Golden Opp.

• Author: Peterson, Eric

HOW A PUEBLO COUPLE GOT A PIECE OF THE FIRST GOLDEN DOLLAR AND WHAT HAPPENED THEN

General Mills and the U.S. Mint had a dandy of a promotion worked out. Starting Jan. 1, every 2,000th box of Cheerios would contain a Golden Dollar, the coin bearing the Likeness of the American Indian guide Sacagawea. The Cheerios dollars were to be the first such coins minted and the first available. The Sacagawea coins were slated for wide release in March.

Then, last December, a single Golden Dollar made its way into the hands of Jared and Jenifer Burbank, Pueblo-based owners of an online coin dealer, J&J Coins (www.jjcoins.com). A U.S. Mint spokesperson later explained that the coin, "got mixed up in a bag of quarters and slipped out unintentionally." A Brinks Security driver bought the dollar and sold an interest in it to the Burbanks. Brinks employees can buy error coins at face value and resell them, so there seemed to be no question about the deal at the time.

"The minute I got it, I put it up (for auction) at eBay," Jared said. Less than a week later, when the high bid was $1,100, the Secret Service got in touch. "They gave us a nice little phone call at about five o'clock in the evening, saying, 'Don't sell the coin,' "Jared recalled. "They just wanted to know how we got it (and to) verify our story."

Jared canceled the eBay event in mid-auction. While the Secret Service investigated, the Burbanks contacted the high bidder and bought the coin back for $200.

General Mills proceeded with the Cheerios promotion as planned. "The (coin) that was released in December wasn't a real hindrance," said General Mills spokeswoman Liv Lane. But, "I won't lie and say...