1972 Eisenhower Dollar
Overstruck by 1972 Cent Dies
PCGS MS 63
UNIQUE
$185,000

This is a spectacular and unique mint state Eisenhower Dollar that was overstruck twice by 1972 Lincoln Cent dies. A struck Eisenhower Dollar was intentionally placed underneath two adjacent Lincoln Cent die pairs and was struck. This created a "saddle-strike" since the two Lincoln Cent strikes were simultaneous.

There are a few intentionally struck Sacagawea Dollars and State Quarters known that were overstruck by Cent dies. These overstrikes have been authenticated and certified by both PCGS and NGC.

I have been a rare coin dealer specializing in major mint errors, die trials and patterns for 45 years. Having handled most of the world-class mint errors known, this unique Eisenhower Dollar overstrike ranks at the very top of the list. It is the only known Eisenhower Dollar overstruck by one or two Cent dies and is in a category all by itself. This unique mint error was residing in a private major mint error collection and was previously unknown to the numismatic community.

Intentional Errors One of the most controversial categories of U.S. coins are mint errors. Many dealers and collectors, as well as coin auction houses, buy, sell, trade and auction many rare, exotic and unique major mint errors. Obviously, some of these defy logic and were intentionally created and taken out of the Mint. In the early 2000's, a group of several hundred U.S. error coins were found in a safe-deposit box. Fred Weinberg purchased this group which included coins struck for proof sets and also coins struck for circulation. This group was auctioned by the California State Controller's Office of Unclaimed Property. The U.S. Secret Service inspected and released this collection to the State of California determining that it was legal to own. The State of California then auctioned the collection and the rest is history. Another example of U.S. error coins escaping the Mint occurred in the 1970's. A hoard of proof error coins were smuggled out of the San Francisco Mint inside the oil pans of forklifts that were being serviced outside of the Mint. This topic was discussed in the June 6, 2022 Issue of Coin World, which covered Fred Weinberg's account of this story. The Coin World Managing Editor concluded: Obviously, the marketplace accepts these coins, and some collectors are happy paying thousands of dollars for coins that show every indication of having been created through illegal means. In Episode 11 of the PCGS video series Slab Lab, Seth Chandler interviews Fred Weinberg. In part 2 of the interview, Fred explains in detail why mint errors that are decades old are not recovered by the U.S. Mint. Fred's recollection of conversations in his office with the Chief of the U.S. Mint Police are extremely insightful and explain why the Mint doesn't attempt to recover error coins from decades ago.

Here are two intentional overstruck mint errors that I have handled in the past:

Spectacular Errors are featured in my
NLG award winning book, World's Greatest Mint Errors: