Five Scarce Coins and Currency Notes to Look for in 2025

By CoinWeek ….
 

Not every collector is going to find the next 1975 No S Dime or 1983 Bronze Cent in pocket change, but there are some fairly modern coins that are scarce enough to have value that you just might. Here are five U.S. coins and currency notes to look out for in the coming year.

Coins to Look Out For

1. 2019-W and 2020-W America the Beautiful Quarters

During David J. Ryder’s tenure as Director of the United States Mint, the Mint surprised collectors with coins like the 2017-P Lincoln Cent – the first (and only) penny to feature the “P” mintmark of the Philadelphia Mint. While that mintmark went unannounced, America the Beautiful Quarters struck at the West Point Mint were a much more ballyhooed affair.

To introduce more people to the “thrill of the hunt” of coin collecting, the Mint struck 10 million quarters bearing a “W” mintmark in 2019, two million for each of that year’s reverses representing Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts, American Memorial Park in the Northern Mariana Islands, War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, and Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.

To capitalize on the excitement, the major grading services offered “bounties” for the first W-Mint quarter of each reverse to be submitted and certified.

The Mint and the grading services repeated this in 2020, Ryder’s last year as Director, but with an extra kick. To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II, “V75” privy marks were added to the West Point quarters. Look for 2020-W quarters representing the National Park of American Samoa, the Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut, the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Reserve in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Vermont, and the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas.

Adding to the scarcity of W-Mint quarters was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented people (in multiple ways) from using or obtaining many coins at all.

2. Wheat Pennies

Lincoln Wheat Cents–or Wheat pennies, as they’re popularly known–were first issued over a century ago, way back in 1909. The last Wheat penny came out in 1958, as the type was replaced by the Memorial Cent in 1959. The current version of the penny in circulation is the Lincoln Shield Cent.

The changeover from the Wheat reverse to the Memorial reverse inspired a generation to collect coins, so Wheat pennies have long been a popular starter series. While not terribly common in pocket change today, they do show up every once in a while and are coins well worth looking out for. You may, however, increase your chances slightly by searching through rolls from a local bank.

3. 40% Silver Kennedy Half Dollars

The silver-clad Kennedy Half Dollar was issued between 1965 and 1970 as a compromise between the nation’s need to honor the late President on a silver coin and the Mint’s need to change to a more economically sound base metal planchet. About 849 million business-strike 40% silver Kennedy Halves were produced in that time – but that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily find them in change with just a little patience.

Searching for modern half dollars is slightly different than most other modern U.S. coins, as Kennedy Half Dollars don’t circulate and never really did. Your best bet to find 40$ silver halves is asking for rolls of the coin from your bank. While you’re at it, you’ll likely find some 1976 Bicentennial Halves, as well.

Because of their partial silver content, the intrinsic value of the coin depends on the spot price of silver. At the time of writing in late January 2025, the melt value alone of a silver-clad Kennedy Half Dollar is $4.50.

Currency to Look Out For

4. The Series 1976 $2 Federal Reserve Note

Some consider the $2 bill a sign of good luck, and getting one back in change or in a birthday card has always been a special moment. Yet they’re not rare, and new ones are still being printed and circulated. You can go to the bank right now and probably score as many as you want.

While the denomination goes back to the 19th century, the $2 Federal Reserve Note (the current version) debuted on April 13, 1976–Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday–for America’s Bicentennial. It retained the same face or front as older versions (with the addition of serial numbers and a green Seal of the Treasury), but the back is what sets it apart. Still used today, the back features a rendition of the 1817 painting Declaration of Independence by American artist John Trumbull.

Over 590 million Series 1976 Bicentennial $2 bills had been printed by the end of the initial run in 1978. The signatures on the front are Treasury Secretary William E. Simon and Treasurer of the United States Francine Irving Neff. There are significantly fewer replacement notes (Star Notes) than regular bills, and Star Notes always command higher prices – especially those from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota).

5. Star Notes in General

Speaking of Star Notes…

To be more specific, some Federal Reserve Notes you might find in change have a star at the end of their serial number as opposed to a final letter. This preserves the order of serial numbers when a problem arises with a sheet of paper currency during the printing process after serial numbers have already been imprinted. Instead of stopping everything to retrace exactly where in the sequence the numbers have to resume from and resetting the printing blocks respectively, a sheet of Star Notes is created, quickly taking the entire sheet’s place in the run. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) saves a lot of time and money by altering the bills in this minor way.

Eye-catching because of the unusual design element and scarce because of the nature of their production, Star Notes aren’t coins, but they’re still worth looking for in change.

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