Hobbies Coin Collecting U.S. Coin Values Guide

Washington Presidential Dollar Error Coin Gallery

Coin one US dollar (George Washington)
alex55 / Getty Images

The Washington Presidential Dollar, the first in the series of Presidential Dollars that is issued by the U.S. Mint at the rate of four per year until at least the year 2016, emerged from the United States Mint with a stupendous number of errors. Although most collectors expected that there would be an "adjustment period" while the Mint adapted to its new edge lettering process, the resulting explosion of so-called "Godless Dollars" was unprecedented in both type of error (omitting four major inscriptions) and scope (estimated in the hundreds of thousands by some experts).

When you have a large percentage of the population checking their new Presidential Dollars for errors, it should come as no surprise that a whole cornucopia of minting errors, major and minor, emerged in a very short time. This photo gallery is a tour through the best and most interesting error coin types discovered during the Washington dollar error eruption of 2007.

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    First Washington Plain-Edge Dollar to Be Listed on eBay

    Washington plain edge dollar
    "Chicago Ron" Guinazzo

    This photo isn't the best in the world, but it's a historically important one to those interested in Washington Presidential Dollar error coins: It is the first plain-edge dollar to be listed on eBay! Ironically (since most of the frenzy would take place in Florida), this first known publicly sold specimen was found in the Chicago area from Denver Mint coins by "Chicago Ron" Guinazzo. Ron posted it on eBay around 10 pm on Feb. 15, 2007 (the first day the Washington dollars were sold to the public). It sold for $612.

    However, nearly two weeks before Chicago Ron's auction began, there were already harbingers of things to come. An email from a central (bank) vault manager named Heather on Feb. 2, 2007, said, "We received the new Washington dollars from the Fed in Jacksonville, and about a third of them have lettering on the rim that is right side up, 1/3 have it upside down, and 1/3 have none at all. Is this normal for these coins? Love your site and thanks for all the help."

    Who could ever have guessed how big this would become?

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    An Early Philadelphia Plain-Edge Dollar Specimen

    Plain edge dollar from the Philadelphia Mint
    Athel Patterson

    This plain-edge Washington dollar was found in Florida from among the coins issued by the Philadelphia Mint.

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    Photo of a Godless Plain-Edge Presidential Dollar

    Godless Dollar
    Jeff King / Capital Coin and Diamond, Inc.

    This photo has an interesting way to show off the plain edge on this so-called "Godless Dollar." Of course, you can only look at so many coin photos where the focus is the missing edge lettering, so check the next slide.

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  • 04 of 67

    Plain Edge Dollars From Both Mints

    Plain edge Presidential Dollars
    Ken Potter, NLG

    There is a big color difference between the plain edge coins from the Philadelphia Mint (upper coin) and the Denver Mint (lower coin). You can see the copper core between the clad layers in the Philly specimen, but the Denver specimen shows an edge that is about the same color as the obverse and reverse.

    The logical question, then, is, "if we can tell them apart, how come the grading services are slabbing them all as generics?" The answer is that the Denver coins display a minor secondary error of their own, in that the copper clad layer is supposed to show. The theory is that the plating bath, which imparts the bright, shiny gold color to the coins, had too much dissolved copper in it, which was causing the solution to adhere to the copper core as well as the surfaces. Because this was considered to be an anomalous event that couldn't be relied on consistently, and because this plating bath could presumably be reproduced (faked) outside the Mint, the grading services elected to err on the side of conservatism and not indicate the mint of origin on the slab inserts based on the color of the edges alone.

    The only sure way to prove which mint a plain edge Presidential Dollar came from is to find the properly mint-marked coins from the same dyes, and present them for grading and encapsulation in pairs.

