So since I have been a member of this forum I have seen alot of people posting questions about their rotated die kennedy. And there is usually an argument that goes something like" what you have is a magicians coin; drop it on the table/ground listen for the dull thunk...it will come apart revealing a foreign coin of some sort" which generally gets a hostile response of some sort" what? you want me to drop this extremely valuable "error" on the ground....that will ruin the value of my coin" Well then the thread just dies... so I figured I would post some pics of the magicians coin that I found in a roll of halves a couple weeks ago.. Needless to say I was just as excited that I found this coin as I am when I pull silver out of a roll..go figure..
technically isn't that illegal, as in the person who gave that roll to the bank, getting in trouble? i know you like it, but what if someone who didn't collect got that coin and tried spending it. they could get in so much trouble. i am just curious, so don't take this post the wrong way.. as for me, i wouldn't mind having one..
I don't know. My son and I were trying t figure out if technically the front half is still legal tender , probably not, but I did have to bang it on the cement several times to get it apart...so had I not heard about it on this forum...it could have circulated indefinately....
I think the Secret Service has a bit more on their plate than to nab a person attempting to spend a machinist cleverly disguised half dollar.
Here is the US Law http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/17/331 However, notice prominently entangled is the word Fraudulently. If you are not trying to deceive someone, such as for monetary gain, it is not against the law. Magician coins are not exchanged with the other person so it would not be fraud, just trickery. If the coin was a "mule" with the obverse not used for the reverse, and was sold as an error, that would be fraud if known. IMO. Magician's coins are readily available at various "Magic" suppliers. And in some industrial machine schools, making such with no visible line was considered part of the skill with a lathe.
Back in the late 1800-1900th they were called smugglers coins. as many were used to smuggle opium & Diamonds, other small gem stones
No that was an entirely different thing. What you are thinking of was known as a box coin. Box coins were hollwed out on the inside and had tiny little hinges that allowed them to open just like a little box with the two halves staying connected to one another.
Where would one find something like this these days? I think it would make a great addition to my collection.
They sell them on ebay from time to time and occasionally even in some of the larger coin auctions. Most examples have broken hinges though. Finding one intact would be quite something.
