Key Takeaways
- A sub-$10 coin bin pick turned out to be a six-figure rarity.
- Only three known examples exist, each found in an unlikely place.
- The resale price landed well below its earlier peak.
At the Long Beach Coin Expo on February 15, 2008, collector Lee C. Lydston spotted something off about a 1971-S Eisenhower silver dollar and bought it for less than $10. The oddity turned out to be a 1971-S Eisenhower dollar prototype, Judd-2147, an early Frank Gasparro reverse with extra lunar craters that was changed before release. One of only three known examples, the coin resurfaced at GreatCollections on 10/18/2026 and sold for $189,000, even after bringing $264,000 at a Heritage Auctions sale in 01/2022.
A $10 buy that turned into a 6-figure resale
If you’ve spent any time around niche online marketplaces, you know the thrill is often in the details. That was the case for collector Lee C. Lydston, who on February 15, 2008, picked up what looked like a 40% silver Ike dollar at the Long Beach Coin Expo. He paid less than $10, but the surfaces and design cues felt off, in a good way.
That hunch aged well. The coin is now recognized as a 1971-S Eisenhower dollar prototype, cataloged as Judd-2147, with only 3 known examples. The discovery piece is certified PCGS SP-67 with CAC Green approval, tied for finest known and the only CAC-approved example, per the listing for the prototype/discovery coin.
The unfinished moon that never shipped
What separates this prototype from the regular-issue Ike dollar is on the reverse, the side collectors obsess over. Designed by Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro, the prototype shows additional lunar craters and a less-detailed Earth, a glimpse of an earlier version that was changed before the public release, as described in a 2022 preview.
The production Eisenhower dollar, minted from 1971 to 1978, ultimately carried an eagle landing on the Moon while honoring both President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The prototype’s “extra crater” look is the point: it captures a design step that escaped the normal process of refinement and standardization.
GreatCollections closes at $189,000, below the prior peak
On Sunday, October 18, 2026, GreatCollections sold the Lydston discovery coin for $189,000, per its October 18, 2026 top-ten recap. The identity of the winning bidder was kept under wraps, which is common for high-end collecting where privacy is part of the product.
It’s also a reminder that even extreme rarities trade like real markets. The same coin previously sold for $264,000 at a Heritage Auctions sale in January 2022, meaning the 2026 result was a lower resale price, not a fresh high.
Only 3 coins, and the treasure-hunt appeal doesn’t fade
Two other Judd-2147 examples have surfaced in equally improbable ways. Collector Charles “Chuck” Chatham found a second prototype in an Alabama pawn shop in 2010 for about $5, and a third was bought on eBay in 2013 for roughly $22, later certified by PCGS as Specimen-66.
Collector David Frohman, who purchased the Lydston discovery coin in 2019 for an undisclosed amount, has a line that fits the whole saga: “It’s the ultimate treasure hunt story,” he said.
