PCGS GRADES CHEERIOS SACAGAWEA DOLLAR

Recently, a PCGS Collectors Club member from Seattle submitted a 2000 Lincoln Cent and Sacagawea Dollar to PCGS for grading with the ’Cheerios’ designation. The coins arrived still sealed inside the Cheerios packaging and therefore qualified for the designation. The Sacagawea Dollar received a grade of PCGS MS68 and the Lincoln Cent received a grade of PCGS MS67 Red. Since these coins rarely come through our facility, it is always a treat to handle a complete unopened Cheerios two-coin set. We were curious to know more about the submitter and how he obtained the coins, so we reached out to Paul from Seattle and he was delighted to share the story.

JH – Hi Paul, how did you obtain the 2000 Cheerios Dollar and Cent? Did you find it or buy it?

Paul – It came out of my cereal box back in 1999-2000. I set it aside just thinking that something in its original packaging would have more value than if it was opened.

I set the packaging aside in my desk and didn’t think about it for 15 years. A few years ago, I found it in my desk and decided to look it up on-line to see if it had any value. I was quite surprised to see that it was very likely a very rare coin because of the "enhanced tail feathers" and could potentially be very valuable. I finally decided to submit it for grading because I knew it would have more value both being authenticated and graded.

JH – Do you collect other coin series or only Sacagawea Dollars?

Paul – The easy answer is no. The better answer is that I am a collector of basketball and baseball cards and have used your sister company PSA quite often to get cards graded. As part of my collection I have quite a few unopened packs dating back to the 1950’s. In the card world unopened material commands a premium. This is the primary reason I decided to not open the Cheerios package that contained the Sacagawea dollar and the cent. I finally decided that the coin needed to be graded so I chose PCGS. As an aside, I appreciate PCGS sending back the original packaging for the coins!

JH – What was your reaction when you found out you had a valuable coin?

Paul – The entire family was quite excited too, that the coin we had set aside for 18 years turned out to be both valuable and rare.

JH – Do you still buy cheerios?

Paul – Of course, we still buy cheerios!

JH – What are your plans with the coin?

Paul – We haven’t decided but it is possible that we will put it up for auction along with the cent.

Currently, the PCGS Price Guide Value for a Sacagawea ’Cheerios’ Dollar in MS68 is $9,250 with a population of just 42 and none graded higher. What coins have you been storing that could be worth a PCGS expert opinion?

To read the complete article, see:
PCGS Grades Cheerios Sacagawea Dollar (https://www.pcgs.com/news/a-box-of-cheerios-worth-over-$9%2C000)

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