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  • 05 of 67

    Ripping Wrappers and Finding Plain-Edge Dollars

    Rolls containing plain edge Washington dollars
    Sandy in Central Florida

    People who sent photos such as this one show that opening the coin wrappers only partially like this isn't for speed of searching. It was to protect the plain-edge dollars from unnecessary extra handling. Although many folks from Florida who kept their finds intact within the rolls didn't do it with this purpose in mind, by keeping their rolls intact, they greatly increased their chances of finding a die match to a mint marked coin.

    If you submit the coins in pairs, with one coin being a plain-edge dollar, and the second coin being a properly edge lettered dollar from the same die pair, some grading services will grant you the originating mint designation on the insert. Check with them first, though, because not all services are offering this, and you must do the die matching yourself, which takes a certain amount of expertise and nitpicky patience to accomplish.

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    Thousands of "GW MELS" Ready to go to Market

    George Washington Missing Edge Letter (GW MEL) Dollars Piles and piles of plain edge dollars, found by an enterprising Florida resident.
    Eric Dennis / GodlessCoins.com

    This striking photo brings the subject home regarding just how many plain-edge dollars are floating around out there. Plain-edge Washington Dollars are being called "GW MELS" by some error experts. GW means "George Washington" and the MEL part stands for "Missing Edge Lettering." It's sort of funny how the hobby seems to have gone full circle with the terminology being used to describe these dollars.

    When the Presidential plain-edge dollar story first broke in the numismatic media, everyone was using the term "missing edge lettering" because that's what it was, plain and simple. But "missing edge lettering" has a lot of syllables in it, and it's a mouthful when you're chatting about coins with friends, so soon it evolved into "plain edge" and "smooth edge." These terms were a great deal shorter, and they were easier to say.

    Then, the mainstream media dubbed the error the "Godless Dollar" and this was the byword of choice for a couple of weeks, but slowly "plain edge" gained currency over the others, particularly over "smooth edge." "Smooth edge" had come to be perceived of as describing faked plain edge dollars, because anybody who had looked at a genuine plain edge dollar under a 10-times loupe could see that it was anything but smooth. The fakes, however, really were smooth, thanks to dremels and polishing wheels.

    So, how did this turn into "Missing Edge Lettering"? The grading services gave this designation to describe this variety on the slab inserts. But as noted, "Missing Edge Lettering" is a real mouthful, so dealers are using the term MEL instead. When they speak of GW MELS, they might be optimistic that future issues of the Presidential Dollars will also produce plain-edge varieties. So far, there are hundreds of JA MELS now (John Adams Presidential Dollars with Missing Edge Lettering,) so perhaps soon we'll have a TJ MEL, and even a JM MEL.

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    Scores of Stacks of Plain-Edge Dollars

    Cache of plain edge Presidential Dollars
    Eric Dennis / GodlessCoins.com

    Yes, this photo shows the better part of 2,000 plain edge dollar coins. Eric Dennis, spent the better part of two weeks going from bank to bank all day long, buying up every Presidential Dollar he could get his hands on. He opened numerous bank accounts when tellers would refuse to sell to anybody but bank customers. He even bought cheesecakes for helpful bank personnel to enjoy on their lunch breaks!

    Already a successful businessman anyway, he saw an opportunity to make a huge profit and jumped in with both feet. He worked this opportunity for all he could, and in the end, you can see his results, stacked in scores of piles of 25 coins. Each one is a plain-edge Washington Dollar worth at least 75 to 100 times its face value.

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    Rolls of Presidential Dollars Ready for Grading

    2,300 + plain edge dollars
    Eric Dennis / GodlessCoins.com

    This photo is of all the coins Eric Dennis collected, all rolled up and ready to send in for grading. He turned down several dealers' offers to buy his hoard wholesale because he believed in himself and his ability to market his coins for a better price. Many of his coins were graded, and he tells me that MS-67 is a very difficult grade to get in these coins. Out of more than 2,000 plain edge coins, only a few came back MS-66 and 67. Most of them came back MS-64 and 65. It took 17 years for a circulation strike U.S. Cent to make PCGS MS-70.

