ABOUT WEBSITE
Welcome to my new website. This site is dedicated to advancing knowledge, education, and research on circulating contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins. I hope you learn, participate, share, and enjoy the information here.
​
Please be patient while this website gets built. Creating a website takes a lot of time and work. Information and images will be added regularly.
​
The purpose of this website is to grow our knowledge and understanding of contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins. This includes reporting new varieties, and adding new research and information about individual varieties and counterfeit coin families across the entire spectrum of contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins as a whole. I greatly welcome community participation, and I hope that our collective efforts can produce some excellent results in the years to come.
ABOUT ME
My name is Winston Zack. The spark which caught my interest in numismatics started in 1993 after finding a 1920 Buffalo nickel on the ground in a hardware store, and learning that a nickel could be worth more than face value! Since then, I have dedicated much of my free-time to advancing this hobby for the benefit of others, and that is why I have built this website.
​
My interest in contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins started after attending the ANA's Summer Seminar Counterfeit Coin Detection Class as a Young Numismatist. This was followed a few years later by writing a chapter on counterfeit 3cS pieces in the book "The Authoritative Reference on Three Cent Silver Coins" published in 2010 with Kevin Flynn; subsequent research has resulted in a ballooning of previously undocumented 3cS varieties, research and information. At the time I was intrigued that it was economical that such a small denomination would be counterfeited. Several years later, I redirected my research interests towards the study and cataloging of all known circulating contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin varieties. I'm pleased to say that this previously understudied area of numismatics is finally getting the interest and attention it so decisively deserves.
​
Today, I am an avid researcher and collector of hand-made, die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins. My primary interests include 3cS, Shield nickels, Capped Bust halves, and Seated type. I am always interested in filling holes in these collections. Therefore, if you have any varieties I may be missing, please send me a message. I also collect other copper, nickel, silver, and gold denominations and types; I am also interested in filling holes in these collections too.
​
I am a lifetime member of the following organizations:
-
Chicago Coin Club (CCC)
-
American Numismatic Association (ANA)
-
John Reich Collectors Society (JRCS)
-
Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS)
​
My numismatic interests and research include:
-
Early United States silver Bust coinage
-
Circulated contemporary counterfeit hand-made die
-
U.S. coins of all denominations and types
-
Portrait and Cap-and-Ray two and eight reales
-
Other 16th to 19th century European counterfeits
-
​
My numismatic publications include:
-
The Authoritative Reference on Three Cent Silver Coins, published in 2010 by Kevin Flynn and Winston Zack.
-
Bust Dime Variety Identification Guide, published in 2017 by Winston Zack, Louis Scuderi, and Mike Sherrill.