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How To Detect Fake Godless Dollars (Presidential $1 Coins)

by Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

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Have you ever heard of a “Godless” dollar?

Perhaps you have.

I’m talking about an otherwise-regular Presidential $1 coin which does not have any lettering on its edge — the place where you should find the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” inscribed.

While most 2007 and 2008 Presidential $1 coins have the famous motto correctly printed on the edge of those dollar coins, there have been reports of a few which do not have “IN GOD WE TRUST” inscribed.

These U.S. Mint error coins are valuable — worth $100 of more!

How To Tell A Fake Godless Dollar Coin

The problem is that some of these Godless dollar coins could be fakes.

Simply put, some people have actually be grinding down and buffing out “IN GOD WE TRUST,” passing off those coins as the scarce and valuable mint errors.

Be sure you know some of the telltale signs you could have a fake Godless dollar:

  • The weight of your dollar is too low — under 7.91 grams
  • The diameter of your Godless dollar is even slightly less than regular Presidential dollars
  • You see circular marks on the edge of your Presidential dollar
PUBLISHED December 1, 2009
UPDATED August 29, 2026

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

Numismatic Specialist

Hi, I’m Josh! I’m the Editor here at the US Coins Guide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century.

I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG). I have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek.

I’ve authored over 1,000 articles here at the US Coins Guide (many with over 50K shares).

I welcome your coin questions!

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