I read about henning in one of the recent magazines, i beleive he was so successful because no one in their right mind would counterfeit a common nickel at the time.
There are many different stories about what is legal to own. I have heard that it is okay to have them, as long as you don't try to sell them as real. But, since they are more valuable as counterfeits, who would do that? I have a 1923 D (fake-- none minted) and am still lokking for the 1930 D. I got it for melt.
Never heard of buying a nickel for "melt". That's a phrase usually associated with bullion value. Is cupro-nickel now considered bullion, or is there another reason for your statement?
Are you talking about Henning counterfeits? The earliest date Henning is known to have counterfeited is 1939.
My mistake, I was referring to the Mercury dime. There are 1923 D and 1930 D dimes that were counterfeited. And, since none were minted, any that you find are fakes. Sorry about that.
thats for sure... I always thought it was illegal to melt coins... it is now, as of December 14th 2006... nickels and pennys...since the nickels got 7 cents worth of metal. I just learned about the henning today on wikipedia. very interesting! seems to me the best bet is to take a waterproof metal detector to coppercreek and look for those 200,000 nickels he dumped. I hope no fishes choked. from wikipedia; --- An unofficial variety of the wartime coin dated 1944 was made in 1954 when counterfeit nickels were produced by Francis LeRoy Henning of Erial, New Jersey. He had previously been arrested for counterfeiting $5 bills. The 1944 nickels were quickly spotted since Henning neglected to add the large mintmark. He also made counterfeit nickels dated 1939, 1946, 1947 and 1953. It is estimated that more than 100,000 of Henning's nickels reached circulation. These can still be found in pocket change, and there is a thriving collectors' market for them, although owning a counterfeit is technically illegal. Henning dumped another 200,000 nickels in Copper Creek, New Jersey, of which only 14,000 were recovered. Another 200,000 are thought to have been dumped in the Schuylkill River. When caught, Henning was sentenced to 3 years in jail, and had to pay a $5,000 fine. --- saw that one sold on ebay recently for 30bucks shipped. kind of steep... i plan on finding one
I just won one I just won one on ebaY! I'm ashamed at myself for falling into a "Gotta Have It" mentality in setting up my snipping (sp.?) programme. As such I'm paying a "hefty" price-tag for it. :goof: I'ts not in the greatest shape, it's my 1st, but hopefully not my last.
Shortly after I posted this and got the invoice in email, ebaY, pulled the auction telling me I was no longer obligated to pay for it. It was because the seller used the word Counterfeit. In the Casino Chip collecting groups ebaY pulls auctions if you use the word Illegal. (Illegal Club Chips are a very hot collectible within the chipping community). The seller sent me a new invoice through ebaY for the other 2 auctions I won from him, and another email asking if I got the invoice. I was confused, so I replied to the email stating that I had recieved the newest invoice, but was sad that I couldn't get the Henning. He wrote me back stating that's what he was hinting at. He wanted me to know that the Henning was still mine, I just have to pay for it! This made me happy!!! <---me being happy! The seller is jtwax. It's good to see an ebaY seller who honors his customers bids, no matter what ebaY decides to do.