Weekly World Numismatic News for February 23, 2020

Aussie coin collectors are scouring through their change, looking for a Mule Dollar.

A woman from Melbourne found an Australian dollar coin where the obverse was different from the others. The lettering and portrait were smaller and had a doubled rim. The story went viral on social media.

Comparing the $1 mule on the left to a regular $1 coin on the right
(Image courtesy of the Australian Coin Blog)

The mule was first discovered in 2003, according to the Australian Coin Blog. Known as the “2000 $1 / 10 cent Mules,” the coins were sent to Perth for use in the casinos. At the time, the collectors and other interested people withdrew thousands of dollar coins from casinos and banks looking for the coin.

Australian coin experts suspect that the error occurred when someone accidentally installed the wrong obverse die into the coin press. Rather than using the die to strike the 25 mm dollar coin, the die that should strike the 23.6 10 cents coin was used. The 1.4 mm difference gives the impression of a doubled edge on the coin.

There are no statistics as to how many of these coins are in circulation. Considering they keep appearing every few years, the discovery causes a frenzy, especially amongst casual observers. It would be like someone finding an “extra leaf” Wisconsin quarter.

And now the news…

 February 17, 2020

Presidents on money Since Presidents Day is Monday, we thought we would see how presidents stack up against each other in money.  → Read more at eastbaytimes.com

 February 18, 2020

A ceremony has been held in American Samoa to mark the launch of a coin honouring the territory's national park. The new US coin with an image of a Samoan fruit bat. Photo: U.S.  → Read more at rnz.co.nz

 February 21, 2020

A Berlin court sentenced three men on Thursday over the 2017 theft of a gigantic gold coin from a city museum.  The coin, dubbed the "Big Maple Leaf," weighed roughly 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and had an estimated value of €3.75 million ($4.05 million).  → Read more at dw.com

 February 21, 2020

An ultra-rare U.S $5 coin minted during the California Gold Rush is set to sell for millions when it goes up for auction in Baltimore next month. The legendary 1854-S Liberty Head ‘Half Eagle’ is one of only three examples known to exist, and has been described as “one of the most famous rarities in the world of American coins”.  → Read more at news.justcollecting.com

 February 21, 2020

A rare $1 coin could be worth thousands of dollars thanks to one minor mistake. The Royal Australian Mint made an error when making 'Mule Dollar' coins – a small number of $1 coins from the year 2000 that were made using the wrong print.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 February 21, 2020

Lifestyle Archaeologists. A Houston neighborhood called ‘The Scorpion.’  → Read more at houstonchronicle.com