The $1 coin that could be worth thousands of dollars

Aussies have been urged to check their loose change for a coin produced 24 years ago which could be worth thousands of dollars .

Of the various $1 coin designs, one stands out due to an almost imperceptible error made at the Royal Australian Mint in 2000.

The coin's reverse side was imprinted with the standard $1 design, while the front was struck using a 10-cent piece die, which resulted in a distinctive secondary border.

The coin is known as a 'mule' among numismatists.

Mark Nemtsas from The Purple Penny noted that tens of thousands of these mule coins were produced.

'One found in change today might be worth $200-$300,' he told Yahoo Finance .

But some current listings have asking prices ranging from $995 to $6,500, with higher valuations depending on the coin's condition.

According to Nemtsas, mules in pristine, uncirculated condition could fetch the higher prices.

'An uncirculated example might be worth a few thousand, but there's no chance of finding one of those after 24 years of circulation,' he said.

For potential buyers, caution is advised when purchasing expensive coins on platforms like eBay, as verifying authenticity can be tough.

Coins authenticated by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) are considered more reliable.

The service evaluates coins based on factors like appearance and mintage, which play a key role in determining their value.

Coin errors can dramatically boost a coin's value, especially when the mistake is rare.

While exact production numbers for the 2000 $1 mule remain uncertain, PCGS estimates only about 20,000 were minted.

The PCGS told Yahoo Finance the coin became a classic in the collecting community when it was first discovered in 2000.

'Everyone had a chance of finding one and, as the media reported discoveries and the coin became more widely known, the chase to find an example in one's change became even more frantic.'

One collector in Perth found 180 mules over two years by scouring poker machine coin bins.

Of the 500 coins examined by PCGS to date, only five have achieved the PCGS MS64 grade, and four of those are held in private collections.

The high rating refers to coins which have an 'average or better strike with scattered marks or hairlines, though none severe', examples of such quality are considered rare.