In numismatics, a “mule” is a coin struck with the obverse die of one denomination and the reverse die of another. And no mule is more famous than the (2000)-P Sacagawea Dollar/Washington Quarter mule offered in GreatCollections’ auction on Sunday, January 21, 2024. It was ranked #1 in David Camire, Nicholas Brown, and Fred Weinberg’s book The 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins (Whitman, 2010), where it even served as the centerpiece on the cover.
The mule features the obverse of a Washington Quarter of the time and the reverse of a Sacagawea Dollar coin. Because both of the sides involved in the creation of the coin include their respective denominations, it has a total face value of $1.25.
The error was first discovered by Frank Wallis in a roll of uncirculated dollar coins he got from a bank in Arkansas in May 2000, the year of the error coin’s issue. Confirmed as authentic by the United States Mint, it was the first such mule that the Mint is known to have (inadvertently) released into circulation. Tied for finest at PCGS, the grading company’s estimated value for the piece is $125,000 USD.
In the 20-plus years since the Sacagawea Dollar/Washington Quarter mule’s discovery, about two dozen examples have been found in the wild. Of this number, three different dies are known to collectors; the discovery coin features Die 1, with the main diagnostic being the space between F in the word OF and the edge of coin on the Sacagawea side.
Graded MS-66 by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), the company reports no public auction listings for the coin since it has been in this holder.
“For one of the most famous errors to ever leave the U.S. Mint, only a few are available for collectors to own, as all others have been purchased over the years by a single collector. It’s a striking error and understandable why it’s been atop modern error lists for over 20 years since it was first discovered,” said GreatCollections President Ian Russell.
At the time of writing, bidding has barely started on the Sacagawea Dollar/Washington Quarter mule discovery piece, but it won’t stay that way forever. This is an incredible example of a modern U.S. Mint error coin. Check out the high-quality photos and place your bid at www.GreatCollections.com.
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To search through GreatCollection’s archive of over 600,000 certified coins the company has sold over the past eight years, please visit the GreatCollections Auction Archives.
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The post Famous Sacagawea Dollar Mule Error Offered by GreatCollections appeared first on CoinWeek: Rare Coin, Currency, and Bullion News for Collectors.
