Henning Nickel Origins
philographer
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I've always been fascinated with the counterfeit Henning nickels.
There are always a few for sale on eBay, seems like in the $75 to $95 range, with an occasional one selling for significantly less (i.e. from a poor description, misspelling, etc.).
My question is: what's the origin of all the Henning nickels in collections. Were they found in roll searches in the 1950's, 60's, or 70's.? Or did someone find the creek where they were allegedly dumped? What happened to the ones I assume were seized by law enforcement?
I know there is a book on these, but its long out of print and I've never seen a copy.
Thanks!
He who knows he has enough is rich.
1
Comments
The 'book' is really a 32-page, card-covered pamphlet by Dwight Stuckey, entitled 'The Counterfeit 1944 Jefferson Nickel'
Copies surface sporadically. The ANA library has a copy.
There are multiple dates noted in the pamphlet: 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1953 (I've never seen one of these). Most of the identified ones are dated 1944, since that counterfeit is easy to spot. There is also a 1945 that looks similar to the others, and Henning did claim that he made 6 die pairs. All have somewhat mushy design features. Many have a reverse die that produces an R in PLURIBUS that has a distinctive low spot.
I assume they have been picked out of rolls and change. Ones seized by the FBI are almost certainly gone (destroyed).
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
It's neat that the US Mint used Henning's blanks to mint real nickels.
The following is from Bob Leonard on Francis LeRoy Henning.
https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v07n13a09.html
It is a bit confusing to say that the U.S. Mint used Henning's blanks to make U.S. coins. THey used the metal from his blanks (and probably some struck coins) after melting them down and adjusting the alloy and making new blanks.
Bob wrote that in the quote I included, but your point is understandable.
Do you know why Henning chose Monel metal for his pieces?
As mentioned above, the mint did NOT use Henning's blanks to strike coins. They used the metal to create strip/blanks once the alloy was adjusted to proper specifications.
As for the "undiscovered" sixth date that Henning supposedly struck, this is also possibly misstated. Henning claimed to have made six obverse disa. As far as know, he did not claim to have used six different dates. In other words, assuming his story about the number of dies can be believed, the sixth die may have repeated a date already used previously.
Has it been definitively decided if Henning's pieces were die struck as he claimed or cast as speculated by Jorgen Somod?
Having 500,000 made is quite a number. Are the dies and press known? Or were cast molds discovered?
Gerald Tebben wrote a good article on Henning in his "Coins With Stories to Tell".
Here's the article for this from NNP.
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/544289?page=6
It includes the quote:
Henning redeemed his coins at banks and they weren't discovered for a while, so I would assume most of the collector coins now are from bank deposits that weren't found.
According to Tebben, only 14,000 coins were recovered from mud so there may be 86,000 more there. I read Henning made 500,000 and dumped 100,000 into the river, but I'm not sure how reliable those numbers are.
I wonder how many counterfeits of the counterfeit have been made? Good that the "loop" in the R diagnostic was noticed. There's actually a few on eBay with no loop.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Most Hennings presumably have no loop. There were 6 reverse dies and presumably only one had the R with PMD on the source coin. It would appear that much of the production with the 1944 die coincided with the use of the defective R die
I believe it was suggested that the dies may have been cast, but the coins were definitely struck.
Or, more specifically, "squeezed", according to Henning. He claimed that his press technique was superior to a normal striking press, and offered to let the mint use his technology (they didn't).
Does the Camden County Coin Club of New Jersey, where Walter L. Williams was a member still exist?
Google returns a Camden Coin Club of South Carolina but I didn't see one for New Jersey.
Just read that Gerald Tebben's article was for his CONA (Central Ohio Numismatic Association) presentation. It's a great way to present club sessions.
This thread was useless without pikshures:
I've talked to older collectors that recalled roll searching in the late 1950's and early 1960's in the hopes of finding an example. Once while visiting a coin shop in the upper Midwest while on a trip I noticed an example of the Henning nickel in a dealer's case - he explained that it was NOT for sale but was a prized piece that he had found in roll searches years ago.
The example above is mine, I have several Henning nickels including an example of the 1944 without the loop in the R on the reverse.
The coins themselves were definitely die-struck. You can see the planchet punch shearing and "slide lines" (collar ejection) on the edge of this mint-state example (the only UNC one that I know of):
Awesome!
Good information here!
