Expert: Brad Swain - 4/20/2010

Question
Hi,
I work in retail in Australia and today I was counting the money in my till and I saw an odd shaped $1 coin from 1994. At first I thought it was that somebody had defaced it and made one half of the outside edge smooth, however after looking at it carefully, it appears that when being stamped the coin was probably 2-3mm out of place, Atop the Queen's head (surrounding about half of the outside edge of the coin) there is a double rim like the mule depicted on this website http://www.cruzis-coins.com/dollars/2000m.html  and the date is only just visible. The top edge is almost, if not slightly cut off down the lower end.
The condition of it, well it has been in circulation (I presume since 1994) but I swapped a dollar of my own for it and kept it out of curiosity.
Could it be worth anything more than $1? Is there any record of the Australian Mint releasing many of these coins? I've never seen one like this before in my life. Are they rare?

Answer
Hi Alana, this is an off center strike, an error coin.
The type and extent of the error influences the value.
You might take it by a local coin shop for a first hand opinion. It is worth more than $1 depending on amount of wear and collector demand.
Brad