Mated Pair of Proof Ike Dollars
Struck Off-Center on 1¢ Planchets
NGC Proof 67 RB & Proof 66 RB
UNIQUE
SOLD

This unique proof mated pair of Eisenhower Dollars was sitting in an old-time collection for decades. It was very recently authenticated and certified by NGC. Two off-center copper Cent planchets were intentionally placed in the Eisenhower Dollar collar at the same time and were struck together. This mated pair is amazing and has tremendous eye appeal. As shown in the overlay below, there was a third planchet in the collar at the same time and a 3-piece clover leaf set was struck. Whether the third Eisenhower Dollar off-center on a Cent planchet will ever surface remains to be seen.

To date, this is the only known mated pair of Eisenhower Dollars struck on Cent planchets. They are in gem proof condition with original toning and it is unbelievable that they survived for 50 years.

Proof coins are struck by technicians who hand feed the blanks into special presses. They are produced, examined and packaged using extreme quality control. It is very unusual to find major proof errors. A few broadstrikes, off-centers, double strikes (in collar) and off-metals have been known to be found in sealed proof sets. Proof errors are aggressively sought after by many error collectors.

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.

Rare Eisenhower dollars are featured in a Mint Error News article:

Proof Errors are featured in my NLG Award winning book, World's Greatest Mint Errors.