"Godless" Coins Begin Circulating on eBay

Mis-struck Geo. Washington Dollar pieces prove popular with collectors and speculators

The U.S. Government's latest attempt to ween us off of paper money in favor of coins has met with the kind of start that might make every citizen cringe even as it is delighting numismatic types. An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust," and made it past inspectors and into circulation, the U.S. Mint said Wednesday.

Since the new coins made their official debut on February, 15, it is too soon to tell if they will be a hit with consumers. But with this mistake, these new coins are fast becoming favorites of coin collectors.

The mint struck 300 million of the coins, which are golden in color and slightly larger and thicker than a quarter. About half were made in Philadelphia and the rest in Denver. So far the mint has only received reports of error coins coming from Philadelphia, mint spokeswoman Becky Bailey told the Associate Press.

The Mint is unsure how many coins - most of which came from the Philadelphia mint - entered circulation. By some accounts as many as 50,000 of the "Godless" goofs are making the rounds. Many have found their way onto eBay. Some sold for over $600 at first, but the price has fallen to around $50 each.

That might not seem like a lot, but its a 50-1 appreciation in value - the kind of ROI even Warren Buffett would have to respect.

The Washington dollars are the first in a series of presidential coins slated to run until 2016. After Washington, the presidents to be honored on dollar coins this year will be John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

(Photo by the Associated Press)