Question About 1959 Mules

Here's what PCGS says about the 1959 Mule:

In 1959, the U.S. Mint changed the reverse design of the Lincoln Cent from a wheat reverse to a new memorial reverse. As a result, all Lincoln cents dated 1959-2008 should have a memorial reverse design.

In 1986, a retired police officer named Leon Baller announced that he bought a 1959-D Lincoln Cent with a wheat reverse design. This type of coin is referred to as a "Mule," since all 1959 cents should have a memorial reverse design. Baller claims he purchased the coin for $1,500.

In 1987, Baller sent the coin to the United States Department of Treasury, and agent Richard M. McDrew responded with a letter (along with his coin) that stated, "Enclosed is your United States 1C coin, dated 1959-D, with a wheat reverse. This coin was microscopically examined by our Forensic Services Division in Washington, D.C. and it is our opinion the coin is genuine." What the letter did not mention was the agent who inspected the coin was actually a currency expert, not a coin expert.

In the following years, the coin was submitted to different grading companies including PCGS in the hope that one of them would label it as authentic. In all cases, the coin was returned without being graded or deemed authentic. Not to mention, it was even speculated that the coin was produced using a spark erosion process. This is a method used to make fake coins.


Years later, Baller sold the coin to Heritage Auctions for an undisclosed amount. Heritage then sold the coin to a collector who then resubmitted it to the Treasury Department in 2002. The Treasury once again returned the coin indicating that after several tests were conducted, they found no evidence that the coin was fake.

The coin then became available in a Goldberg's Auction in September of 2002; however, the coin was suddenly pulled from the auction as convicted forger Mark Hofmann claimed he produced this piece using the spark erosion process. Hofmann had read a column in Coin World discussing the Mule cent and sent a letter to his daughter from prison claiming he had produced the coin. The Secret Service later reported that they found no merit to Hofmann's claim. In February 2003, the coin was then reoffered in a Goldberg's Auction where it sold for $48,300.

In 2010, the coin reappeared at another Goldberg's Auction, where it sold for $31,050. The sale description indicated, "This property is not guaranteed to be authentic, and is marketable as it is, cannot be returned."

So, is the coin real or fake? No one really knows for sure. However, it is curious that after 50 years, only one coin is known to exist. The odds of only one coin being discovered after all this time makes it very difficult to imagine, since a coin press operates so fast and usually strikes more than just one coin. If you ask any coin expert who really understands the coin minting process, most will agree that the coin is not an authentic mint-made coin. One thing is for certain, the 1959-D Mule cent is definitely one of the most controversial coins in numismatics.

Hoffman fooled a lot of people with his counterfeiting and forgery skills. Some of the stuff he came up with in his basement was almost unbelievable. He actually forged a copy of "Oath of a Freeman" that almost fooled a lot of people. He got in way over his head and couldn't get out and ended up killing several people to try and throw the police off his trail. That was his eventual downfall and the end of his forgery days. He darn near blew himself up, too! He is still in jail and should eventually die there.

I have no doubt that he was behind the muled 1959 cent.

Thanks Yokozuna for adding that image and Nfine & Westernsky for the background info.
I've been so glossy-eyed about this "mule" over the years that I never look at it objectively.

There are some things that don't look correct.

1) no mint luster at all.
2)Roller lines around LIBERTY on the obverse go SW to NE.
3)Roller lines on the reverse should go SE to NW but they are the same as the obv. (SW to NE)
4)The rims really look thin and don't appear to be uniform on either the obv or rev. The width of the rims seem thinner at K3 & k9.
5)The "L" of LIBERTY seems to be touching the rim. A single coin struck with new dies should have clear separation like the images at PCGS for 1959.
https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin...d-1c-rd/2857
6)An EDS coin should have clear separation on the bowtie and jacket.
7)Etc.

I'm guessing an overlay would probably show design discrepancies. The eye area as well as the chin look off to me.

great writeup, nfine!

That's a cut and paste from the PCGS site. They did a great job consolidating a lot of the information I was finding for this item.