Coins with two tails or two heads - every numismatic site there is gets dozens, if not hundreds, of questions about these coins on a regular basis. And as anyone who has been collecting for even a short time will tell you they are magician's coins - coins purposely manufactured as a novelty.
But what some don't realize is that there are known genuine examples - certified and slabbed by the top third party grading companies like NGC, ANACS, PCGS & ICG. Make no mistake, these coins are quite rare. I have heard, read or seen pictures of only 4 U.S. examples to date - 2 quarters, 1 Indian cent and a dime. So far I have only been able to locate on-line information about 1 of the quarters and the Indian cent. The following links will provide articles and pics on the subject. I will provide more as I find them.
The 1859 2 Headed Indian Cent
"This two-headed muling, a business striking - not a proof struck in copper-nickel, was recently rediscovered and was the subject of an article in the September 18, 2000 edition of Coin World. It had been submitted to ANACS for authentification."
1859 Cent
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Another 'impossible' coin possible?
"A Washington quarter dollar struck from two Eagle reverse dies has been authenticated, graded Mint State 63 and encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America."
"It is an amazing coin to view," said David Camire, NGC Mint error specialist. "You keep wanting to flip it over and over. I'm sure that we will be getting a lot of calls from people owning magician's coins saying that they have also found one. This coin is not a magician's coin, but it is magic!"
Impossible Coin 'Mule herder' adds to stable, acquires double-reverse 25¢
"The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 30, July 22, 2001, Article 11
TWO-TAILED QUARTER AUTHENTICATED
Speaking of errors, Coin World reported this week that
a two-tailed U.S. quarter has been authenticated as
genuine. Everything I've ever read about errors said this
was an impossibility, and just last week, in an emailed
response to a visitor to my web site, I stated flatly that any
such piece must be a manufactured fantasy, not a product
of the U.S. Mint."
TWO-TAILED QUARTER AUTHENTICATED 2nd Two Tailed Quarter Surfaces
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There are quite a few known examples of two headed/two tailed world coinage. Mike Byers managed to put together quite a collection of them.
Byers Collection 2 Tailed Canadian Cents
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Threaded Mode