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  • 09 of 67

    This Whole Box of 1,000 Washington Dollars Had 1 Error, But It Was Big!

    999 normal dollars and 1 error
    M.S.B. in Southport, Florida

    M.S.B. of Southport, Florida had an experience quite a bit different than many in Florida. In his box of 1,000 Washington Dollars, he only found one error coin, but it was a doozie! It had nothing on it at all! The blank coin, called an "unstruck planchet" by the experts, completely missed the coin presses entirely! It missed the edge lettering machine, too, coming out of the mint with nothing but the upraised rim to prove it was from the Mint. Blank planchets such as M.S.B.'s sold for as much as $1,000 each on eBay!

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    999 Normal Presidential Dollars and 1 Error Coin

    Blank planchet error coin
    M.S.B. of Southport, Florida

    Here's another photo of M.S.B.'s blank coin. The 999 normal dollars depicted with it are a reminder of just how hard it is to find error coins in bank-wrapped rolls. You might search through thousands of Washington Dollars and found only a few very minor errors: a cracked clad layer (with a very teeny crack running across the face from rim to rim), and half a dozen embossed letter types (which some people persist in calling "dropped letter" types when they are not). It's important to know the difference between dropped letters and embossed letters.

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    This Blank Presidential Dollar is a 1 in 1,000 Find

    Blank Presidential Dollar
    M.S.B. of Southport, Florida

    Technically, this blank planchet is worthless, even though it came from the U.S. Mint in a sealed box of 1,000 Fed-wrapped Presidential Dollars. When a coin doesn't get struck with the devices and inscriptions that identify it as being legal tender, it has no value at all other than the metal it is made of. Fortunately, however, there's a bustling market for mint error coins and blank coins like the one pictured here sold for as much as $1,000 each on eBay in mid-March of 2007. M.S.B., the finder of this coin, states that a Florida coin dealer offered him $10 for it and told him it was common. This is a perfect example of why you should find a reputable coin dealer.

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    This Blank Planchet Shows a Cracked Clad Layer

    Blank planchet with cracked clad layer
    = Eric Dennis / GodlessCoins.com

    This blank Presidential Dollar planchet presents an interesting question. What would have happened had this planchet been struck? If you look closely, you can see that there is a good-sized crack in the clad layer on this planchet. Due to the force of striking, the clad layer might have been destroyed, or it might have "bonded" to the core. Experts said that the layer would crack more, and probably come off completely, but a couple of experts thought that maybe the clad layer would bond.

    The science behind evaluating minting errors through the years had to be done based on speculation because the U.S. Mint itself wasn't very forthcoming about its problems. Hopefully, the collector community and the Mint can build a better rapport in the future so that the lines of communication are more open, and people can deal with facts rather than speculation when it comes to understanding minting errors.

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    Blank Planchets Often Show a Lot of Damage

    Damaged blank coin
    Dings and Marks on Planchets Get Struck Out Blank Presidential Dollar planchet shows dings and scratches. Photo by Eric Dennis of GodlessCoins.com

    This photo, and the one following it, are the obverse and reverse of another blank Presidential Dollar planchet. As you can see, the planchet is banged up a fair bit. This is normal, actually, because it is expected that when the planchet gets struck by the dies and made into an actual coin, these scratches, dings, and other marks will get obliterated. In practice, however, not all coins lose their pre-strike damage upon striking. The mark of a real coin grading connoisseur is the person who can tell whether the damage on a given coin occurred before or after it was struck!

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    The Blank Planchet Shows Contact Marks on Both Sides

    Unstruck blank coin
    Eric Dennis / GodlessCoins.com

    This is the reverse side of the previous planchet. Like its other side, this face also shows the same kind of pre-strike damage from contact with other planchets and other possible mishaps before its being struck. Most unstruck planchets that escape the Mint show similar damage, although perhaps not quite this bad.

