1971-S Silver Ike Dollar
Struck 25% Off-Center With Clashed Dies
A Major Mint Error on a "Blue Ike"
NGC MS 65
UNIQUE
SOLD
"Blue" Ike Dollars were struck in 40% silver at the San Francisco Mint and were sold to collectors in government sealed packages. This unique Silver Eisenhower Dollar was struck 25% off-center and is in gem mint state condition. It was also struck with clashed dies as noted on the NGC insert.
There is one known "Blue Ike" that was broadstruck and one known double struck off-center. This amazing Eisenhower Dollar mint error is perfect for a serious Ike Dollar collector or a collector of unique and major mint errors.
  Intentional ErrorsIn 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. |
Spectacular Errors are featured in chapter 24 of my
NLG Award winning book, World's Greatest Mint Errors:
