"why they were fabricated is a matter of speculation"
"5 times your money. like buying a counterfeit $100 for $20, just much more effort involved"
Not so simple to understand.......if so lucrative, why weren't they marketed as double denominations instead of just off metals? Why are there only a few of these known so far, taking years to acquire from different sources? Why did the fabricator go to the bother of making them in two different years? Why/how have they circulated for so long if they were being fabricated for profit? Maybe whoever made these coins, made just a handful to see if they could do it and then place them into circulation. Who knows?