Why fake a 1971 Kennedy half ...help me uncover the mystery

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Sam Carter, Apr 25, 2018.

  1. Sam Carter

    Sam Carter Well-Known Member

    I post this originally in the Error section, but I still don’t have an answer. I found this 1971 Kennedy while roll searching and only pulled it because of the silver edge. There obvious problems here that tell us it’s not real. There’s a philly mint mark, Kennedy’s head is too small, the serif size and spacing is off on the date, finish on the coin is odd (almost feels slippery) it weighs about 2grams less than a real Kennedy. Same diameter and thickness as real Kennedy.So my question is what is this? I’ve researched novelty, trick coins from the seventies thinking it was something from the back of a comic book. Nothing. It’s not a magicians coin. So why fake and a poor fake a 1971 Kennedy?
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    Last edited: Apr 25, 2018
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  3. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

  4. CoinBlazer

    CoinBlazer Numismatic Enthusiast

    Kinda looks like a forger was trying out a new scheme
     
    Paul M. likes this.
  5. rickmp

    rickmp Frequently flatulent.

    Why? Your guess is as good as mine.
    Why did Henning forge nickels?
    Maybe, like the Chinese forgers, profit?
    The only way to truly know is to ask the person that made it. Good luck finding him or her.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2018
  6. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Practice is my guess.
     
  7. Rick Stachowski

    Rick Stachowski Motor City Car Capital

  8. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    ^^^^ That makes sense. But, would they be the same size which might confuse the rolling machine and roll them along side real ones?
     
  9. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Blissskr and Rick Stachowski like this.
  10. rickmp

    rickmp Frequently flatulent.

    If you want to attempt to pass it off as real, yes.
    Do counterfeiters make their bills a different size than genuine? Do they mark their fakes as copies?
     
  11. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    I meant, that since these coins were made as replica/ tokens, I figure the weight is not the same, but I was curious if it was found in a coin roll if it was the same size as a real one, or slightly a diff. size.
     
    Stevearino likes this.
  12. Rick Stachowski

    Rick Stachowski Motor City Car Capital

    Me either .
    But I'm not looking through those 5 thousand listing, to find one either .
     
  13. Rick Stachowski

    Rick Stachowski Motor City Car Capital

    Maybe it's a test strike for a Mr. Carr piece .
    Lol ..
     
    juris klavins likes this.
  14. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    If this was a Shell coin, wouldn't it have to say Shell Game Piece or something on there? Instead, except for the P mint mark, all the letters and images are similar to the real coin.
    Be silly to counterfeit a non silver half, since they aren't really used in commerce and it would probably cost more/ take more effort than it is worth for fifty cents.
     
  15. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Ah. So, why did you post the link?
     
    Blissskr likes this.
  16. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    OK not a Shell coin.
     
  17. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    For some reason most people seem to think that only valuable coins or notes are counterfeited, that counterfeiters would never bother with ordinary coins or notes that have no value beyond their face value. But this is simply not true. On the contrary, the coins and notes that are counterfeited the most are the ones that nobody would ever think twice about.

    For example, the single most counterfeited note there is is the one dollar bill. Why ? Because nobody ever bothers to look at them ! It's a $1 - they just accept it and move on. Same thing with coins. If ya wanna show a real profit, counterfeit the coins nobody is ever going to look at twice. The profit is in volume, and you don't have to be especially careful about making them. All coins, even common ordinary cents are counterfeited - but nobody ever notices. For the exact reasons I've noted above.

    But every now and then a collector runs across one - they notice. Nobody else does but collectors do. But even they don't notice most of them because they'd never bother to even look in most cases. And in the grand scheme of things, coin collectors are a teeny tiny, tiny, percentage of the population. And only a tiny percentage of that tiny percentage bother to look at ordinary coins.

    And that's why people counterfeit them to begin with. They are the easiest to counterfeit and the easiest to get away with. Therefore the most profitable.
     
  18. Rassi

    Rassi #GoCubs #FlyTheW #WeAreGood

    If it were a proof '71 Kennedy, I could understand it...(but not the condition). The Deep Cameo '71 proof is the most expensive Kennedy out there before the Gold commemorative was minted...
     
  19. rickmp

    rickmp Frequently flatulent.

    Read #16, above yours, the post by GDJMSP again. Maybe then you'll understand. He couldn't make it more clear.
     
  20. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    But again, a half dollar? The single least circulating contemporary denomination?

    I'd think quarters would be the sweet spot, and indeed, we've seen common-date counterfeit quarters here as well.

    This is a weird one, weirder than the fake Ike someone posted a few days ago. "1971-P"?
     
  21. Blissskr

    Blissskr Well-Known Member

    Just a guess but I imagine the Chinese or others were minting tons of fakes that only had to stand up to the mildest scrutiny that were getting sent back as mutilated coin redemption's. I recall reading that companies using that program supposedly shipping back coins found in scrap metal from cars, etc exchanged more value wise in half dollars than the U.S. has ever minted. My work in loss prevention has taught me that good crooks will usually put in some effort. I could see them mass minting fakes such as these purposely damaging them and then sending them in for redemption to try and avoid suspicion. And some would probably slip through the cracks and end up getting into commerce or being sold via Ebay, etc somehow.
     
    mynamespat likes this.
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