As part of the promotional activities leading up to the release of the Sacagawea Dollar, the US Mint had partnered with General Mills to included 5,500 of the new Golden Dollar coins in boxes of Cheerios cereal. Collectors did not take much note of the promotion until 2005 when it was discovered that the so-called "Cheerios Dollars" had been produced in 1999 before the design was finalized, using a different reverse die.
The reverse of the 2000 Cheerios Sacagawea Dollar shows the central line of the eagle's tail features as a raised line. The individual features also show a high degree of detail. On coins produced for circulation, the central line is recessed and there is considerably less detail in the tail feathers. This modification was intended to produce a more realistic rendering of the tail feathers.
Considered to be a true pattern, pieces have become increasingly difficult to find. The total number distributed was 5,500 pieces, but a much smaller number is currently known to exist. Because of the time delay in discovering the pattern, many of the Cheerios Sacagawea Dollars were presumably spent into circulation or sitting unknown in the hands of some of the original recipients who have no idea of the coins value. In late 2008, one of the pattern dollars was actually discovered in circulation by someone searching rolls of small sized dollars.
One of the finest 2000 Cheerios Sacagawea Dollars graded PCGS MS68 was sold for $34,500 in mid-2008.
