A "Henning Counterfeit" Nickel

If you look at the War Nickel section of the "Red Book," you will see a notation that "1944 nickels without a mint mark are counterfeits." This notation has been in editions of the "Red Book" for a long time with no further information about the fake.

Here is an example of the "Henning Nickel" Two of the diagnostics are the die break ("flagpole") above the dome and the "hole" in the letter "R" in "PLURIBUS."



Henning also made fake nickels dated 1939, 1946, 1947 and 1953. Those pieces are harder to spot because they don't have the "screaming mistake," the large mint mark that is missing. It gets harder to spot them because the genuine pieces look more like them after they have gotten some wear.

 

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Counterfeit coins in circulation has been going on for a long long time. https://coins.nd.edu/colcoin/ColCoinText/CtfBrit.1.html

 

I would like to add a Henning war nickel to my collection.

 

Thanks for sharing. Is this one in your collection? I've never seen one in person but have always hoped to find one in my searches haha.

 

Believe it or not, I actually found one of these in change! I wrote about it here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/henning-nickel-found-in-change.330962/

 

ouch

 

Yeah, major ouch. I felt so stupid afterwards. I never truly researched henning nickels and thought they were all made in wartime. Someone on CT had posted an article about them and I recognized the coin immediately. It took a few days for me to stop kicking myself.

 

If it makes you feel any better, when I just started CRHing in 2013, I had an 83P DDR 001 that I was so sure was just MD because how could it be that doubled? Was too new and afraid to ask here, so I kept it for a few weeks and then decided to toss it back into the dump pile. I kick myself every time I search.

 

We all make mistakes. The problem is some of us never learn from those mistakes.

 

Misery loves company.

 

I have one and can provide picture if you are interested

 

I recall there’s a second Henning Nickel “variety” without the looped R. Need to check which variety I own and which one is still missing in my “black cabinet” box.

See also http://www.error-ref.com/henning-counterfeit-nickel/

 

We are all coin junkies here and would love to see a photo. Start a thread and it will get some attention.

 

I think some of the 39s have the looped R and some don't.
But I haven't refreshed the Henning story lately. Also I don't
know if they are any 1953 examples.

 

There was a thread here on CT that had some really good info on them... I remember just because it made me go through all my nickels....

 

I have recently found a 1947 Henning Nickel

 

Great! Please start a new thread and post photos, full sized, of both sides.

Welcome to CT.

 

I always wondered why in the world would anyone want to counterfeit nickels. Especially ones that aren't worth a whole heck of a lot. Half dollars, dollars, gold, I would understand, but nickels??? What would be the point?

 

AFAIK, no one really knows. I've read that he didn't do it to get rich, but rather to make ends meet. Help buy a loaf of bread or a dozen eggs, stuff like that.

I've looked, but there doesn't seem to be any history on Henning after his arrest. He did his time then faded into obscurity. I've never even found an obituary.