Trove · Updated 3 November 2026
How much is my coin worth?
A coin's price depends on its date, mint mark, and condition, and on what buyers have actually paid. An app estimate, including one from Trove, is a starting point, not an appraisal. Check recent sold listings, and take anything that might be valuable to a coin dealer or a grading service.
What to do
The photo can get you a candidate. The price is in the market and in the coin's condition, which a picture often hides.
- Read the coin before you read the app Note the denomination, the year, and the mint mark if there is one. Look at both sides. A worn date is a different coin from a sharp one, even when the year matches.
- Take the estimate as a hypothesis Trove, or any identifier, may name a type and show a value range. Compare that name with what you can see. If the year or the mint mark disagrees with the photo, the estimate is for a different coin.
- Look at sold prices, not asking prices On a marketplace, filter to items that actually sold. Asking prices are wishes. A price guide such as PCGS is a reference for many U.S. coins, and it is still a guide, not a bid for your particular coin.
- Get a person involved when the number matters If sold listings and the guide suggest real money, do not clean the coin. Cleaning can cut the price. A dealer or a grading service (PCGS and NGC are the names collectors use) can authenticate and grade it. The American Numismatic Association is a place to start learning how collectors handle this.
What not to do
- Do not clean a coin with polish, vinegar, or a pencil eraser. Collectors pay for original surfaces.
- Do not treat the first number an app shows as the price a buyer owes you.
- Do not buy a 'rare' coin from a photo of someone else's listing without knowing how to spot a copy. That problem is older than apps.
Where Trove helps
Trove can photograph a coin and return an identification and a value estimate. Both are estimates. Lens Scan Pro, the optional weekly or yearly plan, is billed by Apple if you subscribe. The estimate is not a grade and not an offer to buy the coin. View Trove on the App Store
Other ways
A price guide and sold listings
Slower than a scan, and closer to the truth. Use them even if you also use an app.
A dealer or a grading service
The right stop when the coin might be valuable, damaged, or a counterfeit. They can hold the coin. An app cannot.
Questions people ask
The app says my penny is worth hundreds. Is it?
Probably not. Common dates get misread, and condition is easy to overstate from a photo. Check the date and mint mark yourself, then look at sold listings for that exact variety in similar wear.
Should I use the price on eBay?
Use sold prices, and look at several, not one outlier. A single wild sale is not a market.
Does a subscription make the estimate an appraisal?
No. Lens Scan Pro changes what the app unlocks. It does not make Aivana an appraiser, and Apple's charge is for the subscription, not for a formal valuation.
What about silver I inherited?
Melt value and collector value are different. A dealer can explain which one applies. An app range is not that conversation.