Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found!
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BlackLodge1
Posts: 144
From:
Susan Headley's Coins Blog
Nov. 21, 2007
Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found!
"A lucky person in Colorado has found the first authenticated Sacagawea Dollar with edge lettering on it, collecting the $10,000 reward offered by PCGS for the first specimen to be submitted to them. The finder says he got the coin in circulation and had it for as long as two weeks before realizing what it was. But wait, there are no Sacagawea Dollars being issued for circulation this year! So what's up with this guy, who lives a mere 8 miles from the Denver Mint?"
"According to the finder's story, he found the edge-lettered Sacagawea Dollar in circulation. I think that's kind of interesting, given that the Mint didn't strike or issue Sacagawea Dollars for circulation this year. My first article this week delves deeper..."
Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found!
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"PCGS is reporting on their Web site that they have paid out a $10,000 reward to Andrew Moores of Lakewood, Colorado, for submitting the first known authentic Sacagawea Dollar with edge lettering on it. The Sacagawea Dollar is normally supposed to have a plain edge, even though the coin is minted on the same planchets as the Presidential Dollars (which do have edge lettering.) Most coin collecting experts knew it would just be a matter of time before such a coin turned up, but I think it took a little longer than most experts expected. For sure it took at least 2 weeks longer, because that's the amount of time that Moores said he had the coin before he realized it was different from other Sacs.
Moore says he got the 2007-D coin in circulation, which brings up some interesting conjecture because as I reported earlier this month, the U.S. Mint isn't striking any Sacagawea Dollars for general circulation in 2007. About the closest you can get to business strike Sacs is purchasing them from the Mint at a significant mark-up in bags or rolls. This lends itself to some interesting speculation: Did the Denver Mint actually place some 2007 Sacs in circulation, or did someone spend the coins from a Mint-sold bag or roll? Or does Moores maybe work at the Denver Mint (or have a friend who does? Heh, $10,000 is a lot of money...) Finally, assuming the Lettered Edge Sacagawea did find its way out of the Mint in the expected manner (in a bag or roll set,) does that mean we should all begin searching our own 2007 Sac bags and rolls to try to find more of these errors?
One thing that I want to warn people about is the curious phenomenon that occurs on eBay once someone breaks the ice with a legitimate rare and valuable error type. Several more specimens suddenly emerge, as if everyone who had found them didn't want to be the first to admit it or something. Most of the specimens of this type that I have tracked turned out to be fakes or altered coins, especially the numerous "faceless dollars" that turned up on eBay following the discovery of the first blank Presidential Dollar with edge lettering. That huge error coin was also found in Colorado (Fort Collins.) It probably isn't relevant, but it's interesting that the finders of both of these extraordinary errors live within commuting distance of the Denver Mint. Fort Collins is less than an hour's drive, and Lakewood, where Moores lives, is less than 8 miles away! The investigative journalist in me wonders if the finders of the "faceless dollar" (for which PCGS also paid out a nice reward) and the edge-lettered Sac have any friends or relatives in common between them that work at the Mint. Either that, or it seems that living in the greater Denver metropolitan area is a good place to be for cherrypickers.
Anyway, my nearly baseless speculation aside, the fact that fake lettered-edge Sacagaweas will turn up on eBay soon is almost a given. Creating very convincing fake edge lettering isn't hard at all with the proper tools and know-how. Thank goodness we have services like PCGS and NGC to authenticate them for us! Never buy an expensive error coin like this without certification or knowing your seller very, very well."
Susan Headley's Coins Blog
Nov. 21, 2007
Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found!
"A lucky person in Colorado has found the first authenticated Sacagawea Dollar with edge lettering on it, collecting the $10,000 reward offered by PCGS for the first specimen to be submitted to them. The finder says he got the coin in circulation and had it for as long as two weeks before realizing what it was. But wait, there are no Sacagawea Dollars being issued for circulation this year! So what's up with this guy, who lives a mere 8 miles from the Denver Mint?"
"According to the finder's story, he found the edge-lettered Sacagawea Dollar in circulation. I think that's kind of interesting, given that the Mint didn't strike or issue Sacagawea Dollars for circulation this year. My first article this week delves deeper..."
Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found!
"PCGS is reporting on their Web site that they have paid out a $10,000 reward to Andrew Moores of Lakewood, Colorado, for submitting the first known authentic Sacagawea Dollar with edge lettering on it. The Sacagawea Dollar is normally supposed to have a plain edge, even though the coin is minted on the same planchets as the Presidential Dollars (which do have edge lettering.) Most coin collecting experts knew it would just be a matter of time before such a coin turned up, but I think it took a little longer than most experts expected. For sure it took at least 2 weeks longer, because that's the amount of time that Moores said he had the coin before he realized it was different from other Sacs.
