Certifying Collectible Counterfeits
Collectors may be confused by the fact that many counterfeit coins have become “special” to numismatists.
If I were to say an event is contemporary, we all should know what that means. A dictionary definition is: “occurring or existing at the same time.” For us as numismatists, that simple definition of “contemporary” is not a specific time period or date. Obviously, what was considered to be contemporary at one time is not contemporary today or sometime in the future. I brought this subject up with my associates after taking a call from a customer concerning the fake coins in Independent Coin Graders (ICG) holders with yellow labels for educational purposes. I’m thinking forward to a day, decades in the future, when some folks may insist that the crude, granular, magnetic fakes from China are contemporary counterfeits made to fool collectors.
Any counterfeit or altered coin is eligible for our yellow label holders (Fig.1). What has confused a few of our customers is the fact that we grade many of the fakes that have become “special” to numismatists. Some of these fakes are considered to be contemporary, while others are not. For example, the “Omega” gold pieces were struck in the 1970s, yet they bear dates near the turn of the century when the genuine coins were in use. Other fakes like the Machin’s Mill coppers and British “Bungtown” pieces circulated alongside the genuine coins of the day.
While the determination of “contemporary” may not always be easy, authenticators do not need to get hung up on the exact time a counterfeit was produced. What is more important is the “quality” or method of manufacture of the counterfeit. Did it pass as genuine when it was in circulation? Is it die-struck, an electrotype, or a cast?
Two of the more interesting counterfeits we grade have become highly collectible: the “Micro-O” Morgan dollars and Henning’s Jefferson nickels.
The counterfeit nickels were die-struck in the 1950s by Francis Henning. They bear the dates 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947 and 1953. The exact process Henning used to produce these fakes is not known, but they are of excellent quality for the time period and have the color and appearance of circulated genuine nickels. If he had not made the mistake of using the 1944 issue having the wartime silver alloy with a large mintmark as one of his dates, it probably would have taken much longer for the authorities to catch him.
Fortunately, one of the easiest ways to spot many of these fakes is a large depression in the “R” of “PLURIBUS” (Fig.2) on the coin’s reverse. Other diagnostics from his different counterfeit dies have been discovered due to significant research by Joseph Cronin and others. His newly published book, The Henning Nickels Collectors’ Guide, contains diagnostics for these fakes and the results of x-ray tests to determine the composition of the non-wartime dates. I am reading it now and consider it a must-read for those interested in counterfeits and their detection.
The counterfeit “Micro-O” Morgan dollars and other counterfeit dollars with normal-sized mintmarks that have been linked to them are also graded by ICG. Their origin is not as clear. They defied detection much longer due to the quality of their manufacture and mostly circulated condition. Many were given VAM numbers by Morgan dollar experts back when they were thought to be rare varieties. Some believe they were produced by our enemies during wartime to debase our currency. Others link them to the counterfeits that are mentioned several times between 1897 and 1902 in the New York Times newspaper. The fakes were turning up in major cities like Boston, Denver and St. Louis. One column even mentioned the use of a lower-case “o” mintmark. Very deceptive counterfeit Morgan dollars were also circulating all over the Philippines, but no mention is made of the size of their mintmarks.
Whatever the case, the fact that this author detected a fresh gem BU specimen in 1994 or ’95 while working at PCI in Tennessee might indicate that the dies are still in the possession of some entity or foreign gang. Since then, research by authenticators and dollar enthusiasts has discovered an entire group of these deceptive fakes that are now published on the VAM World website. Are there more to be found?
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