One of the most common coins for coin noodlers or coin fossickers look through is the 1 dollar coin. To those who are new to the hobby of noodling it’s usual to ask those with more experience if something they’ve found that looks a bit odd is actually valuable. The inevitable next question is, ‘what is the most valuable 1 dollar coin you can find in change?’. In this article we’ll look at what we think are the three most valuable Australian $1 coins that you might have some chance of finding in change or while noodling.
Australia 2001 Upset 1 Dollar Coin
Rotated 2001 Federation Dollar Coin
Seen above is a year 2001 Federation of Australian Dollar coin with the obverse die rotated incorrectly to the reverse die. The most commonly found of the three valuable Australian 1 dollar coins we’re talking about today it is the result of a loose obverse die during one die pair production run. The degree of rotation (or upset) changed continuously during the production run and as a result coins with any angle of upset can be found.
Worth $20-$30 in average circulated grades some have sold for a few hundred dollars in brilliant uncirculated grades. You’re not going to find an uncirculated example in your change but $20-$30 for coin in your pocket is not worth sneezing at!
A Valuable Mule Dollar Found in Change
The Year 2000 $1 / 10c mule
Of the three dollar coins we’re looking at today the Year 2000 $1 / 10c mule is probably the best known and most desirable. Dedicated coin noodlers have been finding them since 2003 and at the time we wrote this article (November 2018) we are still hearing reports of mules being found every week or two. Mules found in change have been sold for more than $2000. However, these were fantastic quality coins found way back in 2003 or 2004 and those found today might be worth $300 or $400.
Circulation 1992 Mob of Roos One Dollar -we’ve made this one up, does it exist?
1992 Mob of Roos Dollar Coin
The most valuable Australian 1 dollar coin you can find in change is undoubtedly the 1992 Mob of Roos dollar coin. The Royal Australian Mint website lists the coin as having a mintage of 8000 but we doubt that to be true. We’re actually only aware of two (yes 2) evey being sighted. One sold at auction for more than $1000, and the other was accidentally spent on a cup of coffee. So, what is the the 1992 Mob of Roos dollar worth? Probably $2000+, or even more if two dogged decimal error collectors get into a fight over one at auction.
With values like that the 1992 Mob of Roos is clearly the most valuable Australian 1 dollar coin you can find in your change!
Important Note: Values are approximate only and current at time of writing of this article (November 2018). If you find one of these dollar coins in your change you can only ever know the true value when you sell it.
