Top Selling United States Coins of 2013

#1 1858 1c Flying Eagle "Small Letters" NGC PF66	$47,950.00
Date Sold: June 13, 2013 Even with the popularity of gold/silver coins, this one cent coin made of copper & nickel takes the #1 spot. The "Small Letters" refers to the smaller text in "United States of America" on the obverse of the coin ... additionally the A & M in America are separated on this version. Finding one of these coins for sale is not all that difficult - most sell for less than $100 dollars. However finding one in near perfect condition makes it the most expensive US Coin sold during the year.
#2 1913-S $20 Double Eagle PCGS MS65	$41,385.00
Date Sold: April 17, 2013 The United States Mint states that only 34,000 of these coins were struck and finding one in un-circulated condition is a rare find.
#3 1921 $1 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS67	$37,570.00
Date Sold: November 16, 2013 With a shade over 1 million of these coins struck in 1921, they aren't as most coins that achieve this price. However, finding one in this type of condition is a rare find considering these coins were re-designed because the high relief design was not practical for normal circulation among the public. While this coin is very rare and valuable, finding one from the following year with the high relief design in this condition would have easily been the highest selling coin of the year.
#4 1907 $20 Double Eagle "High Relief/Wire Edge" PCGS MS64	$27,932.56
Date Sold: January 7, 2013 Considered one of the most beautiful coins ever made. In the same year you have Plain Edge, Lettered Edge (both have ultra high relief designs) and Flat Edge versions as well. All 1907 Double Eagle coins feature the date in Roman numerals MCMVII.
#5 1795 $1 Flowing Hair "2 Leaves" Silver Dollar NGC AU55	$25,995.00
Date Sold: October 7, 2013 Coinage this old is not only a coin, it's an historical artifact. In 1795 minting coins was not perfected, so the coins of this era were weight adjusted by shaving off excess silver, or in some cases inserting a silver plug to adjust the weight of silver in the coin. The term "2 Leaves" in this variation refers to the 2 leaves underneath the Eagles wing on the obverse of the coin - as opposed to 3 on a different variation.
#6 1909-O $5 Indian Head Half Eagle PCGS AU58 "CAC"	$25,550.00
Date Sold: January 19, 2013 Only about $34,200 of these coins were minted and they are all very valuable. The problem is this coin has been the target of counterfeiters for decades, so beware if you are lucky enough to be a shopper of this coin. The term "CAC" is a third party that certifies the 3rd party grading service (in this example PCGS) and adds essentially a second layer of authenticity to the grade of the coin and its authenticity.
#7 1796 25c Draped Bust Quarter	$21,500.00
Date Sold: January 10, 2013 This year was the very first the United States mint struck quarter dollars. Only 6,146 coins were minted, making any example of this coin extremely valuable. Finding one for sale in extremely nice condition is not particularly difficult, but they don't often sell due to the high asking prices.
#8 1893-CC $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS MS61	$19,999.00
Date Sold: July 30, 2013 The Carson City mint is synonymous with valuable coins. These double eagles are no different. There were only 18,402 of these coins struck, and as with all high value coins - you want to beware of counterfeit examples that have been made for decades.
#9 1853-O $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NCG AU58	$19,551.00
Date Sold: March 5, 2013 The New Orleans mint was responsible for striking a small quantity of these double eagles in 1853 along with other years. This coin was was graded by NCG and was nearly in uncirculated condition.
#10 1799 $1 Silver Heraldic Eagle Dollar NGC AU58	$17,250.00
Date Sold: May 17, 2013 There are several different variations of this coin struck in 1799 with slight differences between them. Most 1799 Silver Dollars are worth about the same value with some small price premiums for some. Finding one in this condition is a very rare find for early United States coins.
#11 1884-S $1 Morgan Silver Dollar	$16,100.00
Date Sold: May 17, 2013 Finding an 1884-S Morgan Silver Dollar is not all that rare, however finding one in good condition is almost impossible. 1884-S Morgan Silver Dollars found in choice mint state and above command a massive premium over uncirculated and lesser condition coins from the same year and mint.
#12 1884 $1 Indian Princess Head Gold Dollar PCGS PF66	$13,500.00
Date Sold: February 28, 2013 Ever have a coin dealer tell you that condition is everything? Well, in the case of this coin, that is certainly the case. While these coins are very valuable and somewhat rare - finding one in in proof condition makes it extremely rare and highly collectible.
#13 1878-CC $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NCG AU53	$12,800.00
Date Sold: August 29, 2013 You can see how condition points really matter when your talking expensive United States coins. The #8 ranked coin on this list is from a similar era and had more coins struck during that year, but is several steps higher than this coin on the grading scale. Not that this coin is chop-liver by any means, this is one of the finest examples you'll find for sale anywhere in the world.
#14 1923-D $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle PCGS MS67	$12,750.00
Date Sold: January 3, 2013 Incredibly rare find in this condition. Coins in this condition always command a huge collector premium.
#15 1909-O $5 Indian Head Half Eagle NCG AU55 "CAC"	$12,500.00
Date Sold: March 26, 2013 Here is a great example for new collectors how much a few points on the grading scale is thousands of dollars in value. The exact same coin (graded AU58) is #6 on the 2013 top selling coins list sold for over $25,000 dollars, and this one is only 3 points lower on the grading scale. This coin is also authenticated by CAC which is a third party that is a second layer of authenticity to the grading company - which in this case is NCG.