Sacagawea Dollar : You’re grabbing change from a cashier at your local convenience store, and among the ordinary coins sits a golden dollar that could buy you a house. Sound impossible? Ask Frank Wallis of Mountain Home, Arkansas, who discovered exactly that in May 2000.
Wallis was simply exchanging a roll of new Sacagawea dollars at his local bank when he noticed something unusual about one coin. Instead of showing Sacagawea on both sides as expected, this particular dollar had George Washington’s profile from a quarter on one side and the iconic eagle from the Sacagawea design on the other. That discovery launched him into numismatic history and made him the owner of what experts now call the “Holy Grail of U.S. Mint errors.”
When Mistakes Become Treasures
The story behind these incredibly valuable error coins reads like a comedy of errors at the U.S. Mint. In the spring of 2000, when the Sacagawea dollar was brand new, something went terribly wrong—or incredibly right, depending on your perspective—in the Philadelphia Mint’s die room.
Here’s what happened: A coin press operator requested a new Sacagawea dollar die but was mistakenly handed a Washington quarter die instead. The dies for both coins were similar enough in size that when covered with protective plastic, they looked nearly identical. The quarter die (24.3 mm) was close enough to the Sacagawea die (26.5 mm) that the mix-up went unnoticed initially.
The result? Thousands of these “mule” coins—coins struck with mismatched dies—were created before anyone caught the mistake. Once Mint employees realized what had happened, they launched an aggressive campaign to find and destroy every single error coin they could locate, destroying entire bins worth thousands of dollars.
But some had already escaped into the wild.
The Hunt for Hidden Gold
What makes these errors so extraordinary isn’t just their rarity—it’s their incredible value. Recent auction sales have shattered records repeatedly:
- In January 2024, a Washington Quarter/Sacagawea mule sold for an astounding $194,062
- Another example brought $192,000 in 2018
- Multiple specimens have crossed the $100,000 threshold
- Even lower-grade examples routinely sell for five-figure sums
The most famous collector of these treasures is Tommy Bolack, a New Mexico numismatist who has quietly assembled an impressive collection of 15 different examples over the years. His dedication to acquiring these pieces whenever they surface has created quite a competitive market.
But the Washington Quarter mule isn’t the only valuable Sacagawea error making headlines. In 2021, a unique specimen featuring a Sacagawea obverse paired with a Presidential Dollar reverse sold for $84,000. This coin was discovered in 2019—sitting unnoticed in a mixed bag of dollar coins from a bank for years.
What Should You Look For?
Understanding what makes these coins valuable could literally change your financial future. The key identifying features include:
The Famous Quarter Mule: Look for a coin with George Washington’s profile (from the State Quarter series) on one side and the Sacagawea eagle on the reverse. These are struck on the golden Sacagawea planchet, so they maintain that distinctive brass color.
Presidential Dollar Mules: These show Sacagawea on the front but feature the Statue of Liberty (from Presidential dollars) on the back instead of the eagle.
Double Dies and Strike Errors: Even standard Sacagawea dollars with doubling in letters or dates can be worth significantly more than face value.
The Cheerios Connection: Some early Sacagawea dollars were included in Cheerios cereal boxes as a promotion. These “Cheerios dollars” can be worth thousands in pristine condition because they represent some of the earliest strikes.
Modern Treasure Hunting
What’s remarkable about these discoveries is that they’re still happening. The 2014 Sacagawea-Presidential mule wasn’t even discovered until 2019, proving that valuable errors are still sitting unrecognized in circulation. The 2000-D Sacagawea/South Carolina Quarter mule wasn’t identified until 2022—more than two decades after it was struck.
This ongoing discovery pattern suggests that more examples are likely still out there, mixed in with ordinary pocket change, bank rolls, or forgotten coin collections.
The Human Stories Behind the Headlines
Beyond the impressive auction prices, these coins represent fascinating human stories. There’s Frank Wallis, whose curiosity about an unusual-looking coin led to a numismatic revolution. There are the two Mint employees, James Watkins and Raymond James, who were caught smuggling out examples and faced federal charges. There’s Greg Senske, who found his specimen in change from a cafeteria cashier, carefully wrapped in an official U.S. Mint paper.
Each discovery coin has its own journey from the Mint error to someone’s pocket to auction house fame. Some were found in new bank rolls, others in everyday change, and a few were discovered decades after first entering circulation.
Why These Errors Matter
The Sacagawea dollar error coins represent something special in American numismatics. They’re among the first authentic mule errors ever discovered in U.S. coinage history, making them not just valuable but historically significant.
For everyday coin enthusiasts, these errors prove that treasure hunting doesn’t require metal detectors or trips to exotic locations. Sometimes the most valuable finds are hiding in plain sight in your pocket change, your car’s cup holder, or that jar of coins on your dresser.
The authentication process for suspected errors involves certified grading services like NGC or PCGS, who can verify authenticity and assign grades that significantly impact value. But even before professional authentication, certain visual cues can help identify potentially valuable pieces.
Your Next Steps
Start by examining any Sacagawea dollars you encounter. Check both sides carefully—does the design match what you expect? Look for any unusual pairing of designs, especially Washington’s profile where Sacagawea should be, or the Statue of Liberty where the eagle should appear.
Remember that condition matters enormously. Higher-grade examples command premium prices, while heavily circulated pieces, though still valuable, bring less at auction.
The numismatic community continues monitoring for new discoveries, and auction houses regularly feature these errors when they surface. The combination of extreme rarity, historical significance, and ongoing discovery potential keeps collector interest at fever pitch.
Who knows? The next six-figure Sacagawea error might be sitting unnoticed in your pocket right now, waiting for someone with sharp eyes and knowledge to recognize its true worth.
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