Rare Cheerios Sacagawea Dollar Found in Circulation – Worth $2.5 Million

Twenty years ago, the U.S. Mint issued a new dollar coin that was unlike anything Americans had seen in almost 30 years. This gold-coloured dollar, instead of featuring the most common design of Susan B. Anthony, had Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their famous exploration journey.

In an effort to further popularize this new coin, the Mint joined forces with General Mills, the maker of Cheerio’s cereal, and tucked thousands of these fresh coins into cereal boxes as a marketing gimmick. What no one knew then was that a few of these coins were anything but ordinary.

But they held an unusual design feature that would render them among the rarest coins in United States history. Fast forward to today and one of these Cheerio’s dollars has been rediscovered in circulation, and experts estimated that it is now worth a jaw-dropping $2.5 million.

Rare Cheerio’s Sacagawea Dollar Found in Circulation

To understand the process of circulation, assume that you are plucking coins off of a store counter, or rummaging through a drawer of dusty loose change, when you learn that the one golden dollar in that heap might actually make you richer than an oligarch in a luxury mansion. That’s the sort of excitement the discovery of the Cheerio’s Sacagawea Dollar provides.

Its huge value comes from how it has been designed. The U.S. Mint had actually struck an extremely small quantity of Sacagawea dollars with the enhanced tail feathers on the eagle as a test for large scale production. About 5,500 were inserted in boxes of Cheerio’s, but only a minuscule number are thought to have survived.

It means they are extremely rare to find one in general circulation, where most of the collectors would have thrown it away as a dollar, is something that is just beyond comprehension.

The History of the Cheerio’s Dollar

When the Sacagawea Dollar debuted in the year 2000, the Mint wanted to ensure that people would actually see and use the coin. The Cheerio’s promotion was born then. The Sacagawea Dollars were inserted into certain boxes of Cheerios by General Mills, one of the nation’s largest producers of packaged food.

Families who bought cereal at the time may have unwittingly acquired one of these coins, many of which were spent or thrown into a piggy bank. What no one knew at the time was that the earliest production of these coins, before full production, had the reverse designed with a more detailed eagle with tail feathers. That design was altered for mass production, but already had been used in test strikes that ended up inside cereal boxes.

Why the Cheerios Dollar is Worth so Much

Upon first inspection, the Cheerios Dollar appears to be just a regular Sacagawea Dollar. Both are the same gold colour, both have an image of Sacagawea with her infant son Jean Baptiste on the obverse, and both have a soaring eagle on the reverse. The distinction is in the minute details of the eagle’s tail feathers. The Cheerios version exhibits neat, sharp lines and more detail than its standard-issue counterparts.

Since so few Cheerios Dollars were ever minted with the rare tail feathers, and fewer remain today in mint condition, the coins are holy grail pieces.

That rarity and historical significance is what explains the enormous price tag. Recent auction results have brought hundreds of thousands for these coins and the new discovery would be worth an amazing $2.5 million in that condition and with the history of having been spent, even more astonishing.

The Role of Coin Grading

When a rare coin is discovered, one of the steps in the process is having it graded by a professional. The coin grading company, such as PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) or NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company) will authenticate and asses the coin’s condition. Condition is big on value, for a Cheerios Dollar. A coin with scratches, wear or discoloration may still have value, but the riffle-through-your-pockets mint state coins are the ones that bring in the big bucks.

The newly discovered Cheerios Dollar was valued to be in fantastic condition and this is why it sold for $2.5 million. Coins in this high state of preservation are extremely rare, particularly because many of the 1964-D Peace Dollar pieces were paid out as everyday money twenty years ago.

The Impact on Coin Collecting

The Cheerios Sacagawea Dollar has been a dream coin for many collectors. Stories like these remind people that treasures are still hidden in everyday places. To the public, that’s extremely rare.

However, to coin collectors this is one of many examples that prove it takes more than a price guide to determine if a coin is a rarity. The Cheerios Dollar is a true piece of Americana. If you are seeking something new, like a bazillion copies of a specially packaged Lincoln cent, good luck.

Coin collectors frequently speak in terms of dream finds, and this coin fills those shoes perfectly. Its discovery has renewed interest in dollar coins and in looking through your everyday change for treasures. In some cases, however, it’s not simply about the money, but also about owning a piece of American history.

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