Is Someone Just Playing Around?

quote:

---

Coffeegod says:
Coins with the word "COPY.

---

These also one that is not made buy the mint. There are private mint that make coins that are not real coins. In order to sell them legally they must put the word copy on the back. If you see it (copy) they were made to sell to collectors and they know that the coin is not real. Some U.S. Cents that are copied the most are ones that collectors don't usually find. 1955/55 Big DDO is probably the biggest one copied. The 1909-S VDB is another one that is copied. 1914-D, 1931-S, 1943 Copper. Mercury dimes: 1916-D Is the biggie for that year. Some older copper ones are commonly made also. But if they don't say "COPY on the reverse, they could be or could not be the real thing. Knowing what to expect on an older coin will probably save time when you encounter one. On coins that are not in the Key Date coins, they usually don't fake these. But when the money is there it can get lucrative. Some things to watch for is a grainy texture on the field (Cast) If the devices are not of the older style. (Faked/copy coins may use the current devices, but have a different date, may not be real 1937-D 3 legged Buffalo is another one that is forged as a fake. So just because they say a certain year, there are things to watch for letting you know they are fakes. Of course the word Copy should be checked first.

It's a counterstamp. Done outside the mint, some of them had some meaning, some of them were marketing pieces, and some of the older ones were actually valuable.

At any rate, it's a normal quarter that someone punched a numeral into.