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Counterfeiting is SOOOOO rampant now. 40% Kennedys AND a mutiliated 1929 dime!

35 posts in this topic

I just happened to read a scary article in today's Penny Wise that discusses some counterfeit half-cents and large-cents, several of which got certified(!), including one early cent that get certified with a straight grade(!!!).

 

And then on top of that, today I was counting through some junk silver that a client wants, and pulled out a very odd 1968-D Kennedy half.

 

IT'S FAKE doh! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

When I get back home, I'll post photos.

 

Just have to wonder when will justice will be served to the extreme creeps that perpetrate this horror on the true collectors out there.

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Sorry it took me awhile, but the story actually took an even more bizarre path than expected. I decided to check my whole pile of junk 90% (which is only about $20 face), and much to my astonishment, there was ANOTHER fake "silver" coin, this time a mutilated 1929 "dime". Pics posted below, with thumbnails first, then gigantic zooms (sorry, I didn't spend a lot of time trying to get well-focused shots - you'll get the gist).

 

JEEZ!

 

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The Kennedy is definitely a cast counterfei! I wonder if it was intended to circulate or to defraud silver investors?

 

The dime is grainy and could also be cast, but honestly, there isn't enough left of it to wrap my mind around it.

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I just can't comprehend why anyone would make a cast counterfeit of a 1968 D half dollar. My vote is either a polish job, or maybe a really bad plating job by someone who was wanting to learn how to plate.

 

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I just can't comprehend why anyone would make a cast counterfeit of a 1968 D half dollar. My vote is either a polish job, or maybe a really bad plating job by someone who was wanting to learn how to plate.

It is significantly underweight and thinner than it should be, and definitely not made of silver. It also fails the "ring test". It actually IS polished - but it's a fake that someone has polished for unknown reasons.

 

The dime, although mutilated, clearly has mushy detail in-hand, and again, it isn't made of silver.

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What makes you believe either of those are fake? That half dollar is very simply a polished half dollar from what I am seeing.

 

Maybe there isn't a logical reason why one would make a counterfeit 1968-D half dollar, but that coin looks bogus to me. Look at the letters in "In God we trust." They are misshaped and have an amateurish look to them. The piece does not appear to be made of silver. It looks more like copper nickel. These coins did have 80% silver outer copper layers, so the real thing should strongly resemble a 90% silver coin.

 

Although polishing could be part of the issue, the overall devices lack clarity, and there are "fatty letters" as one would find on a counterfeit. Overall I'd say that this coin is a fake. Perhaps the premium for the silver in the genuine clad half dollar makes the duplication of such coins worthwhile if they are "salted in" with a group of genuine bullion oriented coins. Most silver buyers are not going to examine each coin. They will simply run them through a coin counter.

 

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I myself have a counterfeit 1929 (P) dime that I got from my grandparents ~40 years ago, and if gradable, would be an VG. It is also severely underweight, has a greasy feel and fails the "ring test".

 

I was once told these were called "wood block dimes" and made during the Great Depression when something could still be bought with a dime.

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Does the 1968 D half show any evidence of being clad?

Mike, great question, and one of the first things I looked for. Without further altering the coin, it does have somewhat of a "sandwich coin" characteristic, but even the color of the edge is wrong. And the reeding is not like that of a genuine contemporary half - I'd call it "low relief" reeding, but it isn't worn down. It was just a poor quality reeded-edge collar.

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

Acid etching is a possibility, though James said it does not pass the ring test, which could indicate it's not silver (though it was only 40% to start).

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Someone in Colorado makes and sells things that appear to be fake Kennedy halves - regular clad and bicentennial; but, they look better than the one the OP posted.

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Hey Roger why do you criticize people who attack others in one post, but then turn around and do the same thing in other posts?

 

I have seen it a handfull of times on the last few weeks... I don't get it.

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

Acid etching is a possibility, though James said it does not pass the ring test, which could indicate it's not silver (though it was only 40% to start).

 

If the coin was acid-treated and some of the metal was removed, the ring would be different than it was originally.

 

Now that I've thought about it some more, another (perhaps better) explanation is that the half dollar was heated to near the melting point, possibly being plated at that same time for a jewelry application.

 

Coins that have been very hot tend to have a diminished ring tone.

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Someone in Colorado makes and sells things that appear to be fake Kennedy halves - regular clad and bicentennial; but, they look better than the one the OP posted.

 

Hey, that's great.

Previously, you said that my fantasy-date over-strikes look worse than cheap Chinese counterfeits. But now you say they look better than a damaged genuine US Mint coin. We're making progress ;)

 

 

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Someone in Colorado makes and sells things that appear to be fake Kennedy halves - regular clad and bicentennial; but, they look better than the one the OP posted.

 

Hey, that's great.

Previously, you said that my fantasy-date over-strikes look worse than cheap Chinese counterfeits. But now you say they look better than a damaged genuine US Mint coin. We're making progress ;)

 

 

I love me some Dan Carr

 

mark

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Hey Roger why do you criticize people who attack others in one post, but then turn around and do the same thing in other posts?

