Curious 1964-D Jefferson Nickel - Henning ?
dcarr
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I bought this out of a dealer's "junk" box at a recent coin show.
The color of the metal was obviously unusual. Still, copper-nickel 5-cent coins that have been buried in the ground can corrode to various odd colors (usually dark gray and/or dark brown). That is what I would assume for this coin.
However, the coin is actually 10% too heavy. The weight is 5.50 grams when the normal weight should be about 5.00 grams.
An XRF test indicates pure copper. A close inspection reveals some indications that the coin was cast. There is no casting seam, however. But on the edge, next to the word "GOD", is a small area where it looks like perhaps a casting sprue was removed.
Was Henning out of jail by 1964 ?
It is pretty obvious how this coin was produced.
So the question is not "how ?", but rather "why ?" (and "who ?").
It seems like a lot of work to make less than 5 cents 'profit".
Comments
@dcarr -Modern Henning counterfeit-counterfeit ? What are Henning Nickels worth these days?
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Is the roughness in the field near Liberty and 1964 on the obverse and near the edge and mintmark on the reverse indicate that it was cast? Also, what is going on around the ED and S in UNITED STATES on the reverse? Interesting find.
I knew it would happen.
Possibly created to deceive an error coin buyer. Pre slab, pre authentication services.
If so, then it was worth far more than 5c to first buyer.
It might also be a junior or wannabe amateur counterfeiter’s practice piece when going through a learning curve
Mr_Spud
Neat find. I agree with MR Lindy. Probably trying to make an error coin.
Are we positive that this is not just a genuine coin with a heavy copper plating that applied irregularly, causing the rippling?
My mentor at Coin World's Collectors Clearinghouse, Ed Fleischmann, once told me a story about a guy he knew up in Milwaukee who worked in a shop that re-chromed car bumpers. This was back when cars had real bumpers made out of steel and not plastic.
The guy told Ed that whenever he made up a new tank of chrome dip, he would test it by taking a coin out of his pocket and plating it. Afterwards he would just spend the coin, so the test cost him nothing.
This nickel might be somebody's copper plating test piece.
Neat story.
But Dan did say that an XRF test shows the coin to be pure Copper, and MONTICELLO looks too lightly shown.
Pete
The XRF has a limited penetration depth. You can fool it with a thick plating. A thick plating will also start to create anomalies across the surface as it may not lay down uniformly.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I did extensive XRF testing of chopmarked contemporary counterfeits for a friend. The results on any individual coin would vary greatly depending which side was facing up because the chops would give the scan better access to the base metal core vs the (usually) plated exterior.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Would a specific gravity test clarify what it is made from?
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
No, because copper and nickel have specific gravities that are so close together you cannot tell them apart via specific gravity. IIRC one of them is 8.89 and the other 8.92.
A heavy copper plating thick enough to increase the weight of the coin by 10% might fool the x-ray test, especially since the normal coin hypothetically inside is 75% copper.
That D in United looks like it was never formed which leads me to think casting. If it was plated the D would be complete but coated. Unless it was damaged there prior to plating. I'd take a close look with a scope at that area and some of the contact marks.
Nice Find
Alright, Dan. If XRF analysis is insufficient, we are going to need you to cut this baby in half, so that we may solve this mystery today.
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"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Any chance Henning future-dated a few fakes before hitting the bars?
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Yes, chopping a coin in half is always an option
A thick copper plating would seem to be a reasonable hypothesis. But to add 10% to the weight, the plating would have to be about 0.002" thick, which is about half the height of the lettering above the background plane. A plating that thick would distort and obfuscate the details considerably.
I posted my previous reference to Henning as a joke. But now that I think about it some more, that idea is not entirely outlandish. From the quick research I did, it appears that Henning was sentenced in 1955 to a total of six years in prison. He would have been out by 1961.
And there are some similarities to the known Henning Nickels.
Here is a "looped R" found on at least one of Henning's dies (this one paired with a "1946" obverse):
Here is a dot above the left side of the building that is found on at least one of Henning;s dies (this one paired with a "1944" obverse) (photo courtesy of error-ref: https://error-ref.com/henning-counterfeit-nickel/ ):
Another reason that I don't think the 1964-D copper piece is plated:
There are some deep depressions (mostly near the rim, including a "looped D") which are similar to the "looped R" Henning die:
Raised dot after MONTICELLO:
A few thoughts...
Henning counterfeits were struck, not cast.
Henning had already been using planchets that were very similar to authentic ones and I doubt he would have used anything less were he to seek a second act.
How’s the ring?
find someone to plate a worn nickel for you
Dead. But no different than other nickels from my pocket that I tested (none have much, if any, ring).
I realize that. But the Henning dies were likely cast, and there could be test castings made in other materials during part of the counterfeiting process.
There's always the possibility of a skilled metal shop student. Using a plaster mold and neatly sanding off the sprue and mold seam.
It landed in the right place anyhow—it is a sweet mystery to have in hand.
THIS!
I always got best results on a ring test on a glass table top, but I am sure that a lot of surfaces work.
The Henning Nickel seems to me as an incredibly stupid way to make money (literally). Henning made nickels dated 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947 and 1953 But this is a 1964, as the @dcarr mentioned, maybe he got out of prison just in time to make some fake 1964 nickels. The clues that Dan mentions also point to his style, but why leave so many clues if you are just trying to make a dishonest nickel?