Sacagawea and Presidential Dollar Values: The Honest Answer
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Short on time? The essentials
- The Sacagawea dollar was struck for circulation from 2000 to 2001, then again from 2009 to 2011 under the Native American design series that continues to the present in collector-only issues.
- The Presidential dollar was struck for circulation from 2007 to 2011 and continued in collector-only annual issues through 2016, with an added 2020 George H. W. Bush issue.
- Both series share the same physical coin. The cladding is 77 percent copper, 12 percent zinc, 7 percent manganese, and 4 percent nickel. The overall coin is 88.5 percent copper, 6 percent zinc, 3.5 percent manganese, and 2 percent nickel by weight.
- Neither coin contains any silver or gold. Each weighs 8.100 grams and measures 26.49 millimeters across.
- By 2011 the Federal Reserve was holding roughly 1.4 billion unwanted dollar coins from these programs. Circulation striking for both series ended that year.
- The recognized premium pieces are the 2000 Cheerios Sacagawea dollar with the enhanced tail-feather reverse, the 2007 Washington plain-edge error known as the godless dollar, and a small group of accidental mule errors and misalignment errors on both series.
- Everything else in the two series is generally worth exactly one dollar in circulated grades. Uncirculated collector-only issues can be worth a modest premium over face if the original mint packaging is intact.
- A quick edge check, a date check, and a reverse check are enough to tell within a minute whether a coin belongs to the small premium group or to the very large face-value group.
On this page
- The honest answer up front
- The two series in one coin
- What the golden dollar is actually made of
- Verified physical specifications
- The metal floor is well below face value
- How to check any dollar coin in one minute
- The 2000 Cheerios Sacagawea dollar
- The 2007 Washington godless dollar and other missing-edge errors
- Mule errors: state quarter obverse on a dollar planchet
- The collector-only issues 2002 to 2008 and 2012 to 2016
- What actually drives a premium above face
- Counterfeits and altered pieces to watch for
- When third-party grading is worth the fee
- What your golden dollar is probably not
- Sacagawea and Presidential dollar FAQ
The honest answer up front
If you found one or several of these gold-colored dollar coins in a drawer, a coin jar, or a roll from the bank, the honest answer is that they are almost certainly worth exactly one dollar. This is not a hedged response. It is the straightforward result of how the coins were made, distributed, and stockpiled.
The Federal Reserve holds vast quantities of these coins in vaults. Congress ended circulation striking for both programs in December 2011, after Treasury reported that roughly 1.4 billion unwanted golden dollars were sitting in reserve. The public simply did not use them at scale.
A small group of documented varieties and errors does carry a real premium. Those are covered in the sections below. Every other coin in the two series is worth face value in worn condition and a modest premium at best when uncirculated in original mint packaging.
The two series in one coin
Two separate coin programs share the same physical blank, edge treatment, and metal composition. Both use a golden-colored manganese-brass surface designed to distinguish them from the quarter without adding actual gold. The obverse and reverse designs differ, but the coin under the design is identical.
The Sacagawea dollar was authorized by the United States Dollar Coin Act of 1997 and began circulating in January 2000. The obverse by Glenna Goodacre shows Sacagawea carrying her infant son Jean Baptiste. The reverse by Thomas D. Rogers Sr. showed a soaring eagle from 2000 through 2008.
The Native American Dollar Act of 2007 changed the reverse. Beginning in 2009, the coin has carried a rotating annual reverse honoring the contributions of Native Americans in the settlement of North America. The obverse portrait of Sacagawea remains the same. The series continues in collector-only issues after circulation striking ended in 2011.
The Presidential dollar was authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. Beginning in 2007, four presidents per year were honored on the obverse in the order they served, at a rate of one design per quarter. The reverse by Don Everhart shows the Statue of Liberty.
Circulation striking for the Presidential program ended after 2011 by Treasury directive. Collector-only issues continued through 2016 to complete the sequence for presidents eligible under the act. A supplementary George H. W. Bush issue was struck in 2020 following his death in 2018.
What the golden dollar is actually made of
The golden color is the single most common source of confusion. The coin looks like a gold piece but it contains no gold. The composition was chosen to make the coin visually distinct from the quarter and to help vending machines recognize it electronically. The alloy is manganese-brass over a pure copper core.
The outer cladding is 77 percent copper, 12 percent zinc, 7 percent manganese, and 4 percent nickel. The core is pure copper. Averaged across the whole coin the composition is 88.5 percent copper, 6 percent zinc, 3.5 percent manganese, and 2 percent nickel by weight.
