1913 Libnicks: Counterfeit or legit?
cherrypickincoin
Posts: 1,760 ✭✭
We all know these coins are worth a minimum of $1,000,000 each time they go on the auction block and Manley just sold his specimen for "about $3 million" at the ANA show in Baltimore. I was just reading through the latest Coin World this morning and on page 11 noticed the following letter written in:
"One of five counterfeit 1913 Liberty Head nickels has been authenticated. Counterfeit? Yes, a classic example. The five are claimed to be U.S. coins but were neither coined nor issued by the Mint. They were made at the Mint but not by the Mint.
As to their mysterious origins mentioned by your writer, there is no mystery. Samuel Brown, a corrupt Mint employee, made the coins at the Philadelphia Mint. He waited a few years and then advertised that he would buy any such coins for $600. He exhibited the coins he had bought at the 1929 American Numismatic Association convention and later sold them as a set. Each of the five may sell for over a million dollars, but they are still counterfeit."
So folks, this raises a legitimate discussion. Let's say you or I had the ability to coin a false date, such as a 1931 Washington quarter and we were able to make it look like any other coin because we had the machines to do it. It would probably immediately be deemed counterfeit, no matter how good it looked. Keep in mind that I am neutral on this subject, I really haven't given it a whole lot of though but I do believe this is NOT a coin, but rather a medal that was made by one or a couple corrupt individuals and NOT by the mint. Shouldn't it be classified as a token or a medal, rather than a coin or is this just trivial?
"One of five counterfeit 1913 Liberty Head nickels has been authenticated. Counterfeit? Yes, a classic example. The five are claimed to be U.S. coins but were neither coined nor issued by the Mint. They were made at the Mint but not by the Mint.
As to their mysterious origins mentioned by your writer, there is no mystery. Samuel Brown, a corrupt Mint employee, made the coins at the Philadelphia Mint. He waited a few years and then advertised that he would buy any such coins for $600. He exhibited the coins he had bought at the 1929 American Numismatic Association convention and later sold them as a set. Each of the five may sell for over a million dollars, but they are still counterfeit."
So folks, this raises a legitimate discussion. Let's say you or I had the ability to coin a false date, such as a 1931 Washington quarter and we were able to make it look like any other coin because we had the machines to do it. It would probably immediately be deemed counterfeit, no matter how good it looked. Keep in mind that I am neutral on this subject, I really haven't given it a whole lot of though but I do believe this is NOT a coin, but rather a medal that was made by one or a couple corrupt individuals and NOT by the mint. Shouldn't it be classified as a token or a medal, rather than a coin or is this just trivial?
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Comments
If I owned one I'd sell it and buy some REAL coins. I don't care for the circumstances under which it was produced, and I don't respect the coin for that reason. Putting the money aside, there are MANY pieces I'd much sooner own than an 1913 Liberty Nickel.
As for legit or counterfeit, I'd say that the 1933 double eagle is FAR more legitimate than the 1913 nickel. It was made legally, and the only argument is, was it issued illegally?
I think what set the government off was that it was made of gold and the government was trying to make a point. The nickel was made of base metal, and maybe the first owner, Ned Green, had some good friends in high places. He certainly must have had some good government friends. It was said that he cheated on his income taxes, and never had to make good on them. Now that is something many tax evader would love to pull off!
I am still wondering where the other 14 missing 1913 nickels are.
IMO, the Treasury Department should confiscate every darn one of them.
-- Dennis
maybe that's what stacks meant when they told the walton family that their piece was a counterfeit.
What the hey... that's as good as your guess!
They look good, but nobody knows where they came from.
They are worth a lot, but nobody knows why.
We would all like to have one, just to say we did.
And, despite having no talent/legitimacy, they are both a prime example of what good promotion can do.
<< <i>The ANA show was in 1920. He showed "ONE" coin, not coins. >>
This is open to debate as it was reported both ways in contemporary reports.
<< <i>I am still wondering where the other 14 missing 1913 nickels are. >>
???
<< <i>1913 Nickels are like the Brittany Spears of the coin world - >>
Now if Madonna kissed a 1913, would we be referring to "lip" prints instead of fingerprints?