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    This "Faceless Dollar" Got the Edge Lettering, but No Images!

    Faceless Dollar
    PCGS

    This remarkable coin is the antithesis of the plain-edge dollar. Where the plain-edge dollars got the die strike but no edge lettering, this planchet got the edge lettering but no die strike! There were a lot of jokes about this type having been found shortly after the so-called "Godless Dollars" were noticed by the mainstream media.

    Some of the best had to do with the finders of this coin, Mary and Ray Smith of Colorado, not being able to "make heads or tails of the coin they found." Supposedly, the only way they knew it was supposed to be a Presidential Dollar was because it was in a roll with other Presidential Dollars! Others believe that they had heard about the Presidential Dollar plain-edge coins being found en masse, and like many other enterprising Americans, they went to the bank and bought some rolls, probably hoping to get lucky and make a few extra bucks selling their finds on eBay.

    Instead, they hit the PCGS jackpot and collected a $2,500 reward from PCGS president Ron Guth for being the first person to submit a blank Presidential planchet with edge lettering on it for grading.

    Since this time, numerous fake plain edge dollars and fake "faceless dollars" have emerged, so if you're in the market to buy one, be sure you buy from an honest coin dealer or buy only coins in major grading service slabs.

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    Double-Edge Lettering Discovery Specimen

    This coin went through the edge lettering machine twice! Two sets of edge lettering appear on this Washington Dollar.
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions

    This is perhaps one of the most fascinating error types among the major Presidential Dollar errors. This coin, discovered by Shawn and Shelly Bell, was the first of maybe half a dozen of its type to emerge in the eight or 10 weeks following the release of the Washington Dollar. The coin made a presumably normal trip through the Philadelphia Mint until it got to the edge lettering station. For some reason, the coin went past the edge lettering die twice, resulting in two separate sets of inscriptions around the edge of the coin. The Bells found this coin fairly early in the Washington Dollar error-finding frenzy, and they went on to discover several other interesting errors.

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    Another View of the First Reported Double-Edge Lettered Dollar

    The Two Sets of Edge Lettering Both Go the Same Direction
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    One More Look at the Discovery Specimen of the Double-Edge Letter Error

    This Coin Went Through the Edge Lettering Machine Twice
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    Doubled-Edge Lettering Is Seen on This Presidential Dollar

    Two Passes Through the Edge Lettering Machine The "Doubting Thomas" Double Edge Lettering Specimen
    Rose Newell

    This set of plates depict the Newell "Doubting Thomas" Specimen of the doubled-edge lettering variety of Washington Presidential Dollars. Here is the story, as related to by the finder's son, Bill Newell:

    "Doubting Thomas" Newell, Bill's father, wanted nothing to do with the Presidential Dollar error frenzy which was swamping his home state of Florida. Although some folks in Florida would eventually find thousands of plain edge dollars, "Doubting Thomas" didn't figure that any of that good luck would ever come his way. His son encouraged him to buy a couple of rolls of coins, "just to see," but Thomas was adamant. None of this tomfoolery for him!

    Finally, Bill decided to just go ahead and buy some rolls anyhow. He took them over to his father's house and talked him into to taking a couple of them just for the heck of it. If no errors turned up, well, he could just spend them. His mother, Rose, who was a little more amenable to the project, selected a couple of rolls from the dozen or so that Bill had brought, and "Doubting Tom" grudgingly picked out a couple of rolls for himself. And then set them aside and forgot about them.

    Rose opened her rolls but didn't find anything. Realizing that Tom wasn't likely to bother opening his without a lot of prodding, she encouraged him to do so, which he did, and he quickly scanned them to prove that there were no plain-edge dollars to be found there and what a waste of time the whole thing had been. But then he noticed that one of the coins looked a little funny on the edge, so he asked Rose to take some photos and send them to Bill.

    Bill's wife, Cher, sent the photos along with a question asking if this coin was rare or worth anything. They sent the coin to error coin scholar Tom DeLorey so that he could see the coin and then send it off for grading.

