The 1853 N.M. gold dollar was minted at the Philadelphia Mint, but the mint mark was accidentally omitted from the dies. This error is believed to have occurred because the mint workers were rushing to produce new gold coins to meet the demand of the California Gold Rush.
Only a handful of 1853 N.M. gold dollars are known to exist today, and they are highly prized by coin collectors. The most recent auction record for an 1853 N.M. gold dollar was set in 2020, when a specimen graded PCGS MS62 sold for $288,000.
Other types of coins with errors in the mint field include:
- Doubled dies: These coins are struck with dies that have been accidentally doubled, resulting in a doubling of the design elements.
- Off-center strikes: These coins are struck off-center from the dies, resulting in a portion of the design being missing.
- Broadstrikes: These coins are struck with dies that are too wide, resulting in a coin that is wider than it should be.
- Mule coins: These coins are struck with dies that are from different coin types, resulting in a coin that has the design of one coin on one side and the design of another coin on the other side.