Need Help!! Possible Mule Penny?!? IHP and Lincoln cent?!?

[Chestdiesel]

Need some help guys. My buddy found a really strange coin yesterday. But if it's a US mint screw up, I have to imagine it's very valuable. It's a copper penny with the obverse of a 1921 wheat Penny, and the other side of the coin is an obverse of an 1892 Indian Head Penny?!? Is this a possible carnival piece, or somebody else messing around? Those dates seem too far apart, for me to think it's a US Mint Error coin, but stranger things have happened? Appreciate the help. This isn't a joke either. The pics are truly the same coin. Anyways, any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

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[treblehunter]

Wow, talk about a mystery. You just never know what is going to find.
Hold it in a mirror so we can see both sides at once?
Please, just saying?

 

[digger460]

You would think that someone's messin' around, but damn how the heck did that happen? Cool Find.

 

[Iron Patch]

Look for a seam. Coins can be sliced by laser and slapped together.

 

[Chestdiesel]

I'm trying to get him to shoot a video of him flipping it in his hand etc. but his phone is archaic. Will try and get some better pics and or video.

 

[testing123]

what Iron Patch said. Check the rim for a seam. Also you can try the drop test. Take a standard wheat or IHC and drop it on the counter. Then try dropping that thing. Sandwich coins tend to have a dull thud, while fully struck coins have a nice ring. Not sure about dug coins though, never tried it!

 

[galenrog]

Any experienced machinist can create something like this. I know a few that have lathed cavities in cents such that dimes with one side and edge lathed and machined smooth would snugly fit. Why not two different cents?

 

[treblehunter]

This ones killing me, If your buddy holds it in front of the bathroom mirror then we should be able to see both sides at once. You know like a bathroom mirror selfie?

 

[Subterranean]

Heads, you always win. Sub

 

[Chestdiesel]

Picture of the rim. Definitely looks tampered with, but still a really cool find. Thanks to everybody that chimed in.

Cheers

 

[WHADIFIND]

This ones killing me, If your buddy holds it in front of the bathroom mirror then we should be able to see both sides at once. You know like a bathroom mirror selfie?

Sooooo....just what is it you're saying Treb ole buddy? You don't trust his word?

 

[Crappies-n-Coins]

You could tell by the condition of the Lincoln side it's 2 different types metal composition (Lincoln side blistered/corroded). Seeing the rim obviously shows someone had entirely too much time on their hands

 

[BigWaveDave]

Curious how it was done though....seems to have been done a long time ago....didn't have laser cutters back in the day....I suppose a jeweler could have done it.... and WHY would they do it? Bizarre, and awesome.

 

[Crappies-n-Coins]

Was likely done with a flat file.

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Well now that it is clean, east to see, but I bet it caused your buddy to do a double take (WTF) when he found it.

 

[RelicMedic]

It could be that someone was playing around and created the two headed coin for shits and giggles, or it could be significant. Maybe a birth and death date? That would be cool!

 

[Iron Patch]

There's some pretty massive odds to beat for this to be legit.

If you find a coin that has two heads or tails, you may first think that you have discovered an valuable mint error. They may appear to have two heads or two tails, but most of these coins aren't made that way at the Mint. Nearly all of these two-headed/tailed coins are called "magic coins" which are used in magic tricks, or to cheat in a coin toss.

(With only three known exceptions. One is from the 1800s - a double-head Indian Head Cent. Another is a two-tailed Washington Quarter. The third is a two-tailed dime from the 1980s.)

 

[Iron Patch]

The odds are astronomical, and besides it being two obverse dies from different eras the indian shows a lot of wear. So do you really think a mule like this could actually circulate in the 1900s for many years and no one would keep it?

Both coins were likely shaved down and joined together about the time the wheat came out, and then lost shortly after and have been in the ground many years. It's a cool find but to believe this could be legit you'd have to have a pretty strong sense of delusional optimism.

 

[cooper1841]

Had a coin years ago, a dime on one side, a penny on the other. My dad was a machinist at GM, I think he was fooling with me!!

 

[doninbrewster]

No matter how you look at it, it's a cool find. Must have surprised you when you first saw it.