A "mule" error, as it is called, is when a obverse or reverse has a design that is not typically seen on the coin. A famous example is the 2000 Sacagawea and Quarter. It had a Sacagawea Dollar planchet and reverse struck on an obverse of a state quarter, and sold for a record price of $192,000!�Mule coins are generally VERY rare, and attract a lot of attention when one is found. They have a very low chance of being produced, because it is unlikely a mint official will overlook something like that. There are only a few mule coins certified by a leading grading service. Keep in mind that minor, or 4th party grading services might certify fake coins due to lack of knowledge or as an attempt to gain publicity. The most famous example of a cent mule error is arguably the 1959 D with a wheat ears reverse. As you all know, the cent's reverse was changed in 1959 to the memorial style reverse. Somehow, a old die must have gotten mixed in and struck this piece. This piece is still a matter of discussion as to whether it is a mint product. It was discovered in change in 1986 by Leon Baller. He sent it in to the US treasury in 1987 for authentication. The letter he received stated that they had examined his coin, and that their opinion was that his coin was a genuine mint product. Despite this, NGC, PCGS, and ANACS all sent the coin back to him with a, no decision grade, unslabbed. J.P. Martin from IGC stated that, "He had no evidence to prove that the coin is fake, but his gut instinct told him that it was not a genuine mint product." PCGS founder David Hall also said that he thought it was fake. It does seem odd that there is only 1 of these coins produced. If a die had struck the coin, there probably would be more examples by now, 110 years after this piece was "minted." It was put up for auction in 2003 by Goldberg auctions. They graded it MS(60), but no major service had chosen to certify it. It was pulled from the auction when forager Mark Hofmann confessed to making the coin. It was put back for auction and sold for $48,300. It sold again in 2010 for $27,000. It was sold again in 2019, in September, and sold for $50,000, which was exactly the estimate. This coin is widely discussed in forums mostly anywhere, and is widely known. My opinion is that, this piece is a mint product, and was just struck by a mint official who wanted to make something interesting in his free time. Many people, however, think that it is fake. The general opinion is that this piece is fake, although if another example surfaced, it might change the opinions of many people. I hope you enjoyed this blog! My question for this blog is - Do you think that the 1959 D mule cent is genuine or fake? Happy hunting!

Well, this is kinda late, but for any of you who didn't know. The San Antonio Missions National Parks Quarter was scheduled to release on September 5th. A coin collector obtained rolls from his bank, and when he opened them, they all contained San Antonio Quarters. "What's so special about that?" You might ask. Well, this collector found this BEFORE the release date. He found 2 "W" mint mark quarters and sent them in to PCGS for grading. PCGS graded them for him. Here are some� links that you should click to read more about this:�

The thing I enjoy most about this hobby is how it sometimes takes you on a journey to a new and interesting item that you were not even aware existed before the journey began.� I was doing some research on a future blog about the many silver rounds produced by mints around the world and suddenly came upon a German silver round depicting the Goddess Germania.� With just the slightest amount of extra effort, I found this absolutely beautiful banknote, featuring a portrait of Germania, and dating from 1910.� On the Obverse we see Germania sitting, next to an oak tree with a sword in her right hand and her left arm resting atop her shield.� The shield is decorated with a German style Eagle and the Eagle has shield on its chest with another smaller eagle.� to the left of Germania you see some farm implements and on the far right a line of Battleships are cruising in formation.� One senses a Germany proud of its past but looking to the future with weapons of war at the ready. On the reverse, we see Mercury with a Winged Cap.� Does that remind you of anything?�� The Goddess Ceres, the God of Agriculture and Bounty, matching the farming implements on the obverse.�� The Watermark shows Kaiser Wilhelm I, along with the denomination.� The Text translated by Google Translate is: "A Hundred Mark Reichsbank main cash paying in Berlin without the identity check theSupplier of this Banknote. Berlin, den 21, April 1910; Empire Bank's Board of Directors. (One Hundred ReichsMark).Any person who counterfeit or falsifies banknotes or counterfeit or falsified banknotes and inTransport is punishable by prison not less than two years." Incidentally,� Germany was on the Gold Standard back then and each German Mark was worth .358 Grams of gold.�� Using my diminishing math skills means that this banknote could be exchanged for 35.8 Grams of Gold.� Since there are a little over 30 Grams of Gold to each ounce, then this Banknote would have been exchangeable for over an ounce of Gold back in 1910 Germany.� Unfortunately, the bill is worthless, except to a lover of beautiful engraving and I do love having this note in my collection. I hope you enjoyed this blog, I enjoyed doing the research. https://www.leftovercurrency.com/1000-mark-reichsbanknote-1910-value/

Railroads played an important part in the 1830's through 1900's printing money for their employees and others. A research paper published by John A. Muscalus, Ph.D. shows images of more than 100 bank notes. Printed in 1971 it is a very interesting research report on this subject, and worth looking into.

As Wikipedia states it, Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. So basically it’s the study of money. And PBS’s website tells us that 11 thousand to 8 thousand years ago, cows were used as money. That means that the Smithsonian’s “National Numismatic Collection” must have cows in it, right? And they must be keeping those cows at the National Zoo Petting Zoo, So that means that the petting zoo is a money museum. �Ok, I guess they probably don’t have any cows as part of their numismatic collection, but here are some weird objects used as money in the Ancient World.