The same recipe is used for both the Sacagawea and the Presidential programs, and for the collector-only annual issues after circulation striking ended. This is why edge lettering was introduced in 2009 for both series: it was the simplest way to distinguish the different programs and issue years without changing the metal.
Verified physical specifications
The table below lists the measured specifications common to both series. Any golden dollar sold as genuine that fails these numbers is a novelty piece, a damaged planchet, a counterfeit, or a coin from a different series.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Mass | 8.100 grams (about 0.26 troy ounces) |
| Diameter | 26.49 millimeters (1.043 inches) |
| Thickness | 2.00 millimeters (0.079 inches) |
| Cladding composition | 77 percent copper, 12 percent zinc, 7 percent manganese, 4 percent nickel |
| Core composition | 100 percent copper |
| Overall composition | 88.5 percent copper, 6 percent zinc, 3.5 percent manganese, 2 percent nickel |
| Silver content | None |
| Gold content | None |
| Sacagawea edge, 2000 to 2008 | Plain (smooth) |
| Sacagawea and Native American edge, 2009 to present | Lettered with year, mint mark, and E PLURIBUS UNUM |
| Presidential edge, 2007 to 2008 | Lettered with year, mint mark, 13 stars, IN GOD WE TRUST, and E PLURIBUS UNUM |
| Presidential edge, 2009 to 2016 | Same as above except IN GOD WE TRUST moved to the obverse and removed from the edge |
| Mint marks | P (Philadelphia), D (Denver), S (San Francisco, proofs and certain collector issues), W (West Point, special issues only) |
Sources: Wikipedia Sacagawea dollar and Presidential dollar coins articles, drawing on the United States Mint program pages. Checked August 2026.
The metal floor is well below face value
Unlike a 90 percent silver Morgan dollar or a 40 percent silver Kennedy half, the golden dollar has almost no raw metal value. The coin is dominated by copper, and the total metal in a single coin is small enough that it sits well below the face value at any realistic scrap price.
How to check any dollar coin in one minute
The sorting process below moves from the fastest checks to the slower ones. It separates the small premium group from the very large face-value group without any special equipment beyond a magnifying glass.
- Read the design first. A woman carrying a baby is a Sacagawea or Native American dollar. A male portrait with a president's name is a Presidential dollar. Anything else in gold color is either a novelty piece, a foreign coin, or a different U.S. series such as the American Innovation dollar.
- Check the date and mint mark. Sacagawea dollars carry P, D, S, or W on the obverse below Sacagawea's neck through 2008. Beginning in 2009 the date and mint mark moved to the edge lettering. Presidential dollars have the date and mint mark on the edge throughout the series.
- Look at the edge. A plain smooth edge on any 2007 or later Presidential dollar is potentially the missing-edge-lettering error. A plain smooth edge on any Sacagawea or Native American dollar dated 2009 or later is also potentially an error. Both edges should carry lettering.
- Check for reverse design mismatch. A coin bearing the George Washington obverse of a state quarter combined with the Sacagawea eagle reverse is the mule error. A coin whose obverse and reverse do not match the same program is worth close inspection.
- Weigh the coin if a scale is available. Genuine golden dollars weigh 8.100 grams. A significantly heavier or lighter piece may be a novelty souvenir, a damaged coin, or a counterfeit. Diameter should measure 26.49 millimeters.
The 2000 Cheerios Sacagawea dollar
In early 2000 the United States Mint partnered with General Mills to promote the new dollar coin. Ten million boxes of Cheerios cereal were prepared with an insert: every box contained a newly minted Lincoln cent, and one box in every 2,000 held a Sacagawea dollar. One box in every 4,400 held a certificate redeemable for 100 more Sacagawea dollars.
Roughly 5,500 Sacagawea dollars went into cereal boxes through this promotion. Analysis in the years that followed established that the dollars distributed through Cheerios were struck early in the production run, from dies with a slightly different eagle reverse. Collectors call this the enhanced tail-feather reverse or the reverse of 1999.
The tail feathers on the Cheerios reverse are more sharply defined than on the later production reverse. On a certified example, the difference is visible under magnification. The premium comes from the combination of a documented promotional origin, the different die, and the low surviving population. Not every coin from a cereal box is the rare variety, since some received the normal circulation reverse.
A Cheerios dollar sold as such should be certified by an established third-party grading service, with the variety noted on the label. An uncertified coin claimed to be a Cheerios dollar is almost always sold on the basis of hope rather than attribution.
