In numismatics, a mule is a coin or medal minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece. These can be intentional or produced by error. This type of error is highly sought after by collectors, and examples can fetch high prices.
The earliest mules are found among ancient Greek and Roman coins. Opinion is divided between those who think that they are accidental, the result of an incorrect combination of a new die with one that had officially been withdrawn from use, or the work of coiners working with dies stolen from an official mint, perhaps at a time when one of them should have been destroyed.
The name derives from the mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, due to such a coin having two sides intended for different coins, much as a mule has parents of two different species.
In March 2014 the Royal Mint confirmed a pair of mule 2014 bullion coins struck in 999 fine silver: approximately 38,000 £2 Lunar Horse coins and 17,000 £2 Britannia coins. The Lunar Horses were struck with the denticled Britannia obverse while the Britannias were struck with the non-denticled Lunar Horse obverse. [1]
In February 2009, Coin World reported that some 2007 Abigail Adams medals, from the U.S. Mint, were struck using the reverse from the 2008 Louisa Adams medal, apparently by mistake. [2] These pieces were contained within the 2007 First Spouse medal set. [2] The U.S. Mint has not released an estimate of how many mules were made. eBay prices in March 2009 were reported as high as $925.99. [3]
In 1967, a New Zealand 2 cent coin was issued, featuring the obverse of the Bahamian 5 cent coin, see Coins of the New Zealand dollar.
In June 2009 a rare dateless British 20 pence mule was reported to be in circulation, resulting from the accidental combination of old and new dies in production following a 2008 redesign of UK coinage, with an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 mules released before the error was noticed. [4]
The Winter Olympic coins produced in the Royal Canadian Mint Olympic coins program for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver featured several mules which entered circulation. [5]
One of the first authentic mule errors to be released by the U.S. Mint (as opposed to the deliberate mules of the mid-1800s) was the 2000 Sacagawea dollar – Washington quarter mule. It features the obverse of a Washington state quarter and the reverse of a Sacagawea dollar. This coin was struck on a Sacagawea dollar planchet. The mint confirmed in July 2000 that the coin was a legitimate error, created by the accidental replacement of a cracked Sacagawea obverse die with a Washington obverse die. Several thousand of the coins were reported to have been minted before the error was discovered, and mint employees recovered and destroyed most of them. As of May 2019, 18 are publicly known to exist and have been certified, of which 14 are owned by Tommy Bolack. [6] A specimen was sold in August 2012 for $155,250. [6]
Sometimes mints use proof dies in the production of coins intended for circulation. Coins produced when an identifiable proof die is "married" with a business die are known as "handsome" mules. The details on handsome mules are often noticeably sharper, and thus are distinguishable from ordinary business strikes in circulation.
The British decimal twenty pence coin is a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄5 of a pound. Like the 50p coin, it is an equilateral curve heptagon. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin's introduction on 9 June 1982. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used; the latest design by Jody Clark was introduced in 2015. The second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008.
Mint-made errors occur when coins are made incorrectly at the mint, including anything that happens to the coin up until the completion of the minting process. Mint error coins can be the result of deterioration of the minting equipment, accidents or malfunctions during the minting process, or interventions by mint personnel. Coins are inspected during production and errors are typically caught. However, some are inadvertently released into circulation. Modern production methods eliminate many errors and automated counters are effective at removing error coins. Damage occurring later may sometime resemble true mint errors. Error coins may be of value to collectors depending on the rarity and condition. Some coin collectors specialize in error coins.
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. The U.S. Mint is one of two U.S. agencies that produce money in the case of minting coinage; the other is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints paper currency. The first United States Mint was created in Philadelphia in 1792, and soon joined by other centers, whose coins were identified by their own mint marks. There are currently four active coin-producing mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point.
The Royal Canadian Mint is the mint of Canada and a Crown corporation, operating under the Royal Canadian Mint Act. The shares of the Mint are held in trust for the Crown in right of Canada.
