2000-P "Cheerios" Sacagawea Dollar

What it is

Before the golden dollar launched, 5,500 2000-P coins were packed in boxes of Cheerios cereal. Years later collectors noticed that these early coins have a different reverse with more detailed tail feathers on the eagle.

How to identify it

1. The eagle's tail feathers show raised central veins.
2. Regular 2000-P dollars have plain, smooth tail feathers.
3. Philadelphia: P mint mark below the date.

A 5x to 10x loupe and good, angled light make the details much easier to see. For anything that looks genuine, a digital scale and a certified comparison coin help.

What gets mistaken for it

Strike quality varies, so compare tail feathers carefully against a regular coin.

The regular 2000-P coin

The variety appears on the 2000-P Sacagawea Dollar, which had a total mintage of 767,150,500. That figure counts the whole issue, so it does not tell you how many coins show the variety.

The Cheerios promotion

To introduce the new golden dollar in 2000, the Mint partnered with General Mills. Boxes of Cheerios cereal carried a 2000 Lincoln cent. A small number of boxes also held a Sacagawea dollar, 5,500 in total. The promotion ran early in 2000, before the new dollars were widely available to the public.

Most of the coins in the boxes were early strikes made before regular production, though at least one sealed package has held a coin with the regular reverse. They used a reverse with more detail in the eagle's tail feathers than the version later adopted, which is why collectors call it a prototype reverse.

How the difference was found

For years nobody noticed anything special about the coins. In the mid 2000s collectors comparing early golden dollars found that the Cheerios coins had a different reverse. Later study showed that they were struck with a reverse hub that was not used for the regular circulation coins.

The discovery turned a cereal box giveaway into one of the most important modern dollar varieties.

The Sacagawea dollar design

Glenna Goodacre designed the obverse, showing Sacagawea carrying her infant son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Thomas D. Rogers Sr. designed the soaring eagle reverse. The coin is made of manganese brass bonded to a copper core, which gives it its golden color. It weighs 8.1 grams.

The golden dollar replaced the Susan B. Anthony dollar and was meant to be easier to tell apart from the quarter, with a smooth edge and a different color.

A step-by-step check

Use a 10x loupe and an overhead light. Look closely at the eagle's tail feathers and compare them with a regular 2000-P dollar. On the Cheerios coin each tail feather has a raised central vein. On a regular coin the feathers are smooth.

Then check the P mint mark below the date. If you have a coin from a Cheerios box, keep any original packaging with it. The packaging does not prove the variety, but it helps document the coin's history.

Look-alikes

Weakly struck regular dollars can show faint lines on the tail feathers that may look like veins. Compare the feathers with images of a certified Cheerios dollar. On the genuine coin the veins are bold and run the length of each feather. Scratches across the tail are not veins.

Remember that the variety is a Philadelphia coin. A 2000-D dollar is not a Cheerios coin.

Goodacre presentation pieces

Glenna Goodacre was paid for her design with 5,000 golden dollars, which received a special burnished finish. These Goodacre presentation pieces are another special 2000-P dollar. They are not Cheerios coins, but they are sometimes confused with them because both are early 2000-P dollars with special stories.

Grades and preservation

Most Cheerios dollars are Uncirculated, since they went straight from the box into collections. Collectors look for high grades with full luster and no spots. Golden dollars tone easily and often develop dark or brown spots, so bright, clean examples stand out.

Handle the coin by the edges and store it in an inert holder. Fingerprints on manganese brass can turn into dark marks within months. Those marks cannot be removed without harming the surface. A Cheerios dollar that has stayed bright and evenly golden is much more desirable than a spotted one.

What to do if you find one

If a 2000-P dollar shows veins in the tail feathers, put it in a capsule and avoid touching the reverse. Photograph the tail under a single angled light and compare it with images of certified coins. If the feathers match, submit it to a major grading service with a request for variety attribution.

Check any 2000-P dollars saved at the time of the promotion, including coins put aside by family members. Many people who found a dollar in a cereal box kept it as a keepsake without knowing about the variety, so such coins are the most promising place to look.

Authentication

PCGS and NGC certify the Cheerios dollar. PCGS lists it as the Cheerios Prototype Reverse. Request variety attribution when you submit.

Related 2000 dollar varieties

The 2000-P Wounded Eagle has a die gouge across the eagle's body just below the breast. The 2000 Sacagawea mule struck with a Washington quarter obverse is a major error. Collectors interested in the Cheerios dollar often look at these other 2000 dollar varieties as well.

Frequently asked questions