The 2007 Washington godless dollar and other missing-edge errors
The Presidential dollar carries its date, mint mark, and mottos on the edge rather than on the faces of the coin. Early in 2007 the Denver and Philadelphia mints produced an unknown quantity of George Washington dollars that skipped the edge-lettering step at the end of the striking process. These coins came out with a plain, smooth edge and no year, mint mark, or motto around the rim.
Because the missing edge inscription includes the national motto, some collectors and press outlets began calling the error the godless dollar. The nickname stuck. John Adams plain-edge dollars from the same year were also identified. Documented John Adams pieces are fewer in number than George Washington pieces, which makes them the scarcer of the two.
The honest premium reality is more modest than the initial dealer-driven excitement suggested. Certified Washington plain-edge dollars in mid to high mint-state grades trade for a real premium above face value, but nowhere near the four-figure prices that early news coverage implied. Certified John Adams plain-edge coins carry a higher premium than Washington plain-edge coins because they are scarcer.
Two cautions apply. Some later Presidential dollars from other presidents have been reported with edge-lettering errors as well, though in smaller and less documented quantities. And plain-edge pieces have been faked by filing the edge lettering off a normal coin. A certified example from an independent grading service is the only reliable way to buy or sell a genuine missing-edge error.
Mule errors: state quarter obverse on a dollar planchet
Shortly after the Sacagawea dollar entered circulation in May 2000, a small number of coins were discovered bearing the George Washington obverse of a State Quarter combined with the Sacagawea eagle reverse. These are genuine Mint errors in which a State Quarter obverse die was mounted opposite a Sacagawea reverse die and used to strike golden dollar planchets.
The Sacagawea and Washington quarter dies were the same diameter, which allowed the mistake to happen mechanically. The result is one of the most famous accidental mule errors ever produced by the United States Mint. Certified examples exist and have been documented by both major third-party grading services and reported at length in the numismatic press.
The known population is small. Individual certified examples have traded in the five and six-figure range at major auctions when high-grade coins come to market. This is one of the few golden dollar categories where the price justifies the grading fee and the buyer diligence needed to authenticate the piece.
Because the value is so high, the mule is also one of the more attractive targets for alteration or outright counterfeiting. A raw uncertified coin claimed to be a mule should be treated as suspect until an independent grading service has confirmed the attribution and encapsulated the coin.
The collector-only issues 2002 to 2008 and 2012 to 2016
The United States Mint continued to strike Sacagawea dollars for annual proof sets and uncirculated mint sets even during the years when no circulation striking occurred. The same is true of the Native American reverse issues struck for collectors after 2011, and the Presidential dollars struck for collectors after 2011 through 2016.
These collector-only pieces are common in absolute terms but scarcer than the circulation issues from 2000, 2001, and 2007 through 2011. In original mint packaging they trade at a small premium over face for the base issues and at larger premiums for special finishes such as the Enhanced Uncirculated pieces sold in Coin and Currency Sets.
A Sacagawea or Native American dollar removed from a mint set and dropped into a coin jar loses most of its collector premium. An intact set in its original government packaging, with the certificate of authenticity, is the form that supports a real price above face.
What actually drives a premium above face
A short list of factors explains almost every meaningful premium in these two series. The list below reflects what independent grading services and specialist dealers actually price.
Known error attribution is the largest lever. A certified Cheerios dollar with the enhanced tail-feather reverse, a certified 2007 Washington or John Adams plain-edge dollar, and any certified Sacagawea and Washington quarter mule are the pieces with a documented premium market. Nothing else in either series comes close.
Grade matters within a narrow band. A common Sacagawea or Presidential dollar in worn circulated condition is worth one dollar. The same coin certified in a top mint-state grade with a high numeric score can trade for a small collector premium above face. The premium is much smaller than for older silver series because the surviving high-grade population is very large.
Original mint packaging supports the collector-only issues. An intact annual proof set, an original mint set, or a specialty Coin and Currency Set with an Enhanced Uncirculated coin is the form buyers pay a premium for. Loose collector coins outside their packaging drop back toward face value quickly.
Special finishes such as Enhanced Uncirculated and Reverse Proof carry small premiums for certain years, again in original packaging. The premiums are modest compared with those seen on older commemorative silver coinage.
Counterfeits and altered pieces to watch for
Counterfeiting of Sacagawea and Presidential dollars for pure face-value use is uncommon. The reason is simple: the coin is worth one dollar. It is not worth the effort to fake a common circulation piece.
The altered and faked pieces that do appear are aimed at collectors. Plain-edge Presidential dollars produced by filing the lettering off a normal coin are the most common form. A filed edge shows tool marks and inconsistent metal color at magnification, and the edge diameter is usually slightly reduced. A certified holder from an established grading service is the only reliable filter.
