Exact design on back of your dime make it worth $218,500 – but you’ll need to look closely for ‘full bands’ detail

YOUR dime could be worth a six-figure payday, but it must have a crucial detail on the back.

Rare coins from the United States can be easier to find than you might believe.

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Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions

Over the years, the minting process and designs of pennies , nickels, dimes, and quarters , have changed several times.

Coins that were supposed to have been replaced or only intended to be kept as collector’s items often continue to make their way through circulation.

Conducting a quick search through your spare change or coins passed down to you by relatives, could result in a lucrative discovery.

It would be worth a glance at all of the dimes in your collection, as a unique version of the coin from the early 1900s is still around.

Not only is it exceedingly rare to locate, but a few special versions of the 1919-D dime have “full bands,” per the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

Dimes minted between 1916 and 1945 were made from mercury, making them special in the coin-collecting community based on that fact alone.

Additionally, some feature the “full bands,” often abbreviated as “FB” on the tails side of the coin.

The tails side of dimes from 1916 to 1945, including the 1919-D (minted in Denver) has “a bundle of sticks and an axe wrapped within vines of olive leaves,” per the PCGS.

BELTS BONUS

On the design are “three sets of twin belts” that run horizontally across the axe, sticks, and vines to hold everything together.

A “full bands” designation will be given to a dime when the middle belt has split in the middle of it.

It would be helpful to use a magnifying glass to verify the “full bands” if you find a 1919-D coin in your change.

If you do, it could be worth nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

In 2000, a 1919-D FB design graded MS 66 on the PCGS scale in quality — which ranges from 1-70 — sold for $218,500, per Heritage Auctions .

At the time, only one other “full bands” dime graded MS 66 or above grading was known to the PCGS.

Rare coins

You may be holding something valuable in your wallet. Check out these articles on rare coins to see if you may have a treasure hidden deep in your pockets.

• Rare Lincoln penny sells for $201
• This buffalo nickel sold for $1,165
• 1971 Eisenhower silver coin sells for $264,000
• Lincoln double die obverse penny sells for $2,000
• Half cent sells for $3,383
• Rare nickel sells for $1,956 on eBay
• 1889 CC Morgan Silver dollar coin sells for $1,850
• Lincoln 1992 penny can be worth up to $25,000
• Standing Liberty quarter sells for $565
• Lincoln coin minted in 2020 sells for $525

It’s unclear if any others have been located since.

COINING IT

Other dimes from different years could also be worth some serious money to lucky Americans who find them.

For example, a dime from 1804 with Lady Liberty depicted on the front could be worth more.

A version of the coin featuring a “golden-brown” detail in immaculate condition sold at auction for $620,000.

Only 6,738 dimes were even minted in 1804.

Pennies can also hold unbelievable value.

A crucial date on a Lincoln penny could make it worth $504,000 .

Additionally, a “wide” detail on the tails side of a penny from a different year could make it sell for as much as $8,500 .