Private U.S. Mints and in house metal refineries have numbered in the dozens over the years. Major minting errors from silver rounds to gambling tokens are very popular and eagerly sought by collectors. Erratic record keeping of mintage numbers and identifying which private mint produced major errors can be a challenge to research. It is in-fact on occasion impossible because many rounds and tokens were struck with no identification such as a specific mint's name, privy mark, or mintmark.

First is a large 1994 1 oz silver round commemorating the 1994 FIFA Soccer World Cup series. 1994 was the first time ever that final soccer matches for the World Cup were held in the United States. They were played in sixteen different US cities.





This first major error is both a Die and Striking error. It was struck with two different obverse dies and was double struck with the second strike being 50% off-center. The two mismatched obverse dies represent two different countries. One obverse die was designed with the national flag representing the Republic of Korea (ROK) while the other obverse die was designed with the national flag representing the country of SPAIN.

NOTE: A normal reverse die for this 1994 World Cup series is as follows; Reverse die with letters and numerals; ENVORMINT, WorldCupUSA94, ONE TROY OZ. and .999 FINESILVER.

The U.S. private mint striking this error was known as ENVIORMINT. ENVIORMINT was established in 1992 and located in MT. Prospect, IL. ENVIORMINT was also a licensee to produce rounds in bronze, silver and gold for the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. ENVIORMINT designed and struck over one thousand different sports and entertainment venues. ENVIORMINT had their own on-site refining and minting facilities. ENVIORMENT ceased bullion round operations in 2000. Note: ENVIORMENT evolved from the Chicagoland Paper Recycling (CPC) founded in 1975. The owner, Jon Obie, discovered an environmental friendly technique to reclaim silver from photographic waste film. CPC then began selling reclaimed silver on the open market in the early 1980's and began striking silver rounds prior to the establishment of ENVIORMINT in 1992. This is one of the more intriguing stories of a private U.S. MINT.

Next is a Parliament Shield 1 oz silver round with an American Eagle and Balance Scales design.





This silver round was largely broadstrike outside of the collar with no edge reeding present (a normal round of this issue is fully reeded).

This "Parliament Shield" silver round and was struck by Republic Metals Corporation (RMC) in 1983 and 1984. During its heyday RMC refined over 3000 tons of silver per year. RMC began operations in 1980 in Miami, Florida and ceased operations in 2019.