Glossary

Off-metal errors occur when a correctly made blank from one denomination is accidentally fed into a press for another denomination. Examples are a nickel struck on a cent planchet and a cent struck on a dime planchet. The coin struck on an incorrect blank will weigh exactly what the denomination of that blank would have been. An even more dramatic wrong planchet error is a coin struck on a previously struck coin of a different metal.

As amazing as it sounds, this is a 1913 Buffalo Nickel struck on a U.S. $5 Gold planchet. This unique discovery surfaced in 2019 and was previously unknown to the numismatic community.

Struck during the era of the five known world famous 1913 Liberty Head Nickels valued at millions each, this unique Gold Buffalo Nickel is either a mint error or a piece de caprice. It was likely made for a Mint official or a famous numismatist. It also could have been struck for presentation purposes but is not listed in Judd as a pattern.

The only comparable U.S. coins struck in gold, and not in their official adopted medals (copper, nickel, silver) are the following:

(6) known Indian Head Cents struck on $2½ gold planchets. Two of these sold in public auction for $253k and $276k, and I personally sold one at $300k. These are well documented with famous pedigrees. The 1900 in MS 65 PCGS that I sold for 300k was formerly in the collections of B.G. Johnson and Colonel Green.

(2) known 1915 Pan Pac Half Dollar struck over $20 St. Gaudens gold coins, one realizing $460k in a Heritage Auction. These are commemorative Half Dollars struck over U.S. $20 gold coins that are very famous and listed in the Judd reference book.

According to Taxay and mentioned in the Judd Book, there exists a 1915 Lincoln Cent struck on a $2 1/2 Indian planchet. Owned by famed numismatists B.G. Johnson and Colonel Green. Supposedly it was subsequently sold to J.V. McDermott of the 1913 Liberty Nickel fame.

12 specially minted 22 karat gold Sacagawea Dollars flew in Space on the Space Shuttle Columbia. Originally 39 were struck by the U.S. Mint but 27 were destroyed. After flying in space, these 12 gold Sacagawea Dollars are stored at the Fort Knox Bullion Despository and numismatists value these at $1 Million each.