The United States Mint was created in 1792 and ever since its development it has been responsible for producing all the coins in circulation in the American marketplace.

Although the process was much more primitive when it first started - horse drawn carriages powered the metal work for instance - in recent years, new technology has made it possible to churn out roughly 28 billion coins in just a single year!

The 10-cent coin, more commonly known as the dime, started its beginnings in 1796 and was originally made out of silver. It wasn't until 1966 that the practice seized due to a silver crisis and since then has been minted out of a nickel alloy.

Even if you are not an avid coin collector, chances are, you've heard of how much certain silver dollars and pennies can fetch. In this world of numismatics, or the study and collection of coins, the dime is rarely under the limelight.

But don't let that fool you. Just like its more famous cousins, certain dimes are so rare that they can be worth in the thousands or millions.

According to the famous coin collector's resource called, Coin Values, especially since dimes are not coveted as much as some of the other coins, it is easy to find a dime that is truly worth a lot of money. In other words, your coin jar could be holding a big payday, if you're lucky.

Flickr/Mary-Lynn

To help you see if you've hit the jackpot, here are the five most valuable dimes you should be on the look out for according to Coin Values:

1797 Draped Bust Dime

Minted in Philadelphia in 1797, only 25,261 of the draped bust dimes were ever made. They come in two variations, one showing 13 stars and some showing 16. Both, however are valued roughly the same at $3000 each.

1874-CC Liberty Seated Dime

Carson City mint was established in 1863 and produced silver and gold coins, on and off, until it was permanently closed in 1893. As such, all coins minted here are valued highly. Of these, the 1874 dime however takes the cake since only 10,817 of these were minted, and most of those have been lost to time. If you happen to find one of these, it might mean an easy $5000.

1968-S, no-S proof Roosevelt Dime

The most modern dime to make the collector's list, this 1968 dime was at first accidently minted with an S mint mark, however, another accident caused a few more dozen to be printed without the S-mark. Confusing yes, but basically if you find a 1968 dime with no S marked on it, you could be $7500 richer.

Flickr/daveoratox

1829 curl base “2” Liberty Cap Dime

The second best dime to fetch a great price on our list is the 1829 curl base "2" Liberty Cap Dime. Sometimes there isn't an exact reason why, but serious numismatics are happy to spend $7750 to add them to their collection.

1894-S Barber Dime

Saving the best for last of course, here we have the 1894-S Barber Dime with only 24 pieces that were minted as special gifts for the then San Francisco mint superintendent. Only 9 of those remain in existence with only 2 left in circulation; the others have already been found and added to collections. Needless to say, if you happen on one of these, you can bet on retiring with at least $1.9 millions more in your bank account.

After going through your coin stash, if none of these five categories have made an appearance, worry not, because there are 20 other dimes which even though aren't worth in the millions, will at least fetch you a few hundred to a few thousands more than the original face value.

So go forth and keep your eyes open for the next dime that makes it into your purse ... it might just be an easy way to make your millions!

Sources: USMint, Wikipedia, Coin Values, Wikipedia, Image Source: Flickr/Dan Lurie