By Jack D. Young, Early American Coppers (EAC), and the Dark Side Group ……
As I have in all my previous CoinWeek “Dark Corner” articles, I will start with the certified example: a 1935 Buffalo Nickel:
I was tagged to a coin forum I’m a member of about this listing. The “OP” asked if this example was actually a counterfeit. The nomenclature describing it on the label was Greek to me and I posted it in one of my Facebook groups. My friend, contemporary counterfeit expert and author of Bad Metal Winston Zack, responded quickly that it is a well-known counterfeit! Had I looked in my copy of his book, I would have found his image (used here with permission)!
My friend Paula Schommer-Bluhm from “Coin Q & A” fame explained the designation on the label–I love learning during research!
“TM” is for Thurman/Margolis; “BNC” stands for “Buffalo Nickel Cud”; and “35-3R” is the date (1935), the file number (“3”), and “R” for reverse die. That is the cross-reference numbering system.
These were also documented in Ron Pope’s Buffalo Nickels: The Abraded Die Varieties (2006).
So, an apparent known counterfeit Buffalo Nickel, the conversation quickly shifted to whether the slab was genuine. One of the participating members responded:
To me, the slab looks correct, and the cert number pulled up.
So maybe an “authenticated” counterfeit? The nomenclature used on the label is right out of Ron Pope’s book. Another thought: maybe these were originally thought to be United States Mint products?
Continued digging resulted in finding a reference to another example in a third-party grading service holder sold by a major auction house, but I have found no other evidence of this.
Not as easy as it seemed, but I did finally find the 2006 auction example. Listing image and comparison images to the subject coin as follows:
Not the same “coin”, but clearly a match of the “variety”. Circled obverse circulation marks should not be in the die!
Taking a step back, I compared this one with a genuine example of similar grade.
And back to Winston’s book description, the counterfeit Buffalo Nickels should consist of “German silver”. From the internet:
After receiving this example, I took it to my local coin shop for an XRF scan; a genuine U.S. Mint nickel should not contain measurable amounts of zinc.
And the results? 58% copper, 27% nickel… and 14% zinc!
Not a Mint product as several people thought but a new add to the “Dark Corner” family of not-quite genuine “coins” in genuine TPG holders.
Per usual, the research on this one and all of the others has been a team effort, and I thank everyone for their help and support, including those named in this article.
Best, as Always,
—Jack
MORE Articles on Counterfeit Coins by Jack D. Young
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