Bowers and Merena to Auction Incredible Mule Error

Bowers and Merena Galleries is please to announce that it will offer at public auction the newly discovered Sacagawea Dollar with Washington Quarter Obverse. It will be sold at the official American Numismatic Association auction—The Sale of the Millennium—in Philadelphia this August. Q. David Bowers, president of the firm, describes it as “the most amazing modern coin I have ever seen!”

During the past year the 2000-dated “golden” Sacagawea dollar coin and the Washington quarters with the state reverses have each made headlines. Of course, a dollar is a dollar and a quarter is a quarter—and, normally, never the twain shall meet.

However, an exception has occurred! By mistake a reverse die for a 2000 Sacagawea dollar was combined with an undated obverse die for a 2000 quarter! After one or some were run off, the mistake must have been discovered and no more were struck. Thus, for the first time in the history of making United States coins for circulation—a tradition dating back to 1793 when the first federal coins were struck—a circulating coin with two different denomination dies of unrelated designs was made! The world of coin collecting has been agog at the initial discovery of the specimen here offered for sale. Is it the only one in existence? At this time, this is the only one known.

With the exception of a few 19th-century pattern coins specifically produced with dies of different denominations, this is the first instance, to the best of our knowledge, of a combination error between different-design dies of two different denominations ever produced by any branch of the United States Mint. There is one technical exception worthy of being mentioned as a footnote—reverse dies of the same design were made and intended to be used regularly for two denominations, both on dimes and quarter eagles in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The present coin grades Mint State 66 by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and exhibits exceptional light gold lustre with tiny deep gold toning areas. The obverse has numerous radial striations resulting from the slightly smaller size of the obverse die. The surfaces are of exceptional quality with only a few very minor abrasions. The coin is extremely sharply struck with every detail fully defined. This is an amazing coin and is of breathtakingly beautiful quality.

With the obverse from a Washington state quarter die, in which coins have their dates as part of the reverse design for each state, and with the reverse from a Sacagawea dollar die with the date included as part of the obverse design, this is an undated coin. However, we obviously know that it is a product of the year 2000. Had the piece been discovered on January 1, 2001, or thereafter, it would not have been possible to make such a determination. Thus, the numismatic community is very fortunate to have had this piece come to light when it did. Otherwise the minor detail of the date, usually of utmost importance to numismatists, would likely never have been identified for this spectacular error coin.

Attention is called to a die crack on the dollar reverse, through the upright of F to the wing tips, which will positively identify this example as from a reverse die used in this first year. Unless another similar example is found from this same reverse die, this die crack will also identify this as the unique discovery coin of this muling. The importance of this item is immense. This offering goes far beyond mere importance, and in addition to its numismatic weight, the pedigree is complete nearly to the press that minted it. An opportunity like this is a truly rare occurrence. There is always the possibility that others may be found. If so, the current value may diminish. If not, the current value may increase.

Scenarios:
Two theoretical scenarios have been suggested to explain this curious combination. The first scenario certainly seems logical, except for the reverse die crack which would suggest that die was not newly hubbed:
A press operator was charged with the production of Sacagawea dollars and required a new die pair. He (or she) proceeded to the die department and signed for a new pair of dollar dies. With a quick glance at the reverse die, he confirmed this was the appropriate pair of dies. He then placed the dies in the press and began minting operations, at the same time being called away for a short while. His press was operating just fine. When he came back, a jam had occurred and when he went to clear it, he noticed the mistake. This press operator immediately notified his superior and they took steps to destroy the contents of three massive tote bins of struck coins, thinking they had caught all of the coins minted from the mis-matched die pair. Obviously, at least one was missed.

Another theoretical scenario is that the press was being used to strike Sacagawea dollars and both dies were beginning to wear out, with the obverse die requiring immediate replacement. The press operator reached for a new obverse die but mistakenly picked up a Washington quarter obverse die and installed it in the press without looking more carefully. We would like to find examples of Sacagawea dollars from this reverse die with the die crack, to find out if the obverse die exhibits extensive signs of use in the Mint. No doubt human error can find its way into any phase of Mint operations. However, not often are two different denominations made with the same diameter—making such an error a reasonable possibility.

Legal and related aspects:
It is obvious to us that the present coin is a legitimate error and entered circulation under legitimate circumstances. Legality of ownership is certainly an extremely important question. In her Coin World article of June 26, 2000, Victoria Stone Moledor discussed this aspect: “According to all relevant sections of the U.S. Code, the colossal document that sets forth all laws and regulations on the operation of the Federal Government, the coin complies with the definition of a coin legally manufactured by the U.S. Mint.” The owner of this coin and our consignor to this sale, stated that he purchased four rolls of coins from the First National Bank & Trust Company of Mountain Home, Arkansas. He intended to distribute the coins to children in his family and found this example purely by luck. If this coin remains unique, the odds of finding this example in a roll of coins is perhaps even greater than winning the lottery. Of course, somebody has to win, and while the financial return may not be quite the same, the thrill must be equally as great.

A parallel can be drawn to United States currency, also issued by an arm of the United States Treasury Department. From time to time in the past, notes have been issued with, for example, a $10 face and a $1 back, creating a double-denomination item. Thus, this 1900 Sacagawea dollar / Washington quarter has illustrious company, not in circulating American coinage, but in a related area of numismatics.

For further information on this discovery piece, please call Christine Karstedt, Vice President, Bowers and Merena Galleries at 1-800-458-4646. To purchase the catalogue containing this item, call the Bowers and Merena Galleries Publications Department at 1-800-222-5993 with a credit card handy—list price $40 plus $5 postage to U.S. addresses.

About Bowers and Merena Galleries: Bowers and Merena Galleries, a Collectors Universe Company, recently sold the most valuable U.S. coin, an 1804 silver dollar which realized $4.14 million at public auction. For more information on the firm, contact Christine Karstedt at the number listed above, or via email at [email protected].