U.S. Mint goof creates 'Godless dollars'

By JOANN LOVIGLIO, AP Writer Wed Mar 7, 4:30 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA - An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust," and are fetching around $50 apiece online.

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The properly struck dollar coins, bearing the likeness of the nation's first president, are inscribed along the edge with "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum" and the year and mint mark. They made it past inspectors and went into circulation Feb. 15.

The U.S. Mint struck 300 million of the coins, which are golden in color and slightly larger and thicker than a quarter.

About half were made in Philadelphia and the rest in Denver. So far the mint has only received reports of error coins coming from Philadelphia, mint spokeswoman Becky Bailey said.

Bailey said it was unknown how many coins lacked the inscriptions. Ron Guth, president of Professional Coin Grading Service, one of the world's largest coin authentication companies, said he believes that at least 50,000 error coins were put in circulation.

"The first one sold for $600 before everyone knew how common they actually were," he said. "They're going for around $40 to $60 on eBay now, and they'll probably settle in the $50 range."

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Related...

U.S. Mint: http://www.usmint.gov

Prof. Coin Grading Service: http://www.pcgs.com

Efficiency in Everything.

Since extra time is so hard to find these days, I've been thinnking that I need to address everything I do from a slightly different angle to get more done faster, and maybe enjoy it more while getting it all done -- all in the hope to have just a bit more extra time to do the things I want to do.

These days, I think things like projects through as thoroughly as I can while doing daily tasks and chores, figure out the most efficient way to get stuff done and then when I get to the project, I just execute the plan. Sounds kinda simple and obvious and even seems stupid, but I think it's working.

It's kinda like catchin' a wave, riding it up and onto the crest for a little bit and then cutting back down into it to ride it out. Nature is efficient in everything because that produces the best results, and more opportunities for success -- survival + efficiency creates accomplishment.

There's another set of waves coming right at me and I'm gonna catch one of them... gotta go!

Back on the bus -- lots going on, and a bunch of crunch...

You can't build a house with a rubber hammer.
Okay, I got a new job and love it. Back to the creamy-centered core with the old crew. The project is coming along nicely, but we're flying under the radar so I can't discuss it. We've got engaged customers, and a system to build from the roots-up -- but not a whole lot of time to build it. This is agile development from the trenches. Basically, we brainstorm often and communicate a lot. We figure out what we need to do in manageable chunks, divy-up tasks and get right to it. We don't do a great deal of documentation just yet either.

I'm staring at one of the new Dell 24" panels, with a Dell820 (Dual chips, 2Gb RAM, and all the fixin's) under the hood. Still stuck on WindowsXP, but that's okay for now.

Riding on the right bus...
You know things are going well for a company when employees are happy, collaborative, and courteous to each other, and the kitchen is stocked better than your favorite grocery store. It's really nice to have a window seat because it provides opportunity for perspective.

A good working environment, good communication, the right tools. These are some of the things that make great companies great. Great companies make great products. These are basic but critical factors that tend to lead to success.

You can build things with a good hammer. Just about everyone likes a good bus ride. Everyone likes success.