A lot of people ask me, “Hey, James, Old Money Prices, I’ve got this really interesting looking coin.” When they show me what they have, it is called a Sacagawea dollar coin. Now, these coins are mistakenly thought to be incredibly rare. Nine out of 10 times, they’re not. They’re only worth a few bucks. But in this article, I’m going to show you the ones that are that exception that are selling for a lot of money online. And I’m going to show you exactly what to look for, and I’m going to tell you how to maximize the value of your coin if you do decide to sell it online or wherever you want to sell it. I will give you a quick tip: never, ever, ever go to a pawn shop. They will rip you off. All right, let’s go ahead and hop into it with this first $1 coin.
What Are Sacagawea Dollars Made Of?
By the way, these are not gold coins. That is a common misconception. They’re actually 77% copper, 12% zinc, 7% manganese, and 4% nickel. They weigh 8.1 g.
The Wounded Eagle Detail on the 2000-P Coin
This one was graded by ANACS at an AU58. 70 is the highest you can get. What makes this coin so rare is that there is a small detail on the back of the coin. Right where that eagle is flying, in the stomach area, you’re going to see what looks like a spear or a stick going through the stomach area of the bird. This has the nickname of a wounded eagle Sacagawea coin. Whenever you come across one of these 2000-P Sacagawea coins, you want to look for the wounded eagle, because this dollar coin that’s typically worth only a few dollars sold for $63.
Mint State 64: Sold for $244
If it’s in better condition, it can sell for more, just like this example that was graded by PCGS at a Mint State 64. Same deal, wounded eagle. Remember, 70 is the highest grade, so we can have some room for improvement here, but it sold for $244.
Mint State 65: Sold for $336
Moving up in condition here, this one got graded by NGC at Mint State 65. You can see the appearance of this coin is much better. They are calling this a speared eagle coin. Same thing, wounded eagle, speared eagle. It sold for $336.
Mint State 66: Sold for $414.80
Moving on to this PCGS graded Mint State 66 coin, you can see the condition is getting better here and the value is going up. This one sold for $414.80.
Mint State 67: Sold for $690
And would you believe it? Look at this coin. This is a coin from the year 2000, and it looks brand spanking new. PCGS just graded it at a Mint State 67. It is once again a wounded eagle or a speared eagle. This one sold for $690.
Mint State 68: Sold for $7,200
Here’s when it gets crazy. Mint State 68. It sold for $7,200. Now, just imagine if you got a 69 or a 70 grade with this wounded eagle coin. This is a coin that is so challenging to get in that high of a grade.
Should You Get Your Coin Graded?
You might be asking, how do I even grade a coin? Well, it’s not as easy as it might seem, and I could spend way too much time talking about it in an article, but I will say this: most of the time it’s not worth getting your coin graded, even if you think it might be. Between the time invested and the money spent to grade the coin, it’s generally not worth it. However, people will not pay top dollar unless your coin is graded. So it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.
How to Sell Your Coins
I will say this: if you do have graded coins already or you want to try to sell your coins online, there are many ways to do so. And if you just want to get rid of your coins quickly and get money, what we recommend is visiting at least three different coin shops, being open to their feedback. Understand that they see coins all day that are worth nothing. But there are times that these coins will sell for good money, and they want to pay you for them. So do your homework, do your research, but understand that unless your coin is graded, it’s not really going to be able to be paid out in a certain value.
Remember, this wounded eagle sold for $7,200. If you had one and you were able to get it graded this highly, that is going to be a lot of money to help you out. But I just want to be truthful and honest. I don’t want to get your hopes up. Getting a coin like this is very, very, very challenging to do, and most people are never able to achieve it.