Errors are something to be avoided unless of course, you’re a coin collector. Error coins represent rare instances of oversight in the minting process. Often, such coins are rare because officials catch the mistake before the currency finds its way into circulation. However, the 1955 Lincoln double die error is an exception. It’s also one of the most sought-after error coins from The United States Mint.

The error comes from the Philadelphia mint. It started with an improperly formed die which is the stamp the creates the impression on the coins. Forming the die requires multiple impressions. During this process, however, workers didn’t align the die correctly. The result: the words “in God we trust,” “liberty,” and the year “1955” all appear as double text on the error coins. The profile of Lincoln, however, is correct.

Typically, an error this glaring would never make it off the production line. However, during the minting process, it’s believed that normal quality control procedures lapsed during an overnight production shift. Additionally, the coin went into production during a penny shortage. This shortfall prompted the Philadelphia mint to ramp up production. This, in turn, led to 12-hour days characterized by rapid-fire minting. The original cause of the shortage: a one-cent tax added to cigarette sales in 1955.

Interestingly, a pack of cigarettes at the time cost 23 cents. With a one-cent tax, the price came to 24 cents. However, vending machines were only equipped to accept quarters. Therefore, customers were expected to pay 25 cents; then inside the cigarette packs, they would find one penny as change for their purchase. Many of the 1955 Lincoln double die cents ended up in these cigarette packs.  

While there is no official count, estimates indicate that between 20,000 and 24,000 double die pennies found their way into a batch of nearly 10 million cents, the rest of which were correct.

Not long after the mistake, the error coins appeared in circulation. Given their point of origin in Philadelphia, many of them were found on the east coast in areas like New York, Boston, and Massachusetts. As word spread, citizens became eager to find and keep these coins knowing that their rarity would add to their value over the long-term. Today, many believe that no more than 15,000 have survived.

Some enthusiasts still pour through cheap bags of wheat pennies in hopes of finding one. Some collectors, initially excited, are disappointed when they realize they’ve come across what’s called the “poor man’s” double die. This is not the same as the 1955 Lincoln double die. A “poor man’s” double die is the result of a much less visible double impression that occurs when a worn die creates a distorted image. In 1955 some people paid 25 cents for the real thing. Soon the price went up to $10. Today, of course, they’re worth far more. The next time you see a penny, pick it up.

Sometimes you just need a fresh look. This was the thinking of the U.S. Mint in 1890. In fact, they decided everything needed a new look. In September of that year, legislation was signed which made all denominations of U.S. coins available for a redesign.

Chief engraver Charles Barber decided to hold a contest. Participants could submit low relief models of their designs for the half dollar. Next, they drafted a list of invitees. While the competition was open to the public, officiants wanted to encourage a few specific, New York-based artists to submit. The winner would receive $500 and the joy of having their work in every American’s pocket. Barber would be one of the judges.

Interestingly, many of the artists contacted about submitting designs responded with a counter offer to the terms set. They wanted the finalists to be judged by a group of peers. They also wanted the same artist to design both sides of the coin, and finally, they wanted more time. Leech declined these terms. It’s worth noting that this friction may have dissuaded more talented artists from entering designs.

Before long, the design submissions came in. What did mint director Edward Leech think of them? A “wretched a failure” he remarked. He continued that “only two of the three hundred suggestions submitted were good enough to receive honorable mention.” It’s possible that the failure of the contest stemmed from the stylistic differences of some of the judges. That is, the designs may not have been uniformly bad. Rather, it’s likely that infighting among the judges led to friction in settling on a winner.

Leech then turned back to Barber leaving the redesign task to him. They would need a new look for the half dollar, quarter, and dime.

Leech rejected Barber’s first design. Barber’s next submission was met with disappointment as Leech wrote that the lips on Lady Liberty were “rather voluptuous.” The argumentative back and forth continued until, finally, a design emerged. Upon their release, the reviews were largely positive.

Among the new collection were very few Barber dimes. Today the coin is considered among the rarest minted coin in the U.S. They have a history of selling for small fortunes. In 2005 one sold for $1.3 million. In 2007 another sold for $1.9 million. Much of the appeal comes not only from its rarity but its mystery; no one knows why so few were minted.

As with most coins, the Barber collection went through a redesign. In 1900 Barber changed the dies to produce thinner coins. Part of this change was motivated by collectors complaining that the originally issued coins would not stack properly. In time, many of the Barber coins were melted down into bullion amid an increase in the price of silver in the late 1970s and the 1980s. In total, the coin was minted between 1892 and 1915. They were produced at four mints, Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco

1873 was the year that gave rise to the Morgan Dollar. The immensely popular coin came out of the Bland-Allison Act of the same year. The act required the U.S. Treasury to purchase an amount of silver then introduce it into circulation in the form of silver dollars. The amount to be purchased was between $2 and $4 million, largely from western mines. There were several motivating factors for the act. First, mines were yielding enormous amounts of silver. The output was beyond industrial needs at the time. Second, Germany dumped 8,000 tons of silver into the open market after converting to the gold standard.

In time, minting Morgan dollars became representative of the free-silver movement. This economic policy advocated the unlimited coinage of silver into money. Many of those supporting the free-silver movement subscribed to the concept of bimetallism. Under this system, the value of a monetary unit is based up its equivalent in gold or silver.

The Bland-Allison Act, however, was deeply unpopular with then-president Rutherford B. Hayes who had a personal financial stake in the banking industry. Though he vetoed the bill, Congress overturned the decision, and the act became official. Hayes, however, was able to limit the scope of the act by choosing to purchase minimal amounts of silver. It was a period in U.S. history when bimetallism appeared to be on the rise. However, problems occurred amid fluctuating amounts of mined silver. That is, as miners sourced increasingly large deposits, more silver entered the market eventually decreasing silver prices.

The Morgan dollar is truly unique. In fact, some argued it was too unique. The American eagle on the reverse side of the coin showed eight tail feathers. This caused a stir because all previous U.S. coins had an eagle with an uneven number of feathers. Surprisingly, the public pressure was enough to motivate a redesign. The mint would change the feathers from eight to seven. The change occurred fast because only one city – Philadelphia – minted Morgan coins. Officials collected all of the dies and restruck them with seven feather dies. As a result, some of the first new “corrected” coins had seven feathers on top of eight before the mint created entirely new, eight feather dies. Meanwhile, several of the 1878 eight feather Morgan dollars remained in circulation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury continued to purchase 140 tons of silver each month to mint coins. They made payments to the silver miners in gold. The U.S. Treasury amassed a towering stockpile of silver and, at the same time, gold stores were depleted. Before long the Treasury faced the possibility of default which ignited panic across the country. The resolution to all of this was the Sherman Act of 1893 which halted the Treasury’s gold purchases for silver production. Mints ceased production of the Morgan Dollar.

Then in 1921, they brought it back. The production lasted less than a year. Then they were done for good. The Morgan dollar was ready to fade into history.

Until 1960 when a surprising find was made.

The government executed a plan to account for all silver dollars in storage. In a dusty backroom of the main Treasury building in Washington was a forgotten hoard of uncirculated Morgan dollars totaling $2.8 million. Given the long-held demand for Morgan dollars, the government packaged the coins and sold them.

It’s reported that during the final sale in 1980 more than 200,000 orders of the 400,000 received were turned away. The demand far outpaced the find. Today the Morgan dollar is the most collected and coveted silver dollar in existence.