    NGC has graded this specimen MS-64 and the Newell family decided to dub it the "Doubting Thomas" Double-Edge Lettering specimen.

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    Photos of the "Doubting Thomas" Double-Edge Lettering Specimen

    Presidential Dollar Has Two Sets of Edge Letters Double edge lettering is shown in these Presidential Dollar edge photos
    Rose Newell

    This is another set of views of the edge of the "Doubting Thomas" double-edge lettered Presidential Dollar.

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    Additional Photos Show Two Sets of Edge Lettering on this Dollar

    This Coin Took Two Passes Through the Edge Lettering Machine Double edge lettering proves that this coin passed through the edge lettering machine twice.
    Rose Newell

    This is the third set of photos of the "Doubting Thomas" Newell specimen of Presidential Dollar with two sets of edge lettering.

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    This Double Edge Lettering Specimen Is From the Denver Mint

    This Coin Passed Through the Edge Lettering Process Twice This Double Edge Lettering Washington Dollar from the Denver Mint was found in Chicago.
    Elliott

    The first two specimens of double edge lettering Washington Presidential Dollars came from the Philadelphia Mint. Not to be left out, however, the Denver Mint has also produced specimens of this amazing error type. This coin was found in the greater Chicago area, from coins minted at Denver.

    A member of the Hillside Coin Club was going to bring a doubled-edge letter dollar to the meeting that night. The discoverer emailed the photo you see here.

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    Denver Mint Specimen of the Doubled-Edge Letter Dollar

    This Coin Was Found in the Chicago Area Doubled Edge Lettering From the Denver Mint
    Elliott

    This is another photo of the Denver Mint specimen of Presidential Dollar displaying two sets of edge lettering.

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    Presidential Dollar With Missing Reverse Clad Layer

    Denver Mint Washington Dollar Lost its Clad Layer Missing Clad Layer (Reverse) Washington Dollar
    Mary C. in Michigan

    This major error coin was found in Michigan by Mary C. The path to discovering just exactly what she had found is amusing. She had a Washington Dollar that has no gold on one side of the coin. She purchased it from a mint roll at the bank. The regular one weighed 8 grams and the other one weighed 5.7 grams.

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    NGC MS-64 Missing Reverse Clad Layer Presidential Dollar

    NGC MS-64 Missing Clad Layer Dollar
    Mary C. of Michigan.

    Tom DeLorey photo-authenticated the error as a Missing Reverse Clad Layer, which was lost before striking, based on her image, the coin's weight, and physical appearance. Mary sent the coin off to NGC for grading, and it came back authenticated and graded MS-64.

    She put it up for auction on eBay in a Category Featured auction, and it was only by a stroke of bad luck that she only got about $1,300 for it. Someone else listed another Missing Clad Layer Washington Dollar error coin, also graded by NGC, a couple of days after hers. The other coin, however, only sold for about $870, primarily because it wasn't featured.

    The obvious lesson here is that if you have a major error coin to sell on eBay, spring for the $30 bucks or so to make it visible to your potential buyers.

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    Washington Dollar With 93 Percent Rotated Reverse

    The Statue of Liberty is Turned on Her Side!
    Mike Rothwell in Decorah, Iowa
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    Rotated Die Axis on a Washington Presidential Dollar

    Rotated Reverse Die Approximately 93 Percent
    Mike Rothwell in Decorah, Iowa
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    Struck Through Grease Washington Presidential Dollar

    Grease Filled Die Obliterated the Devices
    Dave Makkos
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    Washington Dollar Struck Through Grease-Filled Die Error

    Grease Obliterated the Images on This Washington Dollar
    Dave Makkos
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    Washington Dollar Is Missing a Chunk of the Planchet

    A Whole Piece of this Coin is GONE
    Ben Grosso
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    This Presidential Dollar Lost a Portion of the Planchet

