Did anyone read the story about the 1969 DDO Lincoln Cent in Heritage's St. Louis catalog?

Longacre

I could have the story wrong because I looked at the auction catalog a few days ago, but one of the lots was a 1969-S (?) doubled die Lincoln cent. The catalog then went on to describe that there was some sort of governmental investigation of counterfeit 1969-P (?) cents, and as a result, ordered the destruction of several double die cents of that date. Again, I could have some of the facts totally wrong, but does anyone know more of the story behind this? Also, was there a court case regarding these coins? If so, do you have the cite?

Shamika

Taken directly from THE HERITAGE AUCTION.

Description
1969-S 1C Doubled Die MS61 Brown PCGS. The 1969-S Doubled Die has an interesting and checkered history. Two coin dealers counterfeited Doubled Die 1969-P cents and were arrested. After their arrest and during the ensuing trial, Doubled Die 1969-S cents came to light and were publicized in the numismatic press. The government could not afford to confuse their case against the two dealers with a legitimate Doubled Die, so they seized five S-mint coins from collectors, called them counterfeits, and destroyed them in 1980. After the case was over regarding the counterfeit P-mints, the government never went after any more legitimate S-mints from 1969.
Very few Doubled Die 1969-S cents are believed known. David Lange (1996) estimates that possibly only 100 pieces were minted, with no more than 15-20 examples believed extant today. The doubling is dramatic, although not quite as pronounced as the 1972/72. One can see widely spaced doubling on the letters in LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST, as well as the digits in the date. Calling this coin Brown seems a bit harsh since there is a significant amount of original mint red still around the devices on each side. The MS61 grade is derived from several field marks on both obverse and reverse and a couple of marks on the highpoints of Lincoln's cheek. Glossy overall. The 1969-S Doubled Die is one of the rarest if not the rarest issue in the Lincoln cent series. Population: 1 in 61, 2 finer (3/05).

pharmer

At least it meets pcgs's stringent standards for recognizing and labeling varieties. Many try, few succeed.

coppercoins

I can verify that versions of that story very similar to that one are what I've heard for years. I have seen photos of the counterfeit doubled die, way too strong to have been anything real, the spread is so wide the doubling in the motto doesn't even touch the same letters from the primary design.

I'm not next to my references but I believe the photos were published in John Wexler's 1984 book, The Lincoln Cent Doubled Die.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

Yup.This is the same story that I've heard since I started persuing the 69s DDO.I can also tell you that I own a discovery piece that was acquired by Arnold Margolies,a dealer in errors,and sent to the Department of the Treasury,Office of the Director of the Mint for authentication.I also have the letter from the Mint Director in 1979 Stella Hackel stating the coin is genuine.It has been slabbed as AU 55 by PCGS.

Stewart Blay

cladking

I believe the secret service actually confiscated about a dozen of these and
destroyed only five. At least one was reported to have been returned.

lloydmincy

A dealer friend stole the FUN Heritage coin, MS 64 RB from Platinum Night. Judging by the price realized, he was right. I dont know why whoever is bidding on the 61 BN didnt go for the FUN coin.

JRocco

Here is a pic of the counterfeit 69P Lincoln cent.