Novelty pieces that plate a regular coin with gold, or that reproduce a Presidential dollar as a commemorative medal outside the U.S. Mint, occasionally appear in estate lots. These pieces are worth face value or less as coins, since a plated Presidential dollar is still a Presidential dollar under the plating.
When third-party grading is worth the fee
Grading has a fee that ranges from about twenty dollars to several hundred dollars per coin, depending on the service, the tier, and the coin's declared value. For a common circulated Sacagawea or Presidential dollar, the fee is many times the coin's total value. Grading such a coin is not economically rational.
Grading is standard practice for a suspected Cheerios dollar with the enhanced tail-feather reverse, a suspected 2007 Washington or John Adams plain-edge error, a suspected mule, or any Enhanced Uncirculated special-finish piece the owner plans to consign. The certification decides the market and separates a real error from a filed or altered piece.
For a common annual mint set or proof set piece, grading is only worth the fee if the coin is aiming for a top mint-state or proof grade that lands in a scarce population. Absent that, the coin trades at more or less the same price certified or raw, and the fee is a loss.
What your golden dollar is probably not
Most golden dollars that reach a dealer counter or an estate box are not what the owner is hoping for. The patterns below cover the great majority of coins in the two series.
A gold coin. The color is a copper-zinc-manganese-nickel alloy chosen for its appearance. There is no gold in the coin, and no version of either series was ever struck in gold for circulation. Gold trial pieces from 1999 exist as museum items outside the ordinary market.
A silver dollar. Neither series contains any silver. If you were expecting a piece worth real money by weight, look at older 90 percent silver dollars. Morgan and Peace dollars fit that description, along with the 40 percent silver Eisenhower dollars sold in San Francisco Mint collector sets from 1971 through 1976.
A rare early Sacagawea worth thousands. The 2000 Sacagawea dollar was struck in massive numbers. A 2000-P or 2000-D dollar from a coin jar is worth one dollar unless it is the specific Cheerios variety with the enhanced tail-feather reverse and it has been certified as such.
A rare Presidential dollar because a president is on it. Each of the 39 different Presidential dollar issues struck through 2016 exists in tens of millions of coins from Philadelphia and Denver. The design does not create rarity. Only the plain-edge error and a handful of documented minor errors carry a premium.
A godless dollar because you cannot see the motto on the face. The Presidential dollar as designed carries the national motto on the edge from 2007 through 2008, then on the obverse from 2009 forward. The absence of the motto from the face of a 2007 or 2008 coin is by design and does not indicate an error. Only a genuinely plain, unlettered edge is the actual error.
A rare error because the edge lettering runs upside down. The edge is applied in a separate step. Depending on which way the coin was oriented when the edge lettering was applied, the text can read right-side up or upside down relative to the obverse. Both orientations exist in roughly equal numbers and neither is a premium error.
Sacagawea and Presidential dollar FAQ
How much is a Sacagawea dollar worth?
Almost every Sacagawea dollar found in change, a coin jar, or a bank roll is worth exactly one dollar. The coin is manganese-brass clad, contains no silver or gold, and was struck in numbers large enough that the Federal Reserve still holds roughly 1.4 billion unwanted golden dollars from the two programs combined. The recognized premium piece is the 2000 Cheerios dollar with the enhanced tail-feather reverse, which requires third-party certification to sell for the documented premium.
Is there any gold in a Sacagawea or Presidential dollar?
No. The golden color comes from a manganese-brass outer cladding of 77 percent copper, 12 percent zinc, 7 percent manganese, and 4 percent nickel. The core is pure copper. There is no gold or silver in either series. The coin was designed to look golden so vending machines could distinguish it from the quarter without adding a precious metal.
Are Presidential dollars worth more than face value?
Most are not. Each of the 39 issues through 2016 was struck in tens of millions of coins from Philadelphia and Denver. A worn Presidential dollar from any date is worth one dollar. Uncirculated pieces from annual mint sets carry a small premium in the original packaging. The one documented error group is the 2007 plain-edge missing-edge-lettering coins, sometimes called godless dollars, which carry a real premium only when certified by an established grading service.
What is the Cheerios Sacagawea dollar?
In early 2000 the United States Mint partnered with General Mills to place a newly minted Lincoln cent in every box of Cheerios and a Sacagawea dollar in one box in every 2,000. Roughly 5,500 dollars were distributed through the promotion. Analysis established that these dollars were struck from early dies with a distinctive enhanced tail-feather reverse. Certified examples of that variety carry a premium; a coin from a cereal box without the enhanced tail-feather reverse is worth one dollar.