    A Whole Piece of the Coin is Missing
    Ben Grosso
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    Washington Dollar Planchet Error: A Chunk of the Coin Is Gone

    A Whole Piece of the Planchet is Gone!
    Ben Grosso
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    Another View of the Washington Dollar That Lost a Chunk

    Part of the coin missing.
    Ben Grosso
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    Washington Dollar Lost a Chunk of the Planchet Somehow

    Another View of This Amazing Error Coin
    Ben Grosso
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    This Presidential Dollar Is Missing a Piece of the Planchet

    Part of the coin missing metal on the edge.
    Ben Grosso
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    Cracked Clad Layer: Clamshell Error Coin

    The Knife is Sticking Out of the Cracked Clad Layer Edge! Washington Presidential Dollar with Exacto type razor knife blade sticking out of the clamshell, or cracked clad leyer edge, thereby proving the coin is cracked.
    Wayne Hunt / 5willgetu10 auctions

    Out of all of the Presidential Dollar error coin photos, this one is one of the most interesting from an artistic standpoint. The coin in the photo has a nice "clamshell," or cracked clad layer, error that is evident 360 degrees around the entire circumference of the edge of the coin. The coin's owner and finder, Wayne Hunt, sent a set of coin photos that seemed to depict the cracked clad layer, but the expert wanted to know how deep the split went.

    Since Wayne isn't an error coins guru, he wasn't sure how to describe what he was seeing in any better terms than he already had, so he had his camera do the work for him. The photo was meant to say that "yes, the split clad layer is split enough and deep enough to hold up my razor knife." He ultimately sent the coin to Tom DeLorey at Harlan J. Berk. The split was definitely visible to the naked eye, but the clad layer was very secure; there wasn't any chance of it separating from the core.

    The coin wasn't damaged at all by the insertion of the blade. Wayne says he inserted it very carefully and didn't probe or cut with it.

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    Cracked Clad Layer (Clamshell Error) With Razor Knife Embedded

    Artistic Photo Documents Cracked Clad Layer Error
    Wayne Hunt / 5willgetu10 auctions.
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    Cracked Clad Layer (Clamshell) Error Before the Razor Photo

    This is the Same Coin as the Previous 2 Images, Without the Razor
    Wayne Hunt / 5willgetu10 auctions
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    The Razor Dollar Clamshell Error With Normal Coins

    Another View of the Clamshell Error Coin Without the Razor
    Wayne Hunt / 5willgetu10 auctions
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    The Clamshell Error Coin Floating in Space With Other Coins

    One Last Image From This Artistically Talented Photographer
    Wayne Hunt / 5willgetu10 auctions
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    Clash Marks Show on the Obverse of This Presidential Dollar

    The Arrows Point to the Marks Made by the Reverse Die
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    Strong Clash Marks Show on the Reverse of This Presidential Dollar

    This is Sometimes Called an "Extra Spike" Error
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    Another Specimen Shows Strong Clash Marks on the Obverse

    Caused by the Dies Coming Together With no Planchet Between Them
    Jeffrey Makos
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    Reverse Side of Previous Coin Shows "Extra Spike" Clash Marks

    Die Clash Error on Washington Dollar
    Jeffrey Makos
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    Good Sized Die Crack Runs From Rim to Center of Reverse

    Washington Dollar Die Crack
    Jeffrey Makos
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    Die Crack Runs From Rim to Rim Beneath the Bust

    Die Crack Error on Presidential Dollar
    Brandon in Portland, Oregon
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    The "Wild Whisker" Die Crack Is a Common Type of Recurring Crack

    Many Dies are Known With a Die Crack in This Location
    Danny Chapman / xpcoins.com
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    Another Specimen of the "Wild Whisker" Die Crack Type

    The Crack Appears on Washington's Chin
    Brandon of Portland, Oregon
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    A Third Specimen of the Common "Wild Whisker" Die Crack

