Got a strange quarter in change yesterday, 1982-D, no reeding, magnetic. Details are somewhat mushy. Do you think it is fake? Planchet error? Test coin? I don't know what to make of it, but I can't think of any reason why someone would fake a modern non silver quarter (even an 82-D :devil. Thanks for your help.
Rickmp: good thought, magic coin might be it. It that legal? Coinmaster: It looks like a 1982-D quarter. I didn't think of taking pictures.
Without seeing any pictures, that sounds like a simple circulating counterfeit. However, that would be a really weird coin to counterfeit.
Actually, it would completely ridiculous to counterfeit a non-silver, made within the past 3 decades and only a quarter denomination. But then again, this is a recession and times must doubly hard for counterfeiters.
I go with magician's coin too. They sell them on line and a few weeks ago there was an entire thread that had links posted. I believe they are about $40 with a trick of some kind. I imagine they need to look worn for realistic appearance for the audience. gary
Magician's coins are usually two genuine coins that have been joined together to create one coin that has two heads or two tails.
Of course it's ridiculous. But then I've seen circulating counterfeit Ikes. Everything he says about the coin is consistent with a counterfeit of some kind. Of course, a picture will help a lot. Hobo is right about the magician's coins; they are usually two halves of real coins. They look real, are very certainly not magnetic, and can generally only be detected with some effort or a ring test. That's not what this sounds like (sorry ).
The description sound like they are flipper coins used to perform a magic trick http://www.magicgeek.com/flipper-coin-magnetic-1702.html
http://johnsonmagicproducts.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82 In an earlier post I said they cost about $40. That is for the English Penny, the halves and quarters go for $25
i also have one of those...and its also magnetic....i got it when i was changing money to wash clothes....
TO everyone saying its stupid to counterfeit a quarter, lets analyze it: Make in China a bunch of poor counterfeits. Most people do not really pay attention to coins, so a badly made one stamped out of sheet steel may cost $.05. Yes, its only $.20 profit per coin, but think of the volume! You pass 5 of these a day and you made a buck. Sell these to someone else to pass of at $.10 a piece, and you double your money and drive much higher volumes. The point is money is money, and for a $.20 cent profit per quarter many people would be interested. I imagine you could get even better fakes from China if you wanted to pay $.10 a piece, still $.15 profit per. I have some fake Roman coins that were basically small change in the fourth century. Soldiers were paid something like 1600 of these a month. Even these coins were faked regularly. Chris
