How to make a 1959 wheat cent

Items required: (A) a 1959; (B) a metal file; (C) some glue; (D) one of these things...

 

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Something like 15 years ago some fraudster in Salt Lake City did just that, and sold the coin for a few thousand dollars until he was found and arrested on other charges.

 

That was Mark Hofmann and the other charges were murder. Hofmann was an extraordinary counterfeiter - mostly of early Mormon documents but he also is reported to have counterfeited some coins, including the 1959 Wheat Cent. When he was about to be found out for his counterfeiting of Mormon documents he planted bombs to divert attention away from himself. I can't remember if his bombs killed one or two people. Plus a third bomb blew up in his hands before he could place it. He survived and was convicted and is currently serving a long stretch in prison.

A good book on Hofmann is The Mormon Murders.

 

Man, I would never have guessed someone actually did something like that. Very interesting, guys!

 

I think a Dremel rotary tool would make it easier to do.

Bruce

 

Cast counterfeit.....oh, oh, I think a certain poster is starting to rub off on me. Never mind......

 

Hardly - the coin he made has been examined by the Mint and the Secret Service and has not absolutely been proven to be a fake, although it most certainly is. Other than the incorrect combination of obverse and reverse it has passed all tests of genuineness. It was certainly not made the way you imply, which is roughly how a "Magician's Coin" is made.

 

He did not hollow out one and place another in it like the OP alleges. He die struck the piece. And yes, it was a convincing piece.

 

I don't believe that they have proved he made the piece have they? Last I heard he clamed he made it, but there was no proof. The coin the SS have looked over could very well be good.

Speedy

 

The diagnostics of the piece don't jive with his story, Hofmann claimed that he made the coin via an electroplating process, and the coin is indeed a struck coin. Others have said it's from Spark Erosion dies, but if that were the case I think we'd have seen others surface, and also aren't Spark Erosion copies easy to spot?

I think it's a fantasy piece made by a mint employee.

 

You could be right , bet them '43 copper pen I mean cents , don't wan't to insult a certain ex CTer now , but I'm sure some of the '43 copper cents was the work of insiders .
rzage:whistle:

 

Probably so, as were an awful lot of rarities... One thing I always found curious is how accepted some of these manufactured rarities are. 1804 Dollars, 1913 Liberty Nickels.. silliness IMO.

 

That is correct. There is actually much doubt that Hoffman had anything to do with the cent. In any event, whoever made it did an excellent job and the coin is indistinguishable from an authentic Mint made example.

 

Mr Hobo- that background info you provided on Mr Hoffman is impressive. I don't know the history of this situation, but why would someone make a fake 1959 and how did he get caught? Why would it be sold for thousands? Since that coin is not rare why would anyone look at it? Also what do the references about the 43 cent (I assume rzage meant copper cent) mean? Sorry for my lack of historical knowledge. If anyone could elaborate? Thanks

 

1958 was the last year of the wheat cents. 1959 saw the beginning of the memorial reverse. So there should not be any 1959 wheaties.

 

Stranger things have happened in the mint during slow days with nobody around. 1913 Liberty nickels, 1868 Large Cents etc. Nothing would surprise me, but mint security is alleged to have been more thorough by 1959 though. And then there is the whole 1964 Peace Dollar legend, a story of it's very own.

 

He was caught when one of his bombs exploded in his hands before he could plant it. It was simple for the detectives to tie him to the other bombs (and the death and injuries they caused) as well as the counterfeit Mormon documents he had been selling for BIG money.

If I remember correctly while in prison he made the claim that he made the 1959 Wheat Cent. (As noted by others Wheat Cents were not minted in 1959.)

There seems to be some confusion about some of the coins Hofmann either counterfeited or altered. The 1959 Wheat Cent is a struck coin - not cast. (A cast coin would not fool any experts.) Apparantly Hofmann has claimed he made the '59 Wheat but that has not been confirmed. (Authorities did not find the dies among Hofmann's belongings.)

Hofmann has also claimed that he added mint marks to coins using an ingenious method that I will explain later. (I have to get going right now. Sorry.)

 

In Charles Larson's book "Numismatic Forgery", the author relates an extensive interview he had with Mark Hoffman; though Hoffman never claimed to have made the '59 wheatback, it was the author's contention that he could have made it. Everything about the coin was correct... proper alloy, the dies used were perfect.... it was checked and rechecked. The coin could not be declared a forgery, nor could it be declared 100% genuine. The book was written a few years ago, so I have no idea what the final status of the coin is. Anyway, the book is a great read and extremely informative.

 

This whole subject was discussed here before with no resolution. For those of you who wonder what this cent looks like, here it is:

Actually rather unremarkable, a weak strike in some areas but otherwise probably a MS-65, if graded.

The only connection Hoffman has to the coins is his "jailhouse confession" that he did it. He left no documentation or evidence that he did it, and none has ever been found. As stated above, the Secret Service and Mint have examined it minutely and can not state with authority that it is not genuine. Down to a microscopic level, it possesses all of the attributes of a Mint-issued product.