    The "Wild Whisker" Error is Cool But Not Very Rare
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    The "Wounded Liberty" Die Gouge on the Presidential Dollar

    Die Damage Runs Through Liberty's Midsection
    Phil Weiss
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    Another View of the "Wounded Liberty" Specimen on the Previous Page

    The Die Gouge Wasn't Deep Enough to Scar the Entire Liberty Device
    Phil Weiss
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    A Different Die Specimen Showing the "Wounded Liberty" Die Gouge Type

    This Type is Known From at Least Three Dies
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    Close-Up View of "Wounded Liberty" Die Gouge in Previous Photo

    This Gouge is Deeper and More Consistent Than the Other Type Shown
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    Interesting Die Gouge Looks Like Part of the Circular Design

    The Gouge is in Just the Right Place to Continue the Circle
    Angel Morales
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    Die Polishing Caused the So-Called "Severed Head" Liberty Errors

    The Dies Were Polished Because of Die Clashes
    Don Royer and John Salmon
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    The Die Polishing Removed Parts of Liberty's Robe

    The Polishing Was Aggressive Resulting in Marked Detail Loss
    Don Royer and John Salmon
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    The Die Polishing Efforts Removed Part of Liberty's Tablet

    This Detail Photo Shows a Damaged Coin and a Normal One
    Don Royer and John Salmon
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    Another Version of the "Severed Head" Variety

    Damage Was Caused by Die Polishing to Remove Clash Marks
    Brandon in Portland, Oregon
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    This Embossed Letter is Often Confused With a Dropped Letter Error

    Dropped Letters are Incused - This Letter is in Relief (Raised)
    Danny Chapman / xpcoins.com
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    This is the First of Two Coins Showing a Backwards S

    The Extra Letter is Raised and then Flattened Into the Edge
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    This Coin Also Has a Reversed S Embossed Into the Edge

    These Letters Are Being Impressed by Other Coins
    Rick Davis
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    The Letter T Is Embossed Into the Edge of this Dollar

    The Embossed Letter Matches the T in TRUST from the Edge of Another Coin
    Shawn and Shelly Bell / bigbuckbell eBay auctions
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    The Exra Curl Error on the Presidential Dollars

    Extra CLiberty has a Small Die Break in Her Hair Creating the Extra Curl The "Extra Curl" in Liberty's hair is caused by a small die break.url Error
    Shawn Bell / bigbuckbell auctions

    A small die break in Liberty's hair gives the appearance of an "extra curl" to some folks. This die break is often erroneously attributed to a cud.

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    Partial Missing Edge Lettering Presidential Dollar

    Part of the Edge Inscription is Missing A portion of the edge lettering is missing from this Presidential Dollar.
    Ivars Lauzums
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    Strike Doubling Caused Liberty's Gown to Shown on the Rim

    Strike doubling has caused Liberty's gown to show on the rim of the coin.
    Phil Weiss

    This Presidential Dollar reverse shows "strike doubling," also called "mechanical doubling." The Statue of Liberty's gown appears on the rim of the coin because the dies bounced a little following the strike. Error coin purists consider such coins to be "damaged," but the average collector finds them to be pretty neat! They're not worth much, perhaps $10 or so on eBay. They are known for all Presidential Dollars released so far, although the example shown is a Washington Dollar.

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    Liberty's Gown Is Doubled Onto the Rim Due to Strike Doubling

    Liberty's gown appears to be doubled on the rim due to strike doubling, or "die bounce."
    Phil Weiss

    When this coin was struck, the dies bounced a little after striking, causing a slightly off-center impression of Liberty's gown to appear on the rim of the coin. There is another example of this error on the previous page.

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  • 67 of 67

    Part of the Edge Lettering Is Missing From This Dollar

    Presidential Dollar With Partial Inscription Another view of the previous coin (top), which is missing a large section of edge lettering.
    Ivars Lauzums