Thank you all for a productive and collaborative 2024. When 2023 ended, I hoped 2024 would have the same type of excitement – well it did, but most of that was in the last quarter of 2024. I hoped to have completed the next Bad Metal book by now, especially since I was about 90% complete at that time, and I’m still around 97% complete right now. However, my personal life, work, family, home improvements, and other commitments took that free time from this project. Those items may not be so exhaustive and time-consuming in 2025.
It can be hard to keep track of all the contemporary counterfeit happenings that occur in a year. My diary to track such events, especially the most notable ones, comes in the form of my website blog posts and personal excel spreadsheet. Combined, I have attempted to capture all or nearly all happenings over the past 366 days.
2024 started slow and was relatively dull for the first 6 months. Not much happened, and that is reflected in just the 3 blog posts I created. However, the second-half of 2024 was much more exciting. A collector shared with me several new varieties associated with the forthcoming Bad Metal book. Despite this, the late summer and fall produced few other noteworthy updates to share, even though I began to write a higher frequency of blog posts. Finally, at the start of this winter I was sent a sizeable collection of all types of counterfeit U.S. coins, old, modern, altered dates/mints, etc. This collection resulting in 14 or 15 new die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin varieties (the 1887 IHC, listed below, is still questionable). This identification got us to and beyond documenting 1,000 die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins, a fantastic achievement.
As of this post, I’ve documented 1,006 die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin varieties. This is an increase of 32 new varieties since this time last year, 2023. Most of those 32 varieties are identified below, including a cast 1806 Draped Bust half dollar; unfortunately, I didn’t keep perfect records of all the new varieties documented this year, but I’ve captured about 85% of them, and I’ll try to do better in 2025! Nevertheless, hitting and surpassing 1,000 die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin varieties was a tremendous achievement and something I could not have predicted just 2 months ago when I was at 991 varieties.
Some noteworthy new varieties include 5 more hand-made die struck Capped Bust half dollar varieties. These 5 varieties came from just 2 collections, whereas in the past usually we find 1 new variety at a time. While I expect more new varieties to surface in the years to come, I am pessimistic that there will be another year that results in more than 3 such new varieties documented.
There were 4 new Seated dime hand-made die varieties, of which 2 were dated 1862 and coming from the same family. This was most unexpected. Similar to the CBHs above, these 4 varieties came from just 2 collections.
Transfer die counterfeit Barber coinage had a huge increase this year. There were 5 quarters and 5 half dollars documented, most being struck on brass planchets. I predicted in Bad Metal Silver. 3cS to 25c that more transfer die counterfeit Barber quarters would eventually be documented since I was surprised by how few varieties I documented by the time of that publication. Well, 2024 more than made up for that! Plus, it was great to document so many more Barber half dollars prior to the forthcoming Bad Metal publication – signifying that this next book will be that much more complete.
2024 NEW VARIETIES LIST
Not all new varieties have a variety designation at this time.
1. IHC. 1887. Transfer die (pending XRF confirmation)
2. 3cS. NDR. Z8-AI.
3. 10c. 1857. Z4-AQ.
4. 10c. 1859. Z2-AT
5. 10c. 1862. Z1-AR. 1862 Dime family. Potentially struck on a pewter planchet.
6. 10c. 1862. Z2-AS. 1862 Dime family. Struck on a pewter planchet; this is only the 2nd documented hand-made die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin struck on such a planchet, the other variety being 1831 Davignon 1-A (Ski Nose family) counterfeit CBH
7. 10c. 1890. (variety number pending). Barber dime!
8. 25c. 1899. Transfer die
9. 25c. 1904. Transfer die TD.1-TD.E.
10. 25c. 1906-D. Transfer die
11. 25c. 1915. Transfer die
12. 25c. 1916-D. Transfer die
13. 50c. 1806 O-109 DBH cast
14. 50c. 1818. Hand-made die. Singleton
15. 50c. 1830. Hand-made die. Buck-Toothed Eagle family
16. 50c. 1834. Hand-made die. Clinton Head family
17. 50c. 1837-O. Shares an obverse with 1837 Davignon 11-K, which is part of the Late Comer family, but the reverse is a transfer die from a New Orleans Seated half dollar. This was a most unexpected new counterfeit CBH variety!
18. 50c. Previously an ‘1838’ but actually an ‘1838-O’; the 2 other examples I first saw of this variety were not all that pretty or high grade and did not show evidence of an obverse O mintmark. Therefore, that’s a great update!
19. 50c. 1838 Z11-II which shares an obverse with 1838 Davignon 1-A (both varieties shown below- shared obverse and 2 different reverses). This is a new family yet to be named! If you have an idea for this family based on 1838 Davignon 1-A, please contact me with your recommendation!
20. 50c. 1829 O-114 cast CBH
21. 50c. 1860-O. Transfer die
22. 50c. 1906-S. Transfer die
23. 50c. 1911. Transfer die
24. 50c. 1912-D. Transfer die
25. 50c. 1914-D. Transfer die
26. 50c. 1915-D. Transfer die
27. S$. 1901-O. Z1-F. Hand-made die
28. $2.50. 1871-S. Transfer die
29. $10. 1901. Hand-made die
30. (I believe there were a couple other gold pieces, including a gold dollar or two discovered this year which I didn’t document in detail)
DATA, DATA, DATA
The only way to track 1,000+ varieties, census info, and much more is from data, and lots of it. Although tedious, time-consuming and at times boring, the value of all this information now and in the future will be invaluable. I wish that when I started this project 11 years ago, I had a better vision of how to organize all this data. Nevertheless, such things evolve over time, and that is still something I am constantly working on. One of the pieces of data that I’m trying to record is information about the planchet, including weight, length, width, thickness, and composition. The reason for this is that I have a working hypothesis (one of several) that such information, especially collected over time, will yield stronger insights into the mindsets of the counterfeiters and their success (or failure) in passing off such pieces in circulation. For example, was a silver-plated brass planchet as deceptive as a German silver or billon planchet made decades earlier? Could mechanical counterfeit coin detectors accurately identify and differentiate between a counterfeit coin (of varying planchet metals/alloys) and a genuine coin based on such attributes and characteristics?