Excellent thread....I recall putting away a lot of old nickels....mostly the war nickels with the mint mark...However, I had read (many years ago) about the Henning nickels, and saved others from that period... I have never revisited that old box of nickels... Life gets in the way
However, I seem to have some free time now 
So maybe I will get to looking at nickels one day soon...Cheers, RickO
Does "12.5 ton press" refer to its minting pressure? That seems low, but on the other hand, the counterfeits don't appear sharply struck. I believe today's Philadelphia and Denver mints use about 50 tons for circulation-strike five-cent pieces, and the lowest pressure for circulating coins is about 35 tons, for cents.
Henning's nickels were struck from Monel metal, 79.1% copper, 20.5% nickel, 0.4% iron.
the coins he struck were of a different alloy than any Mint struck Nickel and the 1944 coins he made had no MM. is it reasonable to assume he would have been innocent of a crime if he had made only that date??
I don't think so. He was manufacturing them, and placing them into circulation, to pay for his equipment.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
the reason I ask --- Dan Carr over-strikes genuine coins with an exact copy of the design except for a fantasy date. what is the difference??
Good question. However, no one is spending Carr's fantasy pieces.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
No. He was spending them (or more typically depositing them at a bank for face value credit) and that was fraud.
At the price of them you would be a fool to.
I have dozens of 1959 and earlier, picked from circulation, Nickel rolls...unfortunately they are at another house out of state. It would be cool to have one of these Hennings.
Would these be rejected from coin counting machines, due to their alloy?
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
I'm only asking about the manufacture of them absent spending.
One started as a genuine coin and still is. The other was not genuine at any time but passed as such. Big difference.
The fact that @dcarr only strikes his fantasy pieces over genuine coins is key. There is legal tender under the overstrike.
At one time he made a copper token which had an obverse design that borrowed heavily from the Ike dollar, and he was also striking fantasy date Ikes over real ones. I asked him if he ever considered minting some Ikes on the copper token planchets since I figured a copper Ike would look great, but he made it clear that was off the table.
Doesn't matter. If you make a counterfeit you are a counterfeiter before you have the chance to spend it.
Are the 1944 nickels much more popular than the other dates (1939, 1946, 1947, 1953) with collectors?
I think the opposite. The 44s are more commonly available since they are more easily identifiable, but the other dates are more valuable.
I was thinking about popular in terms of number of collectors, not necessarily worth.
I don't see a many of the other dates for sale.
Lordy, I never knew dates outside of 1944 would be so expensive. 1946 on eBay has a current bid of $610!
https://ebay.com/itm/1946-Henning-Contemporary-Jefferson-Nickel-5-2g-Break-in-the-R-Neat-Piece/203029532591?hash=item2f4580cfaf:g:D5gAAOSwmQNe8gKn
He who knows he has enough is rich.
WOW!!! I have a 1939. I suppose I need to think about selling it.
Or you could gift it to a friend.
That ebay coin was lucky enough to have the defective R, which most would presumably not have. Otherwise it might have been circulated into oblivion.
I would be very leery about buying one. In fact......I wouldn't buy one.
Did you have a friend in mind?
Not the best of pictures, but here's my 1939 Hennings. BTW, I also have accumulated 7 or 8 1944's over the years.
These make me think the idea that there's only one reverse die may be correct.
There are at least two reverse dies, one with the loop in the "R" and one without the loop.
There were at least 5 obverse dies and supposedly a 6th that either has an unknown date or is a duplicate of another date.
I think (?) there were as many reverse dies, and likely one with the R. Not sure any of this has been proven.
Just wanted to add my example to the thread:
Always thought it was funny that when the judge asked Henning at sentencing why he would waste his talent on counterfeiting, he replied that he needed to do so in order to pay for the all counterfeiting equipment he purchased!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Current bid is $1,025 on the 1946!
He who knows he has enough is rich.
2 hours and 15 min to go.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203029532591
Any guesses where this will end up? $1500, $2000?
Francis LeRoy Henning passed away in 1969. Imagine what he (and the judge) would think about the prices for his nickels today?
Does anyone know when he was born?
Imagine what he (and the judge) would think about the prices for his nickels today?
Collectors are a strange bunch. I wouldn't want to pay $1000 for one of these, but I find them interesting.
Imagine putting together a set of all known dates
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I'm guessing that's what's happening here. There are at least two people putting together date sets and they need this date. I don't think this price is for someone's first Henning nickel.
45 mins left, $1025.
For that kind of money I'd buy rolls of 1946 nickels and get out my scale.
How long until the counterfeiters in China start cranking these out.
Ended at $1025, but that includes free shipping.