Treasure in Your Change Jar? 1999 State Quarter Worth $10,000

It's possible that somewhere in Louisiana someone is about to spend up to $10,000 at a vending machine. No, they're not trying to purchase some extra special snack or over-the-top soda pop. They are just unaware that the change they're about to drop in that machine could actually pay for a summer vacation and more. 

Let me explain.

The folks at GoBankingRates.com have revealed that a certain quarter minted by the United States government is worth far more than .25 cents. In fact, some collectors might be willing to pay as much as $10,000 for this specific quarter that was issued in 1999.

The quarter in question is a 1999 State Quarter that honors the state of Georgia. You might have a collection of state quarters from back in the day. Many families, okay maybe it was only mine, made a habit of giving the state quarters as gifts for birthdays and holidays as the quarters were issued.

Both my brother and I have a complete set of state quarters lovingly placed in a special state quarter binder. Now, if I just knew where those binders were, I could check and see if I have one of the "big money" quarters.

Those quarters were part of the 50 State Quarters Program that was launched by the US Mint in 1999. The Georgia Quarter was one of the first to be issued in the series. The Mint issued five different state quarters every year for ten years.

The order for which state quarters were issued when was determined by when that state ratified the Constitution or was admitted to the Union. So, the 1999 Georgia quarter, since the state was one of the original 13 colonies was among the first to be minted.

According to the website GoBankingRates.com the 1999 quarter that honors the state of Georgia is a bit of a unicorn when it comes to state quarters. That's because the 1999-issued coins have been found to have several errors in their production. One of the most common errors with the coin has to do with an experimental metal that was used in the minting process.

If you recall the Sacagawea coins that were issued in the year 2000 you will probably remember that coin had a bit of a gold tint to it. The metal used in the Sacagawea coin was also used in the 1999 Georgia quarter as part of an experiment by the United States Mint.

Ultimately the Mint opted to go in another direction and decided to not use the metal after all but several of the "unique" quarters were released and collectors are paying large amounts for them.

Here's what you're looking for as you rummage through your change jar.

The first thing is pretty obvious, it has to be a Georgia Quarter and it should have a mint date of 1999. You'll recognize the quarter by the words "Georgia 1788" and the picture of a peach on the back.  The quarters that were minted with experimental planchets will have a gold-to-green tint compared to other quarters.

Oh, and while you're looking through your quarters, you might as well keep an eye out for a particular penny that is reported to be worth up to $200,000 to some collectors. You can read more about that coin here.  And don't forget there are also $2 bills that are worth a lot more than two bucks out there too. You can get the details on those bills here.

Even if you don't take a few minutes or hours to go through your change jar, you could at least look at the quarter you are about to drop in that vending machine. I don't think any of us really want to pay $10,000 for a bag of chips but you could if you don't look first.