Is the 59 wheatback for real....??

OldEastside

I got nutin but wanted to post so.....
what the story with the 59 wheatback?

Steve

Coinosaurus

IIRC, there is not a consensus. I think the Secret Service declined to call it a fake, while conversely the services wouldn't authenticate it.

Last time sold for 25K or something like that??

braddick

Interesting LINK

I believe the counterfeiter is still serving time in a Utah state prison (on unrelated crimes).

amiller

Treasury and Secret Service say it is genuine and returned it to the owner twice (would have been confiscated if spurious). There was a full report detailing the tests and observations that led to their conclusion.

Before the TPG days, it was sent to the ANA for an opinion and they would not state it was genuine, their only reasoning being that the Mint had not admitted to making any.

segoja

FAKE ALL THE WAY

JamesMurray

<< <i>FAKE ALL THE WAY >>



Be honest now , would your opinion change if you found one in change ?

STONE

<< <i>

<< <i>FAKE ALL THE WAY >>


Be honest now , would your opinion change if you found one in change ? >>


No, because it would be more than likely one of DCarr's counterfeits!!!

segoja

When I find one, I'll let you know

JamesMurray

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>FAKE ALL THE WAY >>


Be honest now , would your opinion change if you found one in change ? >>


No, because it would be more than likely one of DCarr's counterfeits!!! >>







Weird thing is when roll searching if i see a 59 i always check the reverse (even hopefully)

GrumpyEd

I think it's a fake made by that forger.

The Secret Service isn't always correct, they did call the 69-S DDOs fake when they saw them.

morgansforever

Numismatic Forgery

Page 11, talks about the 59 Wheatback mule made by Hofmann.

keets

FAKE ALL THE WAY

what about the 1958 DDO, isn't that unique?? is that one also "fake" all the way or does it get a pass for some reason??

CaptHenway

I have seen two, and do not believe that either was genuiine, but am not in a position to state with authority that either was fake.
TD

richbeat

General consensus: very deceptive fake, though not proven 100% either way.

ricko

I find it surprising that we seem to have only opinions on these and no facts. If Treasury et al examined it and returned it as original, that seems to be the only authoritative input. I guess I should read more about it ..... Cheers, RickO

leothelyon

I imagine a wheat-back 1959 could have been made similar to the unique 1942-smallS nickel.

BillJones

<< <i>FAKE ALL THE WAY

what about the 1958 DDO, isn't that unique?? is that one also "fake" all the way or does it get a pass for some reason?? >>



If I am reading this correctly there is a big difference between a doubled die obverse which involves the improper preparation of a working die from the hub and a totally different reverse die that allegedly was used to strike a retro design on a coin. Having seen photos of a piece that was said to be this anomaly, my impression from those pictures was that the item was not genuine.

STONE

There are also at least 2 known 1958 DDO's!!!

FredWeinberg

I've examined the 59-D Cent
three times, raw.

I am certain it is a counterfeit.

One of the problems with the story
that the "Treasury" authenticated it
is that the person who wrote a letter
saying they thought it was real was
in the CURRENCY Dept. of the Treasury.

I've seen a copy of the letter - and was
not impressed that the currency specialist
said it was "ok". That means nothing.

CaptHenway

<< <i>I have seen two, and do not believe that either was genuiine, but am not in a position to state with authority that either was fake.
TD >>



I wish to correct this statement. Yesterday I did some research in the ANA Museum of the old ANACS logbooks from the Washington, D.C. era (1972-1976), and the coin that I saw in the mid-1970's while still at Coin World was a 1959 Philadelphia coin with an altered date. Saw a file closeup photograph of the date.

Edited to clarify: I have seen one 1959 Philadelphia wheat cent that has an altered 9, and one 1959-D wheat cent that I believe is a die-struck counterfeit, but I cannot prove it.

TD

LanceNewmanOCC

.
i imagine the person(s) that bought it from auction thought there was some legitimacy to it. what did it bring $15-20k? been a while since i read on this one and the cobwebs are dustier than usual on the details.
.

WoodenJefferson

Back in the day, if you were willing to take the chance, you could make some short term dies from an 'explosive impact' from a 10 gauge shot gun. Genuine cent blanks were readily available, I myself have pulled some from change myself. Make your own mules!

rec78

Real or fake it will still carry a big price until proof is ascertained either way. While I have not seen the coin in person, I have always thought it to be a fake. Even if fake, it is still unique and had some value to quite a few collectors. This is one of those cases where a totally worthless coin is not totally worthless. Someone will always desire it-and more than one someone, thus giving it value. How much value? That will be determined by how much someone wants it just for its unique place in numismatic history.

Bob