1959-D Wheat is a FRAUD - Feds will confiscate

Numismatic Forgery pp 67-70 describes a method of creating dies using electroplating that could have been used to create the 1959-D mule.

 

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Yes, I know this is a zombie thread but here is a good account of this strange coin's history right up to this year...

https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/50000-for-a-1959-d-lincoln-cent-mule

 

And 2015

 

"Previously offered at a February 2003 Goldbergs auction the coin realized $48,300. In a Goldberg’s Auction in 2010, the same coin realized $27,000. The estimate this time of $50,000 for Goldberg’s Pre-Long Beach Expo Auction seemed to be spot on, as the coin sold for $50,000 on June 2."

Someone took a bath, and someone took it to the bank.

 

I was at the ANS's Certification Service in DC when this coin was sent in THE FIRST TIME. I was one of the authenticators who sent the coin out as genuine BECAUSE:

Inattention? We commonly received what I will refer to as "worthless" coins (like parking lot damage and modern pocket change) to certify. The coin was logged in, weighed, and both sides were photographed. Somehow, both Hoskins and myself failed to notice the coin was something "different" rather than a common coin - a "mule!"

End of story. Several weeks later when a newspaper reporter called Hoskins to ask how many of these we had certified... Hoskins got the owner to return the coin for reexam but the Photo Certificate of Authenticity was not returned.

The coin was taken to the Mint lab where it was determined to be a struck counterfeit.

 

I also find them intriguing! No matter how old.

I have mentioned before on a similar thread concerning the 1959 Wheat.. I met with Fred Weinberg once and we spoke about this Cent.. He simply stated "it's a fake"

 

I'm new here. I never saw the original thread. I never saw the 2015 necro thread. I found this interesting and informative. Thanks for the revival. This is precisely what archives are intended for.

Well done CT.

 

The only thing I find annoying about necro-threads is when I don't notice the date, and respond to someone's 15 year old comment... and that person isn't even around anymore. Then I feel like an idiot. But that's on me.

 

You're not the only one who posts w/o looking at the date.

 

Anybody who knows how coins are produced knows it has to be a fake.
If a wheat reverse die struck this coin, how many thousands more were struck?
And none have surfaced. Even if the mint realized their error and destroyed the coins (and 1 slipped into circulation) there still has to be a paper trail at the mint documenting it, because they are creating and destroying money and it has to be accounted for. And there isn't any information that the mint created this coin by accident and destroyed them. There's no folklore myth about people who worked at the mint at that time about this coin being produced. It just popped up one day,
was verified by government agents who were not experts in coins, and it has been stated that the creation process was by spark erosion.

Still a super cool story. Always enjoy reading about, Henning nickels, the five 1913 Liberty nickels, 1964-D Peace dollar, 1974 aluminum cent, the guy who counterfeited 1 dollar bills for 30 years, etc.

 

Regardless of it being a fake, it's one of the most famous Lincoln's ever. Given the opportunity and price, I would buy it in a heartbeat. It's one of the coolest Lincoln's ever IMO.

 

IMO, that depends on the QUALITY of the thread. Some things are just better off left in the grave.

 

There is value for this counterfeit,
but I think 5 figures is too much.
Would like to see this at auction with full disclosure. Previously, they have sold this
with the rider, not guaranteed, or no return, or not authenticated etc.
I think people are fine if they come right out and say they don't think the coin is
a mint product. But, with the provenance, and the fact there is only one of them
it still has a place in numismatic history and plenty of collectors would be interested.

 

For the love of God, I don't speak Japanese.......

And I don't know where the devil that came from. Must be the 17 year old thread. I bow to awareness, but why not post a new thread to make things more apparent and current?

Quite frankly, I'm a jerk, as I've never heard of this story.

Carry on dear fellows.

 

http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Controversial/Cents.html

 

Ira and Larry........Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha........

Ever quick to pick up an angle.