50,000 flawed U.S. dollar coins believed to be in circulation

George Washington dollar coins struck without their edge

inscriptions are selling for between $40 and $60 US on eBay.

   PHILADELPHIA — An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust," and made it past inspectors and into cir­culation, the U.S. Mint said Wednesday. They went into circulation Feb. 15. The mint struck 300 million of the coins, which are golden in colour and slightly larger and thicker than a quarter. Ron Guth, president of Professional Coin Grading Service, one of the world's largest coin authentication companies, said he believes at least 50,000 error coins were put in circulation. "The first one sold for $600 before everyone knew how common they actually were," he said. `"They're going for around $40 to $60 on eBay now, and they'll probably set­tle in the $50 range."