Moore says he got the 2007-D coin in circulation, which brings up some interesting conjecture because as I reported earlier this month, the U.S. Mint isn't striking any Sacagawea Dollars for general circulation in 2007. About the closest you can get to business strike Sacs is purchasing them from the Mint at a significant mark-up in bags or rolls. This lends itself to some interesting speculation: Did the Denver Mint actually place some 2007 Sacs in circulation, or did someone spend the coins from a Mint-sold bag or roll? Or does Moores maybe work at the Denver Mint (or have a friend who does? Heh, $10,000 is a lot of money...) Finally, assuming the Lettered Edge Sacagawea did find its way out of the Mint in the expected manner (in a bag or roll set,) does that mean we should all begin searching our own 2007 Sac bags and rolls to try to find more of these errors?
One thing that I want to warn people about is the curious phenomenon that occurs on eBay once someone breaks the ice with a legitimate rare and valuable error type. Several more specimens suddenly emerge, as if everyone who had found them didn't want to be the first to admit it or something. Most of the specimens of this type that I have tracked turned out to be fakes or altered coins, especially the numerous "faceless dollars" that turned up on eBay following the discovery of the first blank Presidential Dollar with edge lettering. That huge error coin was also found in Colorado (Fort Collins.) It probably isn't relevant, but it's interesting that the finders of both of these extraordinary errors live within commuting distance of the Denver Mint. Fort Collins is less than an hour's drive, and Lakewood, where Moores lives, is less than 8 miles away! The investigative journalist in me wonders if the finders of the "faceless dollar" (for which PCGS also paid out a nice reward) and the edge-lettered Sac have any friends or relatives in common between them that work at the Mint. Either that, or it seems that living in the greater Denver metropolitan area is a good place to be for cherrypickers.
Anyway, my nearly baseless speculation aside, the fact that fake lettered-edge Sacagaweas will turn up on eBay soon is almost a given. Creating very convincing fake edge lettering isn't hard at all with the proper tools and know-how. Thank goodness we have services like PCGS and NGC to authenticate them for us! Never buy an expensive error coin like this without certification or knowing your seller very, very well."
I have all kinds of coins, tokens and a few medals. I'm not a big time Stack's Auction collector. I don't collect for investment or value. When I see a coin I think is neat, I grab it. I collect a few coins by year and mint, like Lincoln and Canadian Cents, Westward Journey Nickels, State Quarters, Presidential Dollars and 2 or 3 others. I have some Proof Sets and Uncirculated Sets. I've been collecting for 34 years, so I have a little bit of everything.
PS.
I LIKE IKEs!
PS.
I LIKE IKEs!
0
Comments
<< <i>Creating very convincing fake edge lettering isn't hard at all with the proper tools and know-how. Thank goodness we have services like PCGS and NGC to authenticate them for us! Never buy an expensive error coin like this without certification or knowing your seller very, very well." >>
These statements are almost always made by those with no background in metalworking or anything that gives them insight into counterfeiting. Many swore that fake smooth edge presidents would be easy to make in the garage. Fakes stand out like a sore thumb. I will say that a fake edge lettering, although difficult to make, would be more difficult to detect. --Jerry
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<< <i>OUCH!!!!! It sounds like a $10.000 giveaway to a thief. That is what I am getting from her article. How can this happen without being done on purpose? People that spend 35$ on a 25$ roll don't crack open the coins to spend at 7-11. I would love what happened? >>
As I posted in the other thread. If this is real then when it went thru the edge lettering machine it ended up with pres bucks, not sacs. Thus it would go into circulation. ---Jerry
<< <i>Sacagawea Dollar With Edge Lettering Found! >>
And the Japanese just attacked Pearl Harbor!
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<< <i>
<< <i>OUCH!!!!! It sounds like a $10.000 giveaway to a thief. That is what I am getting from her article. How can this happen without being done on purpose? People that spend 35$ on a 25$ roll don't crack open the coins to spend at 7-11. I would love what happened? >>
As I posted in the other thread. If this is real then when it went thru the edge lettering machine it ended up with pres bucks, not sacs. Thus it would go into circulation. ---Jerry >>
Good point.
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<< <i>Maybe the guy is splitting the finders fee with a mint employee?
Definately......... Thier is no way this was an accident.......Holidays coming up, a nice Christmas for those 2. them 2 are )
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