George Washington $1 error coins found in Florida

Michigan · February 24, 2007 4:46AM

Capital City Bank vault teller Trevor Bryan got a surprise Friday in the new Federal Reserve shipment of George Washington $1 coins.

When Bryan and banker Kyre Lahtinen were at the downtown location inspecting the coins, they noticed that not all of them were made equal. They were the same size, shape and color, but some were missing the date and mint stamp.

The side - not the face - of the coin is supposed to say, "E Pluribus Unum In God We Trust 2007 P."

They immediately called Paul Barattini at Affiliated Auctions & Realty about the rarity of the coin. Barattini has been selling coins since 1974, when the Philadelphia-raised man went to the Baltimore Coin Show to make his first profit.

"The likelihood to get errors on coins the first week distributed is like getting struck by lightning three times," said Barattini, whose business also sells war memorabilia, paintings and Elvis records. "An error like that is an exciting thing in the coin world."

He offered the bank $50 for five of the coins. It wasn't immediately clear exactly how many of the coins are circulating in Tallahassee.

"Now the question is: what is it really worth?" Barattini asked. "If there are only a few hundred, they could be worth $500 to $1,000 each."

The bank released a statement saying, "It appears that Capital City Bank has discovered the first misprint of the new presidential dollar coins."

Tallahassee isn't the only place these strange coins have popped up. Michael White, a spokesman for the U.S. Mint, said that they have received reports of these strange coins from Jacksonville.

On Friday afternoon, a Jacksonville seller listed one of the coins on eBay. At least one buyer was willing to pay $46.

Kip · February 24, 2007 4:51AM

Pentimento · February 24, 2007 4:56AM

The likelyhood of getting those errors is like getting struck by lightening 3 times!!!!! ... I'll give you 10 bucks for each.

combatmailman · February 24, 2007 4:58AM

There are people from all over the country on these boards stating they have found some as well.

commoncents05 · February 24, 2007 4:59AM

The guy offered $10 each for the coins? that is absolutely ridiculous. granted no one really knows the value of these coins, but i guarantee it is more than $10. note to self: never sell collection to him

-Paul

SportsModerator · February 24, 2007 5:01AM

Just wait until this "expert" announces the discovery of the inverted incuse edge lettering

Edscoin · February 24, 2007 5:13AM

Looks like the ones with the edge lettering may turn out be the rare ones!

ziggy29 · February 24, 2007 5:16AM

<< The guy offered $10 each for the coins? that is absolutely ridiculous. granted no one really knows the value of these coins, but i guarantee it is more than $10. >>

Given how many error reports there already are, I wouldn't be so certain.

Petarded · February 24, 2007 5:25AM

Ziggy is right.

I also think the only ones that are going to command a big premium are the ones being sold NOW....give it time, and the proliferation of these will be the same as the Minnesota SHQ's DDR.....

BigDaddyz · February 24, 2007 6:02AM

That guy is a real crook...these people asked him because they (for some reason) respected his opinion. He offers $10 per coin...then is quoted to say "These could be worth $500 to $1000". That company is to be avoided.

pb2y · February 24, 2007 1:37PM

The jury is still deliberating on this "stuff"

dbldie55 · February 24, 2007 1:48PM

The guy that sold the first one has lowered his BIN on a second one a few times and now claims they will never be less than the $229 he has his at. I guess the dozens listed (with one person saying they found 109) doesn't phase him (even with many others having a much lower BIN).

How would you like to be the idiot that paid over $600 for one?

Rampage · February 25, 2007 12:52AM

I live in Tallahassee and just got back in town. I need to get to the bank. Too bad I am leaving town again Tuesday and won't be able to get there tomorrow.

thecointrader · February 25, 2007 5:31AM

An interesting article on these coins has been published on About.com. The article claims that coins from both the Denver and Philly Mints are being found, primarily in the Florida and Chicago areas.

These are currently selling on eBay in the $180 range.

Rampage · February 25, 2007 7:08AM

I was thinking about this thread over lunch today. I wonder how many of the coins sent to PCGS to be certified as first strike will have this error. Should be interesting to see. Based on how many of these I see on eBay, I think this will be a similar trend as the 1995 DDO Lincoln Cent, i.e. real expensive at first and then drop to $10 or $20 in a couple of years.

LALASD4 · February 25, 2007 8:19AM

I think there are so many of these that $10 sounds about right.

Bear · February 25, 2007 8:25AM

Wow, an
obverse inverted reverse.

relicsncoins · February 26, 2007 1:55AM

The sad thing is, the cooks on the left will now make the argument that people like coins with out "IN GOD WE TRUST" and are willing to pay more than face value for them.

guitarwes · February 26, 2007 2:11AM

Unless the tellers "bought" them from the bank first and then sold them to the guy, isn't it a BIG NO-NO for the bank to "sell" anything for over face value?

