Anyone else noticed an increase in counterfeit JFK halves?

I've searched 3 boxes of MWR halves in the past couple weeks and found 3 counterfeit half dollars. They're underweight and prooflike (D mint marks on all 3) and they just feel weird compared to real ones. The dates are 1974D, 1984D, and 1987D. One of them was in the first box and the other two were both in the third box. I've only found one of these before now, out of several tens of thousands of halves searched (and it was lower quality - stuck to a magnet!)

The 2 boxes that contained the counterfeits were generic unmarked MWRs (usually my bank gets Loomis)

Any idea who's making these/where they're coming from and why? Can't figure out why someone would risk counterfeiting a common circulating coin that's only worth 50 cents.

 

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I don't think it would be worth the effort to counterfeit a Kennedy half. What would be the point? Do you have any images?

 

It's not as if they are even easy to spend. If they are fakes, perhaps they are some kind of Chinese test pieces.
Photos showing scale weights. TY.

 

Don't have a scale but they definitely feel lighter than real halves. Images coming up.

 

hard to see the shiny-ness b/c lighting but they have reflective surfaces, the '84 and '87 moreso than the '74

 

I doubt they are fakes. Not worth it and difficult to spend. Looks like someone polished them to make them shiny.

 

They look real. Fakes would look fake. Although that first one on the left looks faker than the other 2. These coins have been through coin counting machines more than once. If they were fake, they would be rejected for bad weight, and not be in MRW's.

 

I had a collector try to sell me a counterfeit Franklin half. I told him the coin was genuine. He insisted it was not and everyone who saw it said it was fake. To prove he was correct, he let it drop on the table with a dull thud. I insisted the coin was genuine but asked how much he wanted for it. The price was right Good price so I bought it.

The coin is 100% genuine. The reason it does not "ring" when it is tapped is due to a split in its edge going part way around the circumference! SCORE!

BTW @jlogan The photos you posted are of no use at all to tell if your coins are bad. Perhaps you can post a close up of the date on just one.

 

You can make a rudimentary go/no-go coin scale with a ruler.

 

I can't tell if they are fake from the photos. But, I did read the mint was having problems with accepting old coins in bulk for a buy back program. I don't remember all the details, but, one of the reasons was because they were receiving fake coins in with the good ones. The chinese buy lots of junk cars for scrap. The coins they found in the cars they would then sell back to the mint. The mint doesn't buy back all coins in bulk. I do know half dollars were one of the denominations they bought. One pound of coins is worth $20.00. The mint would buy back by weight.

 

Ive noticed an increased number of scotch and soda trick coins

 

Over the years, I've come across several fake Kennedys. Some have been obvious, others not so much. The majority have been sandwiched mexican coins. I think it is the old 50 centavo that is almost the same size. I've seen them placed inside a shell that is made to look like the obverse and reverse of the Kennedy. If you look hard enough, you can spot them by the groove along the edge.

I realize it is tough to describe them in words.

Ring test is best. If they ring like a normal clad, then probably real.

imho

 

I've got a 74-D half that sounds kind of like lead when you drop it... It weighs 10.2 grams as opposed to the "normal" 11.3 grams for a clad half.

 

That's not fake, it's a trick coin.