 

I have seen it a handfull of times on the last few weeks... I don't get it.

 

Neither did I at first but I come to realize ---- That's ROGER!! lol

 

I got a Saturday Laugh out of this one.

Thanks Roger. :)

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

Acid etching is a possibility, though James said it does not pass the ring test, which could indicate it's not silver (though it was only 40% to start).

 

If the coin was acid-treated and some of the metal was removed, the ring would be different than it was originally.

 

Now that I've thought about it some more, another (perhaps better) explanation is that the half dollar was heated to near the melting point, possibly being plated at that same time for a jewelry application.

 

Coins that have been very hot tend to have a diminished ring tone.

I remember seeing a silver dollar once that been in a fire, reading your post jogged my memory. . It was very similar to having the same exact look as this half. I bet it was baked in a fire of some sort somehow. Still can't imagine it is a legitimate counterfeit.

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Hey Roger why do you criticize people who attack others in one post, but then turn around and do the same thing in other posts?

 

I have seen it a handfull of times on the last few weeks... I don't get it.

 

Neither did I at first but I come to realize ---- That's ROGER!! lol

 

I got a Saturday Laugh out of this one.

Thanks Roger. :)

 

I don't think it's funny, but rather it strikes me as both rude and disruptive.

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

Acid etching is a possibility, though James said it does not pass the ring test, which could indicate it's not silver (though it was only 40% to start).

 

If the coin was acid-treated and some of the metal was removed, the ring would be different than it was originally.

 

Now that I've thought about it some more, another (perhaps better) explanation is that the half dollar was heated to near the melting point, possibly being plated at that same time for a jewelry application.

 

Coins that have been very hot tend to have a diminished ring tone.

It is also thinner than a genuine coin. If it wasn't a hassle to unpack my scale (packed away for Long Beach), I'd weigh it, but it seems to be about 30% underweight.

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It is also thinner than a genuine coin. If it wasn't a hassle to unpack my scale (packed away for Long Beach), I'd weigh it, but it seems to be about 30% underweight.

 

I think knowing the weight would be crucial in determining what happened to it.

If you are just looking at the thickness of the edge, that can be misleading since the height of the rims can greatly affect the apparent thickness at the edge. Do you have a picture of the edge ? Is the diameter the same as a regular Kennedy half dollar ?

 

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James,

Here's a photo of another fake Kennedy half dollar to add to your database.

 

1975%20half%20CuNi%20rev%20sm_zpsyvjnqzkx.jpg

 

Sorry the photo is not better.

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The dime is probably a vintage counterfeit, made for the purpose of spending at face value.

 

The half dollar is probably a genuine coin that has been subjected to a nitric acid treatment, and then polished. Do you have a picture of the edge ?

 

Acid etching is a possibility, though James said it does not pass the ring test, which could indicate it's not silver (though it was only 40% to start).

 

If the coin was acid-treated and some of the metal was removed, the ring would be different than it was originally.

 

Now that I've thought about it some more, another (perhaps better) explanation is that the half dollar was heated to near the melting point, possibly being plated at that same time for a jewelry application.

 

Coins that have been very hot tend to have a diminished ring tone.

 

It is also thinner than a genuine coin. If it wasn't a hassle to unpack my scale (packed away for Long Beach), I'd weigh it, but it seems to be about 30% underweight.

 

At first, I thought definitely a cast counterfeit, as the lettering was wavy and the surfaces were very grainy, and Kennedy's head is missing fine details.

 

The acid explanation, however, seems very probably, as I've seen examples of acid treatment that seem to shrink the coin as the acid etches the metal away. This would explain the smaller size, more narrow reedy, and odd ring (especially since it has lost so much silver).

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James,

Here's a photo of another fake Kennedy half dollar to add to your database.

 

1975%20half%20CuNi%20rev%20sm_zpsyvjnqzkx.jpg

 

Sorry the photo is not better.

 

Do you happen to have to obverse to that fake, Roger?

 

 

It is my photo, used without permission. But I don't really mind if others use my pictures for purposes of information sharing. Here is the full original picture: mm_50_1975d_cn_1.jpg

This is a fantasy-date over-strike. No 1975-dated half dollars were originally produced. So I struck a "1975-D" fantasy-date over an ordinary US Mint copper-nickel clad Kennedy half dollar. No metal was added or removed, and there was no heating or melting. You can see a few faint outlines of the original coin, such as to the right of the Eagle's tail. Here is the full web page where I originally sold them (they sold out a couple years ago): "1975-D" Fantasy-Date Over-Strike Kennedy Half Dollar

 

There were quite a few different over-strikes related to this: “1963” and “1975” Kennedy Half Dollars – Production Blog

 

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Thanks for posting the picture, DCARR. I will use it for presentations to my local club with your permission.

 

That is ok, thanks for asking.

What is your presentation about ?

 

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