Anyone heard of a contemporary counterfeit quarter
dsalesco
Posts: 38 ✭✭
I have a cast contemporary counterfeit 1974 US quarter that looks like its made of Aluminum with a seam on reeding showing two halves. Got this from a cigarette vending machine along with copper blanks back in the early 1980's. I remember I found out they were selling them (copper) for $6 a roll in long island city (bastards) so I kept the quarter and used the copper.
This is a true contemporary counterfeit used to dupe poor vending machine guys lol and Im guessing quite rare. Can anyone offer a thought??? Will grab some images tomorrow.
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CaptHenway
Posts: 32,228 ✭✭✭✭✭
One other possibility. During the Vietnam War there was a counterfeiting operation going that made U.S. quarters that circulated in the local economy. I saw several while I was working for Coin World in the 1970’s. Never did hear was behind it.
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.0
Answers
Howdy and welcome. As you mentioned, images would help most of us quite a bit, but I would not be surprised if somewhere here has additional information beforehand.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
show the seam, too
Here are a couple of fakes I have picked up over the years.
OK here they come
They even lined up the reeding and the reverse is almost normal rotation
I had heard the copper slugs was organized crime and they worked flawlessly in machines too. Passed right through, they would target cigarette machines.
I had forgotten about this coin until I read a post here about contemporary fakes.
This coin is obviously hand made, you can see where they soldered two spots to hold them together. I guess they left the burrs to add to the weight lol. I only caught it because of the slugs, they caused me to look closer and of course as a silver coin stacker always looks at sides.
One might think its a lot of work to make a quarter but, back then, four of these got a pack of cigarettes or a gallon of gas. It was a big deal when we had to upgrade to go over $1on machines,
So Im hopeful someone can shed some light on this puppy or at least if they have ever seen such an abomination. Is it a one off???
Modern counterfeit coins are a gray area at best.
A few are well researched (Henning nickels, for example) but for obvious reasons there is usually very little information on most of them.
Most counterfeit coins might seem "unique" unless or until an identical one is found. They were usually made by "enterprising" individuals. There is no way to know how many were made or how many survived.
They are collected, but if you focus too much attention then you might be asked to donate it to Uncle Sam's coin collection.
I recently found a lightweight 1965 quarter in the reject slot of a Coinstar that I think might be one of these Vietnam-era counterfeits. If I can find the photos I'll dd them to the thread.
Pics added below.
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
LOL yeah maybe, or in can go back into the dark corner it was kept, far away from genuine coins.
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This coin could possibly be genuine. When a modern-era coin suffers some corrosion, the "sandwich" layers on the edge can corrode at different rates, yielding the appearance of a seam.
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IDK I dont see any copper in there, plus it makes a thud if I ping or drop. I was thinking of carefully splitting it at seam if I can get a micro tool in there. Might ruin it.
yeah that is pretty close, cant see seam too good, does it look same?? I remember shop class a million years ago and we did sand casting. They must have made a lot at a time and they must have passed and been used until they arrive at a bank I guess.
Seam on the 65 looks tight and light
Today it would useless to make these but back when I got it they actually had value lol I would guess they made many of these, surprising I never saw another one until today.
I have to admit that WQs are my first love, yet both the 1965 and 1974 look awfully good to me as genuine US Mint products. The 1974 has the appearance of having been buried for a while in acidic soil while the 1965 just looks beaten. I realize they weight light, but they look good.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I think its aluminum right, just being in air is acidic around here
So do you think these are the Vietnam-era counterfeits you saw?? I mean like them
I also wanted to comment on you working at coin world back then, I was on 10 but cant imagine buying morgans for $15 or less uuuggghhhh geeezzz you must have seen some nice coins over the years, id bet sold plenty you regret, I know I regret every one i sold almost
I did not recall there being a seam, but the reeding was crude and probably added manually, it's possible they did that to mask one.
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
Got a 67 many years ago. Believe it to be lead like. Still have it somewhere.