Rare 2016 Presidential Dollar Errors (List & Pictures)
A plain edge can erase both the date and mintmark from a modern dollar, making its history unusually important. The documented Reagan coin in this 2016 Presidential dollar error guide sold for $3,881 in January 2019.
Comparable authenticated examples are estimated at $1,500–$5,000. Examine the entire edge and preserve any original Mint Set evidence before comparing a candidate with that discovery.
2016 Dollar A bare edge around Reagan’s portrait: missing edge lettering Error
A normal Reagan dollar carries its date, mint letter, and E PLURIBUS UNUM around the edge. Those inscriptions were applied after the portrait and Statue of Liberty had been struck onto the faces.
The documented error retained its face designs but missed the complete edge inscription. IN GOD WE TRUST remains part of the face design on this issue, so its absence from the edge is normal.
The discovery came from the Denver portion of a 2016 Mint Set. That original packaging supplied mint information which the unlettered coin could not display for itself.
How to Identify
If the dollar remains in its Mint Set, photograph the complete set and its position before disturbing anything. For the discovery coin, the Denver folder was evidence of origin rather than incidental packaging.
Inspect a full circuit of the edge under side lighting and magnification. Every part of the expected date, mint letter, and motto should be absent, not simply difficult to read from one angle.
Faint letter bottoms suggest an inscription that was weak, worn, or partly removed. Grinding lines, scratches, and irregularly reduced edge metal also require a different explanation from an omitted lettering operation.
Do not confuse inscription direction with missing text. A normal edge inscription can face either way relative to the portrait.
For a loose coin, the normal measurements are approximately 8.1 grams and 26.49 millimeters in diameter. A reduction can support evidence of metal removal, although measurements alone do not establish what happened to the edge.
Compare the portrait, reverse, and edge as one object. A photograph of only a short plain segment cannot demonstrate omission of the whole inscription or prove Denver origin.
What It’s Worth
$1,500–$5,000 is the supplied estimate for a comparable authenticated Reagan missing-edge-lettering error. PCGS graded the discovery MS65, meaning an unworn coin with relatively few marks.
According to the PCGS account of the GreatCollections sale, it realized $3,881 on January 20, 2019. Its discovery was reported in late 2018, while the coin belongs to the 2016 issue.
The Mint Set history strengthens its identity despite the absent date and mint letter. A loose candidate without that history needs its own authentication; it cannot simply inherit the discovery coin’s provenance.
Cleaning, marks, or a damaged edge can reduce another coin’s appeal. Ordinary reversed inscription orientation and lettering worn away after manufacture do not qualify for this error’s comparison range.
Conclusion
For the Reagan discovery, the plain edge and original Mint Set answered different questions: one showed the omission, while the other established Denver origin. Preserve both kinds of evidence whenever they remain available.
Check all the way around for missing text and signs of removed metal. The $3,881 result belongs to an authenticated MS65 example with documented history, not every dollar whose edge appears faint or smooth.
