Did you know there are Sacagawea dollars that are worth over 100,000 times their face value?
This is 100% for real! But let’s start this article by managing expectations from the get-go…
I’m not necessarily talking about those lightly worn 2000-dated Sacagawea dollars you probably picked up years ago from the bank or landed at the laundromat.
But I am talking about some legitimate Sacagawea dollars that are absolutely worth every cent of $100,000 or more.
How can this be? You’ll see…
Ultra-Rare Modern Coins Are Worth Big Bucks
There’s something of a misconception that modern coins (say, those struck since 1965) can’t be all that valuable because they’re not perceived as rare.
While it’s true that the vast majority of modern coins aren’t usually worth huge sums (certainly not six figures… in most cases), there are indeed some very rare and highly valuable modern coins out there.
And there ARE Sacagawea dollars worth money that have sold for $100,000 or more. Some have even sold for more than a half million dollars!
Why Are These Sacagawea Dollars Worth So Much?
Let’s start with the basic answer, and it’s almost always the same one when it comes to why ANY coin would be worth a ton of cash…
Rare coins that some people want are worth a lot of money.
Really rare coins that MANY people want are worth a whole lot MORE money.
And the rare, valuable Sacagawea dollars that I’m about to show you are some TRULY coveted treasures!
2000-W Space Flown Gold Sacagawea Dollars
Back in the late 1990s, the prospect of a new “golden” dollar was a big deal.
Previous efforts to launch a small-sized dollar had failed when the Susan B. Anthony dollar was originally struck during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The decision to place Lemhi Shoshone woman Sacagawea and her infant son, Jean Baptiste, on the new dollar coin stirred much excitement across the nation. Not only was the new dollar coin going to portray a pioneering female, but the head’s side (obverse) of the new coin was also being designed by a woman — sculptor Glenna Goodacre.
At the same time, a pioneering astronaut was about to smash through a glass ceiling that had long hung over NASA. Astronaut Elieen Collins was about to become the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle mission. It was decided that one great way to honor the moment would be for Commander Collins’ Space Shuttle mission to also carry several examples of the new Sacagawea dollar. And that’s what happened!…
In 1999, a small batch of 39 Sacagawea dollars in 22-karat gold and bearing the 2000 date with a “W” mintmark (representing the West Point Mint) were struck. Of these, 12 examples were selected for the space flight and the other 27 were destroyed.
Interestingly, the gold 2000-W Sacagawea dollars carry the same iteration of the soaring eagle design by Thomas D. Rogers that is also seen on the rare and valuable 2000 Cheerios dollar coin. The Cheerios dollars tails’ side (reverse) design, which is shared on the space-flown 2000-W Sacagawea dollars, shows highly detailed feathers on the eagle. It’s a rare and sought-after design that is widely considered a pattern or prototype design.
The 12 gold 2000-W Sacagawea dollars went up into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in the historic launch that occurred at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 23, 1999.
After the shuttle returned from its 2-million-mile voyage a few days later, the 12 Sacagawea dollars that had been in space were vaulted by the government. So, it was monumental when Stack’s Bowers Galleries announced in 2025 that seven of the 12 space-flown Sacagawea dollars were going to be auctioned for sale. (The other five 2000-W gold Sacagawea dollars are being permanently retained by the United States Mint for their heritage collection.)
Those seven 2000-W gold Sacagawea dollars were graded by Professional Coin Grading Service and offered at auction by Stack’s Bowers Galleries on September 12, 2025. Two examples of the seven gold Sacagawea dollars garnered an astonishing $550,000 apiece (plus $1 each to monetize the coins as legal tender).
Five others sold for between $360,000 and $500,000 each in that same September 2025 auction.
When all was said and done, the seven space flown 2000-W gold Sacagawea dollars totaled for more than $3 million!
Who says modern coins can’t be both valuable and historic?
2000 Sacagawea Dollar / Washington Quarter Mule
Early in the life of the Sacagawea dollar came a really cool and extremely rare type of error coin that took the coin-collecting world by storm when it was discovered.
I’m talking about the 2000 Sacagawea dollar reverse mule with a Washington 50 State Quarter obverse.
The mashup of designs occurs on a Sacagawea dollar planchet (or coin disc) and doesn’t show a date. However, it’s presumed to be from the year 2000 — because that’s the first year Sacagawea dollars were struck AND the year the coin was discovered by Arkansas collector Frank Wallis.
Over the years, fewer than about 20 others have been discovered — and each is extremely rare and desirable. Values for the coin have only seemed to increase over time, as the rarity and novelty of this drastic error becomes more coveted by more collectors.
Today, on the rare occasion that examples come onto the market, they sell for more than $100,000.
First Struck 2025-W Gold Sacagawea Dollar
The year 2025 marked the 25th anniversary of the Sacagawea dollar.
The U.S. Mint honored that jubilant occasion by striking a limited number of 2025-W Sacagawea dollars in 24-karat (.999-fine) gold. The coins had a very small maximum mintage of 7,500. However, the very first example ever produced was held aside — to be certified by Professional Coin Grading Service and auctioned by Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
The first struck 2025-W Sacagawea dollar fetched $120,000 in a September 2025 Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction. It was sold with a United States Treasury memorandum dated and signed on June 10, 2025 — declaring that 2025-W Sacagawea dollar as the first specimen struck of its type.
I want to make sure you know that not all 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollars are worth more than $100,000, though. It was the significance of the example that sold being verified as “the first ever struck” that contributes to that single specimen of the 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollar being worth what it is.
The good news is that the 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollar is nevertheless a scarce coin with a half-ounce of gold. That means ALL 2025-W gold Sacagawea dollars will always be worth at least their gold price value (or face value, whichever is greater) — no matter where along the production run yours was struck!
