Some unusual contemporary counterfeits
jonathanb
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I bought a fun group of contemporary counterfeits -- about 40 "real" contemporary counterfeits after removing all of the souvenir pieces and stuff. Mostly normal types from the 1860s-1940s. I thought I'd share some of the unusual pieces.
1861 3 cent silver high quality contemporary counterfeit. There are a bunch of known varieties of contemporary counterfeits for 3 cent silvers. Most of them have very crude, almost comical lettering. This is the best quality that I've seen. It's not deceptive to a collector, but as someone who doesn't collect the series I had to look twice to be sure. 0.72 grams (expected 0.75 grams)
ND 3 cent silver low (!) quality contemporary counterfeit. Unlike the previous, this is pretty much the worst quality I've ever seen for a counterfeit in this series. Crudely produced on a brass planchet, 0.94 grams (expected 0.75 grams).
1866 3 cent nickel contemporary counterfeit. There's a chance that this is a normal strike with heavy environmental damage -- the details are excellent, even if the surfaces aren't. On the other hand it's heavy enough that I'm leaning counterfeit. 2.07 grams (expected 1.94 grams)
1883 With Cents Racketeer Nickel. It's not a counterfeit per se. It has plan edges, so it might not even be a period piece. On the other hand, it was pretty high grade before it was plated, and would have been worth a decent amount in that condition. The whole point of a Racketeer Nickel was to gold-plate the ones without "cents" on the reverse, to pass them off as five dollar gold pieces. You've got to wonder about this one.
1875-S 20c contemporary counterfeit. It's unusual to see a contemporary counterfeit on a coin that was so unpopular and produced for a short a time as the 20c piece. There are two examples pictures at http://www.lsccweb.org/Counterfeits.shtml, both CC-mint examples. 3.45 grams (expected 5.0 grams)
1944 Mercury dime contemporary counterfeit. This one is unusual in that it is very "low grade" but also has significant luster. I think this is close to "as struck", ignoring the reverse damage. A lot of counterfeits look strange to modern eyes. I could totally see this one passing without notice. It even has the right weight, although no reeding and certainly no ring test. 2.5 grams (expected 2.5 grams)
Clad Washington quarters contemporary counterfeits. Contemporary counterfeit clad coinage is unusual before the "made in China" era. The weights on these vary widely, from top left:
1962, 4.87 grams
1965, 5.64 grams
1965, 6.30 grams
1967, 3.81 grams
1967, 5.19 grams
1967, 5.12 grams
1968-D, 4.28 grams
1973, 4.22 grams
1979, 4.54 grams
(expected 6.25 grams for silver, 5.57 grams for clad)
Comments
Wow...those 1970's quarters could probably get around in change almost forever.
This post is fascinating, thanks!
Coins are Neato!
"If it's a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone...somewhere...is making a penny." - Steven Wright
Amazing!
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
I suspect the 1866 three cent nickel is real.
The 1944 Merc. would have circulated in an era when heavily worn Merc. dimes were commonly seen in circulation. The "wear" was probably intentional though I am surprised that the counterfeiter didn't apply an earlier date.
A also think that the 1866 3-cent nickel is genuine (possibly dug out of the ground).
The two 3-cent "silver" pieces, and especially the 20-cent piece, are unusual.
Here is my 3-cent "silver" vintage counterfeit. I had it XRF tested and, although it really looks like it is made of silver, it is not.
I got one for you.. 1883 Hawaiian S$1 fake as can be, but 90% silver
https://www.cointalk.com/media/albums/the-2020-20-large-cent-set.1855/
Wow... Thanks for the pictures and information.... Fascinating. I have one counterfeit Morgan and had it logged in on the counterfeit site. Cheers, RickO
That's a neat lot.....I always liked that stuff !
Very interesting and rare. Thanks for posting them.
Mind blowing on what you have found. Thanks @jonathanb.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
I think I saw that example offered recently on eBay, I had cherrypicked one from the same dies a few months earlier. It has a whimsical look to the date that is really appealing to me.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Thanks for sharing. Those 3CS pieces look comical.
I'm putting together a Dansco type set of counterfeits. My first goal is contemporary counterfeits (difficult to locate) followed by more modern (without the COPY). Last are D. Carr items (more for the newer coins that have hardly been counterfeited).
These are fun coins to locate and collect!
peacockcoins
Those are very cool, and unusual.
Were there any walking liberties in the group you bought? I have a few, and have seen others.
Just wondering how extensive these might be.
@Walkerguy21D There were several walkers:
1917 50c
1918 50c
1918-S 50c
1919 50c
1935 50c holed
1944-S 50c
1945-S 50c
I can't speak to how common those are overall; that's what was in the group.
I’ve seen many “contemporary” counterfeit WLHs and nearly all are low quality casts.
Thank you.
I’m not sure I’ve seen any from the 1940’s, usually dates from the teens, and yes, they were low quality like GoldenEgg stated.
I was working at Coin World’s Collectors Clearinghouse in the 70’s, and we saw a number of those fake clad quarters. We suspected that they were coming back from South Vietnam but could never prove it. One theory was that some GI was making them to spend into the local economy. Another theory is that some local was making them to spend in the PX.
That makes sense. Must have been a decent sized operation to produce so many different dates...
This is very educational. Thanks!
Good deal! I had a 1960 Roosevelt dime that was a contemporary counterfeit. The newer quarters are quite interesting. Thanks for posting these.