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

 

[enamel7]

Yepper not a Henning.

 

[Obsessive]

Who would have ever thought counterfeiting nickles was a good idea... but, who would suspect a nickle of being counterfeit.

$25,000.00 in 1944 had the same buying power as $346,885.06 in 2017.

 

[Dozer D]

Great idea for a young man who knows his stuff., make counterfeit coins, put a few out into circulation to BAIT collectors, then put the rest away for fifty years so his grandchildren can sell them at top premium prices.

 

[galenrog]

Known examples of Henning Nickels exist for the years 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947, and 1953. There may be other dates, but I am unaware of any known examples. Three easy methods to identify a possible Henning Nickel. The fourth is meaningless except for the 1944.

"R" in Pluribus has what appears as a bubble or deformity. This appears on most known examples of Henning Nickels.

Mint Mark missing from 1944 dated Henning. Please note that there are many 1944 Nickels that have had mint marks removed in order to resemble the Henning.

Nearly every known example is overweight. While a genuine cupronickel alloy nickel weighs in at 5 grams, or a little less, depending on wear, a Henning will normally weigh at 5.2 - 5.4 grams.

All known examples of Hennings lack mint marks, but this is meaningless except for the 1944.

If your suspected Henning meets one or more of the above, you may have a winner.

I need more coffee.

 

[cheech]

Found one a while back
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4642935

 

[Markypie]

I've got two of them, the 1944 versions, that my father found back when he was searching rolls in the 1960's.