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Article by:

Greg Bennick

Discoveries

INCREDIBLE TREASURES ARE OUT THERE
Amazing Major Proof Ike Dollar Error Revealed at FUN 2025

by Greg Bennick

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indentFor anyone who doesn't think that there are error coins still out in the wild to be found, this story of a brand new, major discovery will help to quickly change your mind.

indentI have been at the 2025 FUN show in Orlando Florida all week, serving in two roles. First, I am a Board Member for CONECA and am here at the show to sit behind the CONECA table, answering questions and analyzing potential error coins which people bring to us for examination. The other role I fulfill is as a Mint Error News Consultant. I attend most major coin shows nationally scouring the bourse floor for new-to-market, exciting, fresh mint errors. This show came through magnificently in this regard.

indentAs you can imagine, many of the coins one sees at a major show are items that have been on the market before, and if you learn or know your history (from reading auction catalogs and older mint error publications, which I highly recommend doing), then you know when you see a coin that it has been sold before, or maybe one that has been owned by you before! You also come to know when a coin is fresh to the market and that you're looking at an exciting new discovery.

indentThe other group of coins are ones I tend to see far more often. A majority of the coins we examine that come to the CONECA table are minor errors, or are not errors at all. So when something important comes along, its tremendous to experience.

indentThis was the case today (yes, I am excited enough that I am writing this article same day!). I was approached at the CONECA table by Alabama coin dealer and jeweler Robert Bradley. Robert explained that he had an error coin he'd like to show me. He said it had come from a proof set that a customer had brought into the shop for sale. Before I could even formulate a guess as to what it might be, he put down on the case a single proof Eisenhower dollar in a 2x2. I instantly saw, even from over two feet away, that this coin was wildly important. It was clearly double struck. I picked it up immediately.

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indentRobert smiled as I looked in awe at what I held in my hands. It was even better than it first seemed. This was a 1976 Bicentennial, in collar, flip over double struck proof Eisenhower dollar!

indentThe eye appeal is tremendous with clear evidence on both sides of the coin of the double strike. Robert could see that I was stunned. This was a major new discovery and one that certainly merited an article to inform the community, and to inspire you as a reader that fantastic finds are still out there waiting for you to discover. Yes, you might need to look through proof sets for a very long time to even hope of finding something remotely like this, but that's the fun of the search. Robert is the owner of an incredible coin.

indentThe coin immediately brought to mind the fantastic double struck proof Ike dollar owned by Mike Byers that appeared on the cover of Mint Error News, Issue #67. Mike's coin, a double strike with the second strike off center, is also Bicentennial and is the only known double struck example with the second strike being off center. Overall, very few Ike dollars date 1976 are known with spectacular errors. Robert's coin is only the fourth known of the date, denomination, and series.

Click here for more information on Mike Byers'
Proof Double Struck Bicentennial Ike Dollar.


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indentGiven a cumulative mintage of around 7 million proof Ike dollars (adding the mintage of both varieties together), and considering the extremely low number of such fantastic rarities known, it becomes obvious that these truly are less than one in a million.

indentThanks to Robert Bradley for sharing this wonderful coin with me, and for offering Mint Error News to release the story of its existence to the world as the first media outlet to report on this important discovery. The error community is better for it. We all need reminders that luck can happen to anyone, and in fact, often will to those who put in the time to search for new error coins.

indentIf you have questions about this or any other mint error coin, please contact us via email anytime: editor@minterrornews.com. Your email can be forwarded depending on what you put in the subject line (example: "Attn: Greg Bennick"). On behalf of the CONECA team who looked at and gave opinions on the coin, Chris Pilliod who gave further analysis, and Mike Byers for being enthusiastic about the find and offering space in Mint Error News to report on it... thank you!


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