Hello fellow YNs and YNH!

Counterfeiting has and will always be the biggest threat inside our numismatic circles. Thanks to third party grading we have kept up, but counterfeiters will only get better. We can only hope we stay ahead. One of the most prominent and well known counterfeiters of US coins was Mr. Francis LeRoy Henning. Henning was a 62 year old engineer from Erial, New Jersey. In 1954, he placed into circulation an estimated 100,000 counterfeit nickels into circulation. But he was caught by our very own, the coin collectors. The Camden County Coin Club's members noticed some 1944 nickels that were not the normal 35% silver of the time, but nickel. They also lacked the large mintmark above the dome of Monticello. When they notified the Secret Service and the Mint, it was originally thought that the counterfeits were genuine coins. But soon the Mint realized their mistake, and sent the Secret Service on the hunt for this counterfeiter. After learning the authorities were on his tail, Henning dumped his remaining 400,000 nickels into Cooper Creek and the Schuylkill River. He was captured and arrested in Cleveland, Ohio, in October of 1955. His counterfeit nickels have the dates 1939, 1944, 1946, 1947, and 1953. 

Henning nickels today are actually very collectible. They sell for multiples above face value (recent sales have surpassed $100), and have actually been found in rolls of nickels in the 21st century. There are some main key points to identifying a Henning nickel. The first way is to look at the R in PLURIBUS. The left leg of the R has a low sport, or void, at the bottom. This does not appear on all Henning nickels. Another way to ID a Henning nickel is weight. A normal nickel of the time will weigh 5 grams, but Henning Nickels weigh 5.4 grams. Some 1939 and 1944 Henning nickels also have a die crack extending from the US in PLURIBUS to the dome of Monticello. 1944 is the most common date. 

Keep collecting,

Thatcoinguy