Has anyone ever heard of, seen or possessed a "counterfeit" Walking Lib. Half Dollar?...
razorface1027
Posts: 4,242 ✭✭
I'm curious...Replies appreciated.
What is money, in reality, but dirty pieces of paper and metal upon which privilege is stamped?
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<< <i>Standing Liberty Half..a.k.a. Walker Half
Ah.... I had to leave after I posted. While driving I thought that maybe you meant a Seated Liberty Half.
they appear to be contemporary counterfeits. They are pot metal and lead. All
are cast except I think one of the lead is struck.
Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
I have one around here somewhere, all I have to do is find it in this mess!!!!
When I find it I'll post a scan. It is a poorly done lead one.
It was given to me years ago by old garbage man who knew I collected coins. Sorry I can't post any pics at this time.
Here is one I always liked.
Got it in a lot of circulated silver coins at 4 times face value.
It turned out to be the most valuable coin in the lot - I sold it for 10 times face.
I guess it is really an indian Head nicle as it is smooth on the other side.
I've also seen a base-metal counterfeit Walker. It looked like there were bubbles on the fields. Also it had toned an very odd color of gray and black.
He had many Walking Liberty half dollars in his inventory. All of them were cast copies usually in lead, and done so poorly that no collector would be fooled by them. These things were undoubtedly made during the Great Depression when many people were very hard up for money.
He drove law enforcement crazy trying to catch him.
Anyone know the story?
He had a selection of them at a White Plains show in the fall.
I bought a sweet counterfeit 1861 quarter eagle. He also had a couple of fake gold dollars and I seem to recall some mercury dimes, buffalo nickels and Walkers, too.
Check out the Southern Gold Society
<< <i>I'm thinking there was a guy back in the 40's or 50's that made nickels.
He drove law enforcement crazy trying to catch him.
Anyone know the story? >>
I'll have to refresh my memory from one of the books in my library, but here what I have from the top of my head.
I think you are referring to a fellow from Camden, NJ who made some very good copies of the Jefferson nickel. He made the mistake of using a 1944 nickel for the obverse and a 1939 nickel for the reverse. The result was a war nickel without the big mint mark. These are the pieces that noted in the footnote in the Red Book as counterfeits. All of these coins have a “molding device ‘die break’” above Monticello that looks like a flagpole.
I think this guy had an engineering background which helped him produce a more convincing copy. But like I said I need to refresh my memory
<< <i>All of these coins have a “molding device ‘die break’” above Monticello that looks like a flagpole. >>
Huh? Never heard of that and I have a couple of them and a booklet that was written them. There is nothing in the diagnostics list about a "flagpole" There is a die defect in the R of PLURIBUS that leaves a big hole on the leg of the R. the only things I can remember about Monticello and flagpoles is one variety of a genuine coin that has a "flagpole" die break, and that when the nickels first came out in 1938 there was a rumor that went around that they were going to be recalled because "they DIDN'T have the flagpole thatis on the actual building".