On Monday, June 20, 2005, NGC certified a pattern 2000-P Sacagawea Dollar struck from dies made with experimental hubs. While similar to the final design, the reverse's eagle device shows considerably greater detail than that seen on circulation and proof issues struck from the adopted dies and is very easy to identify. The story of this coin is emerging as one of the most fascinating numismatic discoveries to come to light in some time. This coin can be distinguished from virtually every other pattern coin of the 20th century in an important way—a relatively large number of 5,500 were produced and then dispersed through non-numismatic channels
The tale begins with a marketing campaign that sought to promote the re-issuance and redesign of the dollar coin. The U.S. Mint undertook a mass-market media blitz. They popularly dubbed the coin the "golden dollar" and partnered with many companies to raise awareness of the new coin. Although primarily a millennium celebration, one such promotion was conducted with General Mills. A single example of the first 10,000,000 Lincoln cents struck bearing the date 2000 was included inside every marked box of Cheerios that year. One in every 2000 boxes included a cent coin and a Sacagawea Dollar. According to a General Mills promotional release, "during the month of January, the only place to get either coin [was] in a box of Cheerios." We know this is true statement regarding the Sacagawea Dollar, as it was not released to Federal Reserve Banks until January 26, 2000, and Wal-Mart (another company participating in promotional distribution) did not release them until January 30, 2000.
To have coins delivered to General Mills in time for their promotion, the Mint struck 5,500 coins in late summer or early fall of 1999. Full-scale production of the finalized Sacagawea Dollar began over a month later on November 18, 1999. During the intervening time tests of the design were still ongoing at the Mint. NGC has confirmed with Mint officials that a total of 16 design variations were sculpted during this process. A design variation other than the final 16th edition was used to strike the first delivery of these coins, the "Cheerios" coins. It is believed that, when full scale production was being considered, a design flaw was discovered prompting the Mint to reduce detail for mass production of dies.
The discovery coin was submitted to NGC at the Long Beach Coin Show in February 2005 by collector Pat Braddick. In discussion with Mike Wallace, who operates a Web site devoted to the Sacagawea Dollar, www.smalldollars.com, Braddick learned that he might have something special. Dave Lange, NGC Director of Research, was on hand to examine the coin. Lange immediately hypothesized that the coin had been struck from prototype dies and more closely resembled the plasticine models sculpted by Mint Engraver Tom Rogers. Lange had viewed these models at the Philadelphia Mint in March, 2000 in the presence of Rogers, who told him that alterations had been made to the design before mass production began.
When the coin arrived at NGC, resident expert in Mint production, Dave Camire, began an extensive research process to uncover the source of this coin's unusual attributes. He was aided in his research by Tom DeLorey, a coin dealer with Harlan J. Berk. Ltd. DeLorey first identified and reported feather variations on the Sacagawea Dollar's reverse in January, 2000. Subsequent research by NGC and DeLorey revealed that this same reverse was used by the West Point Mint to strike 39 Sacagawea Dollars in 22 karat gold in June, 1999. Just 12 of these gold 2000-W dollars are still extant, and are housed at Fort Knox. They have been given the reference number J-2190 for inclusion in the most recent edition of the standard pattern reference by J. Hewitt Judd and edited by Q. David Bowers, United States Pattern, Experimental & Trial Pieces. DeLorey also submitted a second 2000-P Sacagawea Dollar in April of this year, this one still in its original Cheerios holder. The complete history, as related above, was at long last finally pieced together.
The pattern Sacagawea Dollar is easy to distinguish from a circulation issue upon examining its reverse. The eagle's wings and tail show intricate feather detail, including raised central feather shafts and numerous veins. These details are absent on the adopted design on which the central tail feather shows an incuse shaft.
NGC has designated these coins as patterns because of a broad confluence of information surrounding their production. They were produced for testing purposes and inadvertently, in a small release, were distributed for a specialized promotion, not for general circulation. They were minted prior to mass circulation production. The dies employed had not completed their final testing phase, and modifications were made to accommodate the circulation production process. The only other known use of this reverse die was on the pattern gold 2000-W Sacagawea Dollar.
This is unquestionably one of the most intriguing new finds in the annals of modern coinage. The fact that they are just now being recognized, five years after their release, is surprising to many experts. A mad rush to locate other specimens is already underway. With 5,500 examples widely dispersed, who knows where they will turn up? Let the treasure hunt begin!