Despite having photographically documented some 2,000+ die struck counterfeit U.S. coin examples, I have not collected the types of data I discuss above on the majority of these pieces. This is where I’ve fallen behind. However, in 2025 I have a goal to massively catch-up in this deficient data collection area because I want and need to more accurately account for this census information, collect this metric data, and potentially start publishing the results of this data collection to share with the broader numismatic community. Lots of goals…not always enough time!
While weight and planchet metric data is easy for me to achieve at home, accurate elemental analysis is not, and this is where the right machinery is needed, such as a hand-held XRF analyzer…and this takes me to my next talking point.
XRF Analysis
I’m planning to rent a handheld XRF device in late January/early February for 1 week. The main purpose of this rental is to collect more data for the forthcoming 2 Bad Metal books, data from varieties I did not previously analyze, and any new varieties available to study. If you have contemporary counterfeit coins you would like XRF analyzed, I would be willing to complete this for you at a cost of $4 per coin. You would also be responsible for all mailing costs to and from me. Please contact me at Winston.s.zack@gmail.com to coordinate this. The deadline for submitting pieces (i.e., putting them in the mail) to me is January 18, 2025. All submitted pieces are kept in a locked safe unless taken out for analysis. I currently have several hundred pieces that have been provided to me for XRF analysis.
New items are still being added to the Shop and will continue through January. The scope of pieces being listed is broadening and diversifying whenever possible. One notable piece that was just listed is a 1857 Maranville Counterfeit Coin device.
Shipping prices. I’m continuing that all orders of $100 or more are shipped at no cost to you. However, for orders less than $100, I have had to increase the mailing expense from $4 to $6. It’s a minor change, but it keeps in line with postal service rates and my mailing supply costs.
UPDATED BOOK on HENNING NICKELS
The following was written by the author on December 21, 2024.
The 2nd printing of my popular book, The Henning Nickels Collectors' Guide, is now open for pre-sales. Copies will be ready in-hand by early January, if not earlier. Those who order before the end of 12/31/24 will get free shipping! I am only ordering 75 copies for this run. Books are only reserved for those who have paid in full; I cannot "hold" any copies for you.
The cost is $80 (includes tax) and every book comes signed and dated with the date I sign it. Shipping is an additional $6, but I will cover shipping through the end of the pre-sale promotion. I will ship to all 50 states and Puerto Rico; international shipping will incur additional costs. I accept Zelle, personal checks, U.S. postal money orders, Venmo, and PayPal. Credit and debit cards are not accepted.
The book is about 75+ pages, loaded with HD color photos including closeups, and is a soft cover but plasticized. The paper quality is second to none.
Send me a Facebook message or email me at jcro57@yahoo.com to order. Include payment method, your shipping address, and if you want me to personalize a message to you or someone else if it's a gift for someone. If you're sending me a check or money order, I will give you a shipping address to mail to me.
Below is what the book is about.
Learn all you need to know on how to properly identify Henning nickels with The Henning Nickels Collectors' Guide.
Many people claim to be Henning nickel experts, but there is a lot of misinformation out there and many so-called "experts" are often either wrong or have incomplete information. Just this year I have acquired FIVE Henning nickels (non-1944 dates) listed on Ebay as "circulated nickels" for under $5 - some of which sell for over $500; and one date that has sold recently for over $800! And, Yes, I'm the same "Joe Cronin" who wrote the popular coin error book, Mint Errors to Die For.
As a premier and well-respected expert on Henning nickels, I set the record straight on what you should really be looking for (and NOT looking for) by offering several different and reliable diagnostics to help you authenticate his fakes. For example, did you know that not all Hennings weigh over 5.0 grams, that some weigh under or exactly 5.0 grams, and not all have either a "Looped R" or "Dot" reverse? Did you know I personally discovered a new die marker that holds true to help identify many of his fakes?
Read the front and back cover to see what else I cover on what will be a literary work that is badly needed in this hobby. (I will add sample pages soon.)
I will only be printing 75 copies and I am sure these will go fast. CURRENTLY, 41 COPIES LEFT
2025 GOALS
This is not necessarily a complete list.
Update the Counterfeit CBH census. The last one was completed in 2021 and is long overdue – many things have changed over those 4 years.
Publish the next Bad Metal book on counterfeit half dollars and silver dollars.
Make solid headway on the fourth and final Bad Metal book on counterfeit U.S. gold coins.
Continue work on the draft counterfeit Mexican coinage publications that have been an on-and-off project for several years. This includes the Riddell project which can be found here. This will include both the Portrait and separately Cap and Rays types.
Update the website Research section(s). There will need to be a reorganization of this information and images soon due to website page space limitations.
Continue to make improvements in my counterfeit coin data collection spreadsheet.
Continue to discover and document more die struck counterfeit U.S. coins.
I'm sure that's not everything I want to share with you all, but it's a lot. I hope you all have a safe, healthy, happy, and enjoyable 2025!
Cheers,
Winston
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