Mule Mint Errors: The Rarest of the Rare
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A mule error’s die pair possibilities can include the obverse die, reverse die, or collar die. It can occur using dies from the same coin series, but which were not intended to be used together (such as a pairing of two Roosevelt Dime reverse dies), or it can be dies from different coin series entirely (such as the famous 50 State Quarter obverse die and a Sacagawea reverse die).
In determining the denomination of a mule error (since frequently they are made up of differing denominations of coins, such as $1 and 25-cent coins, etc.), the coin’s denomination is considered to be whichever denomination’s planchet is used in the mule. So, for example, in the case of a $1 Sacagawea/50 State Quarter mule, because the mule is struck on a Sacagawea $1 planchet, it is considered to be a “$1 coin” and not a “25-cent coin.” If it had been on a quarter planchet, it would be described as a “25-cent coin.”
Full article: https://www.pcgs.com/news/mule-mint-errors-the-rarest
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Comments
Shenanigans at the mint? Seems most likely. I wonder if this was found in a mint bag/product and not through unknown means.
TurtleCat Gold Dollars
Enjoyable read. I settled with 5 or 6 different Foreign Mules due to favorable admission fees.
They certainly are unique mint errors. Those would be a real exciting find in the wild... Thanks for the link. Cheers, RickO
What about the 1859(?) two-headed cent?
Seems that whenever some of us inquire about "how did that get out of the Mint?" or "was that found in a Mint roll or bag, or from a vendor service roll?" no answers seem to show up.
I am fascinated by the 2000 Sac Mules because there was some good reporting on how they were discovered.
The story from a few of those directly involved in the 2000 Sac Mules was that the first one was found in change and another was found in a Mint roll (Mule #6 according to PCGS).
Seems like a VERY easy simple thing to verify most of the time by asking a few questions like "how was this found?"...Errors that seem to have been deliberately created and/or snuck out of the mint are interesting but hold no real interest for me, rather they just give me a weird feeling of suspicion.
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Mules are great coins! They are very interesting and can be very eye appealing.
We had a good discussion on this topic and coin here:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1056704/is-this-a-dime-or-a-cent/p1
One issue that's interesting about determining the denomination by the planchet instead of the die's stated denomination for "ONE DIME" is that it seems to be inconsistent with wrong planchet errors which use the die instead of the planchet, like this example below.
1965 10c on 25c SMS Planchet is slabbed as 10c not 25c coin
That's a good example too.
Should this be a quarter for consistency? Or just an inconsistency with our hobby?
I am good with my 1965 10c struck onto 25c being a Dime since Dime dies struck the SMS 25c planchet.
I think I have only two foreign mules in slabs, one pcgs & other ngc. I'll have to access them to see what denominations are listed. All my other mules, maybe 10~ish, are raw. Some mules I own multiples of as they joyously filled a hole in my error archive without dropping serious 5 & 6 digit money on.
USA Mules may be most expensive of all mules made globally.
Mine are all examples of poor man's mules
;^)
These are just amazing
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
Very good article. With very 🔥 mint error market, this article will put oil into fire.
Three shiny & new Mules from 1982
From Sullivan's handy error coin archives:
https://www.sullivannumismatics.com/coin/sold-6-2017-pcgs-clad-roosevelt-dime-two-reverse-mule-ms-64?v=3277
It recently re-sold in a Heritage Auction:
It was originally featured on the cover of Mint Error News along with other mules in 2017:
https://minterrornews.com/issue2017special.pdf
Interesting. Jon's website indicates he sold for $50k in 2017, and then sells for essentially half of that 4 years later 2014.