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Two-Headed Coins
What they are - and what they are not!
by Ken Potter -- NLG
Above is an image of a so-called two-headed nickel
still sealed in the blister-pack card that it was marketed in.
Photo © Ken Potter 2003
Without a doubt the most frequent question that we receive is about
two-headed or two-tailed coins. There are occasional variations to the theme such as
a Kennedy half dollar mated with a Mexican 20-centavos reverse or a Lincoln cent mated
with a Roosevelt ten-cent reverse or a dime mated with a foreign coin reverse, etc., that
are all related. What we say here will most often apply to them also.
We tackled this subject several years ago and published it on the
Collectors Universe web site which is now owned by PCGS. When that article was
published there were no Mint-made two-headed or two-tailed coins known and the information
we provided stating such was 100% accurate.
However, since that time a couple of Mint-made specimens have been
reported. They were allegedly found in a safe-deposit-box that was rented by a
former Mint employee who's estate was sold by the State of California.
I personally examined one of the pieces prior to it being sealed
in in a certification "slab" and found it to be genuine. So far, both
pieces have both been declared genuine by either of the two top grading/authentication
services in the country (PCGS & NGC) and have yet to elicit the concern of the
government in regard to how they escaped the Mint.
We note of these facts so that folks that have found a two-headed
or two-tailed coin, and who have heard that others exist that have been authenticated as
genuine, know that this is in fact true.
However, they should know that a "genuine" piece has
never been proven found in circulation, and more importantly, they should know that
tens-of-thousands of faked double-headed and double-tailed (and other similar mismatched
concoctions) have been made from genuine coins altered by machine shops after the coins
left the Mint. These have been offered for sale by novelty concerns like magic shops
and through ads in comic books for decades for prices starting at about $3 or $4 for cents
up to about $8 or $10 on half dollar coins. Many of these get into circulation quite
innocently and are later found by unsuspecting collectors who think they found rare Mint
errors! Such is not the case!
To read more about the specifics of these alterations go here:
Two
Headed Coin Unlucky for Some
Ken Potter
Phone: 1-(313)-268-3280
E-mail: KPotter256@aol.com
Numismatist Since 1959 ~ Serving the Collector Since 1973
CONECA's Longest Serving Doubled Die Attributer
Member of: ANA-LM
CONECA-HLM NLG NCADD-FM MSNS-HLM
NWDCC RCC WBCC HVNS IASAC
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