The dollar coin is a United States coin with a face value of one United States dollar. Dollar coins have been minted in the United States in gold, silver, and base metal versions. Dollar coins were first minted in the United States in 1794.
The 1955 doubled die cent is a die variety that occurred during production of the one cent coin at the United States Mint in 1955.
Presidential dollar coins are a series of United States dollar coins with engravings of relief portraits of U.S. presidents on the obverse and the Statue of Liberty on the reverse.
Britannia coins are British bullion coins issued by the Royal Mint in gold since 1987, in silver since 1997, and in platinum since 2018. The reverse of the coin patterns feature various depictions of Britannia, a feminine personification of the United Kingdom while the obverse features a monarch effigy with the legend around it.
The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin introduced in 2000, but subsequently minted only for niche circulation from 2002 onward. The coin generally failed to meet consumer and business demands. It is still generally accepted in circulation.
The Gobrecht dollar, minted from 1836 to 1839, was the first silver dollar struck for circulation by the United States Mint after production of that denomination had been halted in 1806. The coin was struck in small numbers to determine whether the reintroduced silver dollar would be well received by the public.
This glossary of numismatics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to numismatics and coin collecting, as well as sub-fields and related disciplines, with concise explanations for the beginner or professional.
The cent, formally the one-cent coin, was the lowest-denomination coin of the Australian dollar. It was introduced on 14 February 1966 in the decimalisation of Australian currency and was withdrawn from circulation in 1992. It is still minted as a non-circulating coin. A one-cent coin in 1966 would have a purchasing power equal to about 15c in 2022 values.
Since the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the Royal Canadian Mint has struck Summer and Winter Olympic coins to mark Games held in Canada.
Although the first Olympic coin can be traced back to 480 BC, the modern Olympics did not see its first commemoratives until 1951. The original concept of Olympic coins was that the Greeks believed that coins brought the general public closer to the Olympic games. The premise was that those who could not attend the games could at least have a tangible souvenir of the event.
The coins of the New Zealand dollar are used for the smallest physical currency available in New Zealand. The current denominations are ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, one dollar and two dollars. The $1 and $2 coins are minted in a gold colour, the 20c and 50c coins are silver colour and the 10c coin is plated in copper.
The Australian pre-decimal halfpenny coin, commonly known as a ha’penny, was the smallest denomination of the Australian Pound in circulation. It was a unit of currency that equalled half of a penny, 1/24 of a shilling, or 1/480 of a pound. The coin was made to be equivalent to the British halfpenny; its dimensions, composition and values were equivalent, and additionally, the two currencies were fixed at par.
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1979 to 1981 when production was suspended due to poor public acceptance, and then again in 1999. Intended as a replacement for the larger Eisenhower dollar, the new smaller one-dollar coin went through testing of several shapes and compositions, but all were opposed by the vending machine industry, a powerful lobby affecting coin legislation. Finally, a round planchet with an eleven-sided inner border was chosen for the smaller dollar.
The Lunar or Shēngxiào (生肖) coin series is a collection of British coins issued by the Royal Mint featuring the Chinese zodiac in celebration of Chinese New Year. First issued in 2014, the series has been minted in varying denominations of Silver and Gold as both bullion and proof.
Thomas S. Cleveland is an American designer, illustrator and fine artist. He served in the United States Mint's Artistic Infusion Program from 2004 until 2014.
The 2000 Sacagawea dollar – Washington quarter mule is an error coin featuring the obverse of a Washington quarter and the reverse of a Sacagawea dollar struck on a gold-colored dollar coin planchet. It is one of the first known authentic mule coins to be released into circulation by the United States Mint.
Some collectors have begun receiving a First Spouse medal mule – a piece bearing the obverse for Abigail Adams and a reverse intended for the Louisa Adams medal. The mules surfaced in some of the 2007 First Spouse sets...
a sixth set with 18 bids from five bidders sold on March 22 for $925.99