Whats the lowest valued fake you've heard of?
Striker
Posts: 191
We all know there are plenty of fakes out there for the key dates but have any of you seen fakes that weren't key dates? What is the lowest valued coin that was fake you've seen?
0
Comments
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
HENNING'S MINT
By Thomas LaMarre
A nickel could buy a lot of things back in the 1950s, a bottle of pop, a candy bar or a newspaper. But a New Jersey man got more than he bargained for when his "nickels" bought him a ticket to the "Big House."
It was in 1954 that counterfeit nickels begun turning up in New Jersey. They were oversize, overweight and poorly made. But the counterfeiter made an even bigger mistake, although most of his nickels were dated 1944; they didn't match up to wartime specifications.
During the Second World War, nickel was needed to produce armor plate. So from 1942 to 1945, five-cent pieces were made in an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. To distinguish the "new" nickels from the "old" when it came time to melt them, each Mint that produced these coins placed an identifying mark above the dome of Monticello, which is pictured on the "tails" side. A large letter "P" stood for Philadelphia, "D" for Denver, and "S" for San Francisco.
The letters were nowhere to be seen on the counterfeit nickels. And they were made from copper, nickel and iron, with no trace of silver. Even so, they cost the counterfeiter three cents apiece to make. Nearly 100,000 of the phony nickels were placed in circulation before federal agents followed the trail to a clandestine "mint" in Erial, New Jersey.
The operator was Francis Leroy Henning. He had already left town, but not before he dumped 200,000 counterfeit nickels into Cooper Creek, and another 200,000 into the river. Henning was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 1955, tried, and convicted. He originally was sentenced to three years in jail and fined $5,000. But the judge tacked on another three years when he got wind of Henning's newest project--a plan to counterfeit $5 bills.
many of these low value fakes were made for spending - like guys trying to make $20 bills today -
even if you could make a half dollar today, and it cost you 5 cents in materials/supplies and it was passable and if your machine could make a few hundred an hour - would you?
Several of us have been looking for shallow N reverse IHC's from the years 1873 to 1876. They are known to have been minted in 1872 and 1877 but not the intervening years. So far, all those found from years 1873-1876 have been counterfeit.
More that 20 years a go some idiot made a copy of a very common Hard Times token. The Bozo got the date wrong. He put 1824 on the piece instead of 1834. There had been hard times in 1818, but by 1824 things were getting better.
Of course, compared to some of the fake modern cents, nickels, and foreign coins in my collection, that Kennedy half has a relatively high value ... the highest face value contemporary counterfeit I own is an 1891 CC $10 in brass.
Betts medals, colonial coins, US Mint medals, foreign coins found in early America, and other numismatic Americana
I have been throwing them in a box, and there is a nice veriety.
I have enjoyed them.
Some that come to mind are:
A 1927-S Quarter in xf (Lead)
Lead peace dollar
I have at least 10 None silver Trade dollars
lead buffalo
lead walkers
an 09svdb with a added S
a couple of 3 legged nickels (filed)
and a five dollar bill that came in as change (photo copy)
Www.killermarbles.com
Www.suncitycoin.com
Link
Cool piece of history . . .
<< <i>Wow, that's weird...
very weird
IHC's and Buff's in terms of numismatic value
<< <i>I have a cast lead or similar metal barber half I bought as a fake, just to have one. I think it is dated 1903 or 1905, mid-grade and crudely made. >>
You may have bought that from me, last year I sold a crude lead counterfeit Barber Half that turned up in the "register stash" of my neighbor's late mother. She used to work at a family butcher shop and saved the unusual coins from the till.
I also occasionally see contemporary counterfeit Shield nickels on eBay.
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
Stewart Huckaby
mailto:stewarth@HA.com
------------------------------------------
Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auctions
2801 W. Airport Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75261
Phone: 1-800-US-COINS, x1355
Heritage Auctions
<< <i>Half-Cents for face value
IHC's and Buff's in terms of numismatic value >>
I have never seen a circulating counterfeit half cent.
My grandpa found a silver piece made out of two impressions from a Morgan dollar. I've been told they counterfeited Morgans back then by using old lead jar lids.
<< <i>This was worth 3 cents, in it's day.
That has cool factor all over it.
Russian made -- supposedly, per the story..
Also a 1967 Washington quarter.
BHNC #203
<< <i>Back in the '70's Collectors Clearinghouse ran a picture of a fake 1921 cent struck for circulation from hand-cut dies. >>
My brother had one of those.
I picked up my barber half from a silver bullion dealer, Larry Teakamp, at a show about 2 years ago. My example has less damage. I had to pay full silver price for it so he could recover his cost, but that was somewhere around $10-12 at the time. It was not squashed like your example. I have seen another example about 10 years ago and decided initially not to buy it for $5, then about 15 minutes later came back and it was sold.
<< <i>Henning nickels. >>
NFS - not for sale!
as circulation money in Ecuador. As bad as the average SBA looks, these were worse.
<< <i>It would not be a small denomination, but thousands of SBA $ were counterfeited, to be used
as circulation money in Ecuador. As bad as the average SBA looks, these were worse. >>
Got one of those too, but not posting pictures.