PART III. Die Installation Errors:
Mules:
Struck with Dies from Two Different Countries
Definition: Mules are coins struck by mismatched dies.
Some mules are purely accidental, and their release sometimes goes unnoticed until after thousands enter circulation. That’s the case with the (1967) New Zealand two cent mule shown below. The obverse mistakenly carries a Bahamas 5 cent design. Current estimates suggest at least 30,000 were released before mint officials realized what happened.
The Bahamas/New Zealand mule (1967) is one of the few to belong to this rare species of different denomination & different country. And yet, it is one of the best-known and most abundant mules. It pairs an incorrect Bahamas 5 cent (anvil/obverse) die with a correct New Zealand 2 cent (hammer/reverse) die. It was struck on a normal bronze New Zealand 2 cent planchet inside a 2 cent collar. A normal Bahamas 5 cent coin is composed of copper-nickel.
