The owner of an extremely rare error coin has thrown it into a dish on his desk, forgetting about it. A few weeks later he discovered that the coin was very expensive and that he wasn't aware that a real treasure was lying on his desk.

It turned out that the Sacagawea coin of Andrew Moores was a golden dollar that had "In God We Trust" inscription encircling its edge. The coin was struck in 2007 at the Denver Mint. The words on the coin represent the hallmark of the new presidential dollar coins and not Sacagawea. Currently Mr. Moore's Sacagawea coin is the only existing piece.

"I kind of feel like I won the lottery. It's that much of a rarity," outlined the 23-year-old data-entry technician, who lives in Lakewood. After analyzing the coin he asked for help from his friend, a numismatics fan. "He knew it was quite an aberration. He said it was a major error," said Mr. Moore.

He was told that PCGS in Newport, Calif., gave away $10,000 for such rare coins. After the technician had a conversation with the president of PCGS, he packed the coin, insured the treasure for $50,000 and sent it to examination. The company analyzed the discovery, verified its authenticity and then sent Moores a check for $10,000. The coin remains at the owner, thus Moores got $10,000 and kept the coin.

"Since, at present, it is thought to be one of a kind, it really is worth as much as anyone is willing to pay for it at this time," Moores mentioned.

According to Mike Faraone, an expert on error coins at the PCGS, back in 2000, several Sacagawea coins were struck. There was a "quarter die on one side and a Sacagawea die on the other," said the expert. "I think about 10 came out, and one of those sold for $65,000."

Mr. Faraone outlined that the U.S. Mint uses procedures to avoid errors' occurrence, and in case those do take place, the Mint prevents them from leaving the facility. The Mint issues 40 million coins a day, and those that include certain errors and misstrikes are recycled. However, these measures currently are not foolproof.

"They strike so many coins that sometimes they get stuck in bins, in the cracks and crevices, so they get mixed up," Faraone mentioned.

Michael White, a spokesman for the U.S. Mint, mentioned that Mint's officials know about the error coin that has been reported and they are looking into it.