Didn't see that anywhere in the story, I guess it was a given huh?

wes

topstuf · February 26, 2007 2:15AM

Smart tellers always have the cash on hand to "purchase" deposited coins. I bought lots of silver eagles from tellers who took them in as a buck.

But it's COIN DEALERS who are to be closely watched.

Rampage · February 26, 2007 4:06AM

Welp, I just picked up 9 rolls from my bank. The very first roll I opened had five plain edged coins. I then opened 6 more rolls and found zero plain edged coins. However, two coins have additional letters on the edge. One has an N between the E of WE and T of TRUST. The other coin has either a 0 or O. Still need to finish looking at them to see if more of those are in the pile.

rgl1345 · February 26, 2007 4:14AM

I picked up 4 rolls today, broken them open and now have 8 with plain edges. I wont put these up for sale as I know they will be plentiful and I don't wish to take advantage of the uninformed.

Rampage · February 26, 2007 4:21AM

<< I picked up 4 rolls today, broken them open and now have 8 with plain edges. I wont put these up for sale as I know they will be plentiful and I don't wish to take advantage of the uninformed. >>

Well, check your other coins for dropped letters. So far, I've got two. One with dropped letters sold on eBay earlier for $635.00.

rgl1345 · February 26, 2007 4:25AM

Naw...I try not to screw people

FullStrike · February 26, 2007 4:31AM

The rare coin will the the John Adams / George Washington mule - the one with the Adams obverse muled to the Washington reverse. Big bucks on eBay.

seanq · February 26, 2007 4:32AM

I just picked up one roll, all had the letterd edge, I already spent a couple (and I'l eventually spend most of the rest) but I'll check them for dropped letters before I do.

I read an interesting theory about the 'dropped letters', that they could be the result of the prelettered planchets hitting against each other rim-to-rim, with the incuse lettering acting as a die creating the raised letter on the other coin. The letter would then be flattened by the collar when the coin was struck.

Also, just for the record, my first impression of the coin is that it looks like something Sunoco would give out when you filled up your tank with Premium.

Sean Reynolds

LALASD4 · February 26, 2007 4:33AM

I am moving to FL.

BobGreene · February 26, 2007 4:50AM

<< The bank released a statement saying, "It appears that Capital City Bank has discovered the first misprint of the new presidential dollar coins." >>

I didn't know coins were printed!

foodude · February 26, 2007 4:55AM

I went to the bank today to pickup another roll or two to spend (and now look for "plain edges). The teller goes into a back room and returns with a $1000 box. As she begins to open the box, I asked her if it was sealed. She said yes, so I asked a follow-up question, can I get the whole box. So now I have a sealed box to play with- man are they heavy

sinin1 · February 26, 2007 5:18AM

jeebers, I got $50 bucks worth that I'm spending at drivethroughs, that that was alot

how you going to spend $1000 in coin?

or is it an investment that you will sell on eBay in 50 years for ? $1500 ?

Aegis3 · February 26, 2007 5:28AM

<< I just picked up one roll, all had the letterd edge, I already spent a couple (and I'l eventually spend most of the rest) but I'll check them for dropped letters before I do.

I read an interesting theory about the 'dropped letters', that they could be the result of the prelettered planchets hitting against each other rim-to-rim, with the incuse lettering acting as a die creating the raised letter on the other coin. The letter would then be flattened by the collar when the coin was struck. >>

The coins are lettered post-strike. I think the extra raised, reversed letters are most likely due to a jam in the lettering process, where an edged coin gets stuck, and then the next coin runs into it with enough pressure for the first coin to impart its lettering. This would explain why the raised impressed lettering is always on the edge, why (as I seem to recall) it is typically only one or two letters, and why, while reversed (and again as I seem to recall) the vertical orientation is always the same as the incused lettering of this coin. In any case, if this scheme is wrong, it would be readily falsifiable by finding some coins which don't match the above predictions.

foodude · February 26, 2007 5:37AM

how you going to spend $1000 in coin?

or is it an investment that you will sell on eBay in 50 years for ? $1500 ?

I may dump them as early as tonight.

Marty, do you have any proof sets to sell?- I have cash, sort of

Rampage · February 26, 2007 7:40AM

<< Naw...I try not to screw people

>>

Well, what do you think the coins are worth? $5.00? $10.00? People pay for varieties. It is not screwing people.

rgl1345 · February 26, 2007 7:43AM

<< 

<< Naw...I try not to screw people

>>

It appears you have nothing to contribute to these boards other than picking on people. >>

S I A H

Rampage · February 26, 2007 7:45AM

<< 

<< 

<< Naw...I try not to screw people

>>

It appears you have nothing to contribute to these boards other than picking on people. >>

S I A H >>

And that means what?

Bochiman · February 26, 2007 7:45AM

<< I think there are so many of these that $10 sounds about right. >>

For $5, I would buy one. Just to show it was not later buffed out of something, I would pay ~$16 or so for one in top plastic

George Washington $1 error coins found in Florida

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