Henning (counterfeit) Nickel found

[wildwill2002]

I was going through a box of nickels two weeks ago (before I knew about this forum, lol) and thought I would share with you my currently favorite coin ever found in circulation. It is a Henning nickel. If you don't know what that is, basically, in the 1950s, a man named Francis LeRoy Henning of New Jersey got a hold of 500,000 blanks for nickels and a couple of dies so he could make some counterfeit nickels. His nickels were actually pretty darn good quality, except for one quite noticeable oversight. For his 1944 nickels (he made a few different years), he failed to include the oversized mintmark over Monticello and so they were quickly spotted in circulation. It's estimated that about 100,000 of his nickels made it to circulation. The rest were either dumped in a river or confiscated by the government. When I first found it, I didn't know what to think of a 1944 with no mintmark so I Googled the coin and found out about the nickels. Below are pics for your viewing pleasure. There is some more info on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_(United_States_coin)#Wartime_nickels

 

[Zephr]

This Nickel definitely has a cool story behind it! I'd trade a war nickel for one of these in a box any day!

Congrats on the sweet nickel! HH!

 

[SilverFace]

That's really cool.

I've never even heard about these coins before.

Any idea how much it's worth?

 

[wildwill2002]

I've heard ranges all over the place but I guess probably the best gauge is eBay. One just sold for $56 and before that another one sold for $75. They don't pop up much there though probably because they are so uncommon and also if you categorize it wrong, eBay will pull the listing for being a counterfeit.

 

[AGBlex]

one of a kind find man nice job

 

[MCBR]

Wow, neat find. I'd heard of these, but never thought one could find one of them hunting through rolls of coins. Thanks for sharing.

~Matt

 

[LeoTrench-MAINE]

I was just going through my nicks tonight to see if I had any of the other dates.

Be neat to have a set, or hit the river and pick a few out...lol

Awesome find!!!

HH

Trench

 

[ckrakowski]

you lucky devil. i have always wanted one of these. nice find.

 

[DrDetector]

Great find! I've never heard of one being found in modern times out of a roll. To me, based on the history and rarity of that find, it would be banner worthy.

 

[mws_1984]

Never heard of these either. But at least it is a year that people look for and can easily spot if it's missing the proper mint mark.

 

[TxTim]

Congrats!
Always looking for those.
Haven't found one yet.

 

[DigginThePast]

Very cool find.

Interesting, is it just me or does it look like part of an s to the right of Monticello?

 

[wildwill2002]

Very cool find.

Interesting, is it just me or does it look like part of an s to the right of Monticello?

I took another really good look at it myself and I can't see anything. I think that may be an artifact of some sort from the picture.

 

[captainfwiffo]

I've been looking for these, I'd love to have the full set (there are five known dates of Henning nickels and possibly one that isn't known as he claimed to have six obverse and six reverse dies). I wanted to bid on the one on eBay recently, but it was a bit too rich for my blood.

 

[Goldmanford]

That sure is a neat find! Congrats!

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Nice find, but it is not a Henning Nickel. Being that some time has passed since you found it, you probably already know this. Henning nickels can be identified by the bubble in the "R". (see photo). My guess is that you have an altered coin, which the mintmark was removed, or something even rarer than a Henning Nickel. Interesting find nonetheless!

 

[CoinDumper]

Nice find, but it is not a Henning Nickel. Being that some time has passed since you found it, you probably already know this. Henning nickels can be identified by the bubble in the "R". (see photo). My guess is that you have an altered coin, which the mintmark was removed, or something even rarer than a Henning Nickel. Interesting find nonetheless!

View attachment 644658

I believe there were other reverse's used by Henning besides the one with the looped 'R'. You can also weigh it. Most of the Henning's were heavier than normal.

 

[sagittarius98]

Composition: 79.1% Copper, 20.5% Nickel, 0.4% Iron

That's why they are heavier, more copper and iron is added.

 

[Kympasqualini]

Henning

I was going through a box of nickels two weeks ago (before I knew about this forum, lol) and thought I would share with you my currently favorite coin ever found in circulation. It is a Henning nickel. If you don't know what that is, basically, in the 1950s, a man named Francis LeRoy Henning of New Jersey got a hold of 500,000 blanks for nickels and a couple of dies so he could make some counterfeit nickels. His nickels were actually pretty darn good quality, except for one quite noticeable oversight. For his 1944 nickels (he made a few different years), he failed to include the oversized mintmark over Monticello and so they were quickly spotted in circulation. It's estimated that about 100,000 of his nickels made it to circulation. The rest were either dumped in a river or confiscated by the government. When I first found it, I didn't know what to think of a 1944 with no mintmark so I Googled the coin and found out about the nickels. Below are pics for your viewing pleasure. There is some more info on wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_(United_States_coin)#Wartime_nickels

 

[port ewen ace]

View attachment 1490031View attachment 1490032

just a normal '46