Autographed Sacagawea $1 Presentation Piece ICG Certified 2050 of #5000
This Unique Piece is Actually Autotgraphed by both Sculptor Glenna Goodacre (Obverse Designer) and Thomas D. Rogers, Sr (Reverse Designer) - Additional Bonus Item Includes an additional Autograph of Model Randy'L He-dow Teton!
Glenna Goodacre is one of America's most renowned and respected sculptors. She became world famous for her 1993 sculptures for the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project that are on display at the mall in Washington, D. C. Her fame has grown tenfold since 2000, though, when her design of the Sacagawea dollar went into circulation.
In payment Ms. Goodacre received $5,000, which she took in (what else?) Sacagawea dollars. Each coin was made into a presentation piece through a special post-striking burnishing that was done at the Mint. Ms. Goodacre then sold some of the coins at the ANA convention and an active after-market developed almost immediately. Scarsdale Coin developed an exciting relationship with Mrs. Goodacre when she appeared at the H.E. Harris and Company booth at the ANA convention in Philadelphia. She was available for autographs and discussed designing the Sacagawea Dollar with coin collectors who lined up by the hundreds to meet her.
James Taylor, ICG’s Vice-President of Marketing, added, “For the US Mint to release specially processed coins, with a limited run of 5,000 pieces, is truly remarkable. With millions of proof sets and hundreds of millions of other coins being produced, these Goodacre Sacagaweas are a modern rarity.”
A mild controversy is swirling around the grading of the coins, with some detractors arguing that PCGS is certifying "whizzed" coins. "Whizzed" is a numismatic term from the 1960s (or earlier) referring to coins that have been abrasively cleaned to alter their appearance. The important differences between whizzing, which was done by unscrupulous individuals outside the Mint in an attempt to fool and rip off collectors, and the Goodacre dollars' burnishing, are twofold. One is intent, and the differences are the antithesis of each other. The second is the source, as the Goodacre dollars were Mint made as a way to designate the coins as different and to honor the designer.
"They are Mint products exactly the way they left the Mint," said PCGS president Richard S. Montgomery. "They are also important numismatic items and significant historical artifacts. There is no valid reason why they should not be graded."
Thomas D. Rogers, Sr.,Sculptor/Engraver United States Mint
Thomas D. Rogers, Sr., designed the original selected reverse design (background) which was modified slightly into the final design for minting (foreground).
The designer of the Golden Dollar's reverse, Thomas D. Rogers, Sr., joined the U.S. Mint in 1991. Holding an A.A.S. degree with a major in commercial art, Rogers has enjoyed a career engraving medallions that spans over two decades. In fact, more than ninety of his portraits of inductees hang in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.
During his time with the Mint, the U.S. Navy veteran has designed and sculpted the following works:
Commemorative Coins
Columbus Gold Five Dollar (reverse)
WWII Silver Dollar - (obverse & reverse)
Vietnam Veterans Silver Dollar (reverse)
Special Olympics Silver Dollar (reverse)
National Community Service Silver Dollar (obverse)
Robert F. Kennedy Silver Dollar (obverse)
American Eagle Platinum Bullion Coin (reverse)
Medals
Bicentennial of U.S. Mint (reverse)
Persian Gulf (obverse)
Ben Franklin/Firefighters (obverse)
David Ryder, Mint Director (obverse)
Lloyd Bentsen, Secretary of the Treasury (obverse & reverse)
President Clinton, First Term (obverse)
Nelson Mandela (reverse)
In addition to the above ambitious projects, Rogers has won several national competitions, including the American Numismatic Association's 100th anniversary medal competition. A member for nine years, Rogers frequently presents at American Numismatic Association annual conventions. He and his wife Margaret have two sons.
Randy'L He-dow Teton
Randy'L He-dow Teton is the model whose likeness appears as Sacagawea on the golden dollar. At the time she modeled for designer Glenna Goodacre in 1998, Ms. Teton was a 22 year old college student at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Teton was chosen to model when Ms. Goodacre approached the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum (IAIA), in Santa Fe, New Mexico asking if they knew of any Shoshone Indian girls who might be interested in modeling for the new dollar coin. It just so happened that Randy'L's mother, Bonnie Wadsworth, worked in the admissions office. She quickly volunteered her daughter, and as they say, "the rest is history." Ms. Teton was raised in Lincoln Creek, Idaho on Fort Hall Reservation, home of the Shoshone-Bannock Nation.
