coin was sold for $4 million in an auction in 2010. In a struggle for their independence, Paul Kruger, South Africa’s president at the time, and also the namesake behind the Krugerrand coins, ordered new gold coins to be minted. At the time, however, South Africa did not have new dies to strike the 1899 coins nor the technology to manufacture their own dies; thus, they ordered new dies to be made in Germany. Midway through the shipment, the dies were intercepted and confiscated by the British. South Africa’s mint failed to procure a die to produce a new gold coin. This, however, did not deter the Mint, as they tried to devise a way to create a makeshift 1899 coin. Using the old 1898 dies, the mint punched a 9 on the obverse of the coin to signify the year 1899 instead. However, when the first coin was struck using this method, the minters realized the 9 was too large and protruded onto the bust of President Ruger’s face on the obverse. Realizing their mistake, no further coins were minted using this method, and this one coin became known as the single 9 gold coin. The first owner of the single 9 coin was C.E. Macrum, who was given the coin to establish South Africa as its own country with its own coinage. The single 9 coin sold in 2025 in a coin auction for $2.15 million.

1787 Brasher Doubloon 

Before central banks were established and began minting government-backed currencies, only private entrepreneurs were creating coins for wealthy collectors. Ephraim Brasher, a gold and silversmith, had a widespread reputation for his incredible workmanship. He regulated coins for the bank, inspecting the fineness and weight of coins, stamping them with his initials EB when coins met his standard. His work was so phenomenal that his hallmark initials, EB, became a guarantee for coins. Bank clerks would accept coins stamped with the initials EB without verifying the weight. In 1787, Ephriam Brasher created his own line of gold coins, the Brasher Doubloon stamped with his initials to guarantee the quality of the coins. Only 7 of these Doubloons are known to exist today. 6 of the Doubloons have his initials stamped on the obverse of the coin, and the last coin has his initials stamped on the reverse of the coin. It is generally believed that these coins were a trial production and a ploy to generate interest in a series of copper coins produced by him with a similar design. The last known 1787 Brasher Doubloon was sold in a Heritage Auction in 2021 for $9.36 million. 

1822 Half Eagle 

Only 3 known specimens of the 1822 half eagle are known today. Two are on display in the National Numismatic Collection, and the last coin, the only one owned by a private collector, sold for $8.4 million in a Las Vegas auction. The fact is, the face value of the gold coin is only $5. The details surrounding the history of this coin are fuzzy since it was minted over 200 years ago, and record-keeping for numismatics in the 1800s was not as robust as they are now. Many details have been lost in time, just like this coin. It is speculated that only 17,796 of these coins were minted at the time. During the late 1800s, gold coins were not circulating in the daily marketplace. Generally, if you owned a gold coin, you would have kept it in a secure collection or sold it to an international broker. Even more so for this $5 gold coin, which was considered the most expensive and biggest denomination of the half eagle at the time. When the Great Depression hit America, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the recall of all gold coins in the hands of private collectors to be melted down to help solve a banking crisis. This recall destroyed a majority of the exciting 1822 half eagles, leaving only 3 remaining known coins today. 

723 Umayyad Gold Dinar

The oldest coin in this list, and one of the most prized Islamic coins, the 723 Umayyad Gold Dinar is a 1300-year-old coin that sold for more than $4 million in a 2019 coin auction. Dating back to 723 AD, not much is known about this gold coin since there are no concrete records. A rare piece of numismatic history, scholars have identified the mine where the gold came from as the Ma Din Bani Sulaim, located northwest of the holy city of Mecca. The site continues to produce gold to this day. Although scholars have deduced where the gold is sourced from, they are still, unsure where the coins were struck, as there is no indicator on the coin itself. Besides its numismatic history, it’s one of the earliest Islamic gold coins to name a location in Saudi Arabia. The historical significance and scarcity of this coin make it a prized collectible for coin collectors and numismatic fanatics, evident by its final auction price.