What is the godless dollar?
The godless dollar is a nickname for 2007 George Washington Presidential dollars struck without any edge lettering. Because the missing text included the national motto, collectors and press outlets called the error the godless dollar. John Adams plain-edge dollars from 2007 also exist and are scarcer than Washington plain-edge coins.
Certified examples trade at real premiums above face value, though far below the four-figure prices some early promoters suggested. Filed and altered pieces are common, so certification is essential.
How can I tell a real plain-edge Presidential dollar from a filed one?
A genuine plain-edge Presidential dollar has a smooth uniform edge with the same slightly rounded profile as any golden dollar and the correct 26.49 millimeter diameter. A filed edge shows tool marks under magnification, uneven metal color where the underlying copper core is exposed, and a slightly reduced diameter. Because the value gap between a genuine error and a filed coin is large, an established third-party grading service is the only reliable way to authenticate the piece.
What is the Sacagawea and Washington quarter mule?
In May 2000 a small number of golden dollar planchets were struck with the George Washington obverse die from a state quarter opposite the Sacagawea eagle reverse die. The two die types shared the same diameter, which allowed the pairing to happen mechanically. The coins are legitimate Mint errors. Certified examples have traded at major auctions in the five and six-figure range. Uncertified pieces claimed as mules should be treated as suspect until a grading service confirms the attribution.
Why did the Mint stop making these coins for circulation?
Both programs ended circulation striking after 2011 because the coins were not being used. Treasury reported that roughly 1.4 billion unwanted golden dollars were sitting in Federal Reserve vaults, some in warehouse stacks that had never been shipped to a bank. Continuing to strike coins for storage would have added cost without benefit. The Mint has continued producing both series for annual collector sets since 2012.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Sacagawea dollar. Composition figures for the manganese-brass clad coin (outer cladding 77 percent copper, 12 percent zinc, 7 percent manganese, 4 percent nickel; core 100 percent copper; overall 88.5 percent copper, 6 percent zinc, 3.5 percent manganese, 2 percent nickel). Mass 8.100 grams, diameter 26.49 millimeters, thickness 2.00 millimeters. Edge treatment (plain 2000 to 2008, lettered 2009 to present). Circulation years 2000 to 2001 and 2009 to 2011. Cheerios promotion of ten million cereal boxes with one dollar in every 2,000 boxes; approximately 5,500 dollars distributed. Enhanced tail-feather reverse identified as the Cheerios variety. Sacagawea-Washington-quarter mule error documented. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea_dollar. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Presidential dollar coins. Circulation years 2007 to 2011, collector-only 2012 to 2016 and 2020. Same composition, mass, diameter, and thickness as the Sacagawea dollar. Edge inscription includes year, mint mark, 13 stars, E PLURIBUS UNUM (2007 to 2008 also IN GOD WE TRUST; moved to obverse from 2009). Missing-edge-lettering error on 2007 George Washington coins nicknamed the godless dollar; plain-edge John Adams coins fewer in quantity. Stockpile of roughly 1.4 billion unwanted dollar coins reported by 2011. Suspension of circulation production by Treasury directive at the end of 2011. Reverse designed by Don Everhart depicting the Statue of Liberty. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_$1_Coin_Program. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Native American $1 Coin Program. Establishes that the Native American Dollar Act of 2007 changed the reverse of the Sacagawea dollar to a rotating annual design honoring Native American contributions beginning in 2009. Provides the legislative history and design list. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_$1_Coin_Program. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, 2000 Sacagawea dollar Washington quarter mule. Full documentation of the accidental mule error in which State Quarter obverse dies were paired with Sacagawea reverse dies at the Philadelphia Mint in early 2000. Small known population, standard third-party grading practice, and auction record range. Wikipedia article: 2000 Sacagawea dollar Washington quarter mule. Checked August 2026.
- United States Mint, Native American $1 Coin Program. Official program page listing annual reverse designs and confirming continuation of the series in collector-only issues after 2011. usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/native-american-1-coin-program. Checked August 2026.
- United States Mint, Presidential $1 Coin Program. Official program page listing the presidents honored in the series, the circulation and collector production windows, and the design intent. usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/presidential-1-coin-program. Checked August 2026.
- United States Mint, Dollar Coin reference page. Historical and design context for the United States dollar coin series including the golden dollar programs. usmint.gov/learn/history-and-artistry/dollar-coin. Checked August 2026.