Contemporary Counterfeits, Cast Or Struck, This Newbie Could Use Some Help

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,038
jdsstrat Valued Member United States 258 Posts	Posted 02/19/2025 4:55 pm Greetings from NYC. I am excruciatingly new to the category of contemporary counterfeits. So far I have come across an old farthing - doubleheaded and medal aligned! - and a couple of half pennies from the late 18th/early 19th centuries that would seem to be counterfeit, perhaps even contemporary counterfeit. But how can you be sure? Were contemporary counterfeits struck like the genuines or cast? Or is there something else about them to look for to determine how old (or new) a counterfeit is? At first, I thought of the doubleheaded farthing below as a novelty item but then I saw three doubleheaded halfpennies that had been sold at a Heritage Auction in 2021 for decent money. There wasn't much of a description to them, except that they were "Imitations" as in not novelties. And when I wrote to ask if there was anything more in their files I got a very definite NO for a response. Thanks for looking! Report this Post to the Staff

Spence Moderator United States 34393 Posts	Posted 02/19/2025 8:05 pm @jds, for me the seam on the edge is a clear indication that you do not have a mint error, but rather someone's attempt to take two normal Farthings and create a single, double-headed one. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
jdsstrat Valued Member United States 258 Posts	Posted 02/19/2025 8:31 pm Agreed, Spence. Definitely NOT a mint error. Someone did this intentionally and I was wondering if there was a way to tell when. The doubleheaded half penny "Imitations" that Heritage auctioned off in 2021, for example: did they command the prices they did - the best of the lot went for near 1,000 as I remember it - do things like that sell for money like that because of when they were created? Because of how they were created? Or by whom? I'm just asking. Certainly, if they were mere novelty coins, who would pay that kind of money for them? Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 34393 Posts	Posted 02/19/2025 9:06 pm Can you provide a link to one of those auctions pls? I'm definitely missing something. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
jdsstrat Valued Member United States 258 Posts	Posted 02/19/2025 9:18 pm You may have to create an account: https://www.ha.com/c/search/results...h-A-K-071316 And BTW: all three sold in the same auction. Edited by jdsstrat 02/19/2025 9:20 pm Report this Post to the Staff
jdsstrat Valued Member United States 258 Posts	Posted 03/03/2025 7:12 pm Actually, I found better descriptions at archived auction at the Stacks and Bowers website. Their coins were definitely struck on the same flan. Mine is two separate halves joined together somehow. I am almost certain that at least one half is counterfeit - the lettering is just off. I'm still wondering if anyone knows how to tell about when this coin might have been made. Edited by jdsstrat 03/04/2025 07:40 am Report this Post to the Staff
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