Are there no coin dealers in the NYC area that the police could go to for help with these coins? (My guess is the coins are going to turn out to be cheap Chinese counterfeits. This is a common MO used by people who pass off the cheap Chinese counterfeits on unsuspecting pawn brokers and other merchants.) Port Chester Police Seek Clues To Old-Coins Mystery
I agree with your opinion that they are probably fakes. They bring them to a 80 year old shoemaker and not a pawn shop or coin dealer who would likely be able to recognize them as fakes. They sell them for well below spot silver as well which makes no sense. If these were real, there is no way that the shoemaker would have called the police about them. TC
The local pawn shop near me now has a coin guy. And a tool guy, electronics guy, collectibles guy, musical instrument guy. They realized they weren't smarter than the average bear and got "experts" in. Funny thing is, their coin guy, DKS about coins, as he has only been collecting for a couple of years. Oy vey!