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"Henning" nickels are one of the strangest counterfeit US Coins. In 1954 a New Jersey man named Francis L. Henning produced half a million counterfeit US nickels.

That in itself was bizarre because the cost of faking such a low-denomination coin would eat up most of the "profit" that could be made by passing them, and in addition spending that many nickels would be sure to attract attention.

But Henning made yet another mistake because many of his coins mated the reverse of a standard nickel with the obverse of a 1944 "war nickel". Genuine 1944 nickels are instantly recognizable because they're made of a silver alloy and have a large mint mark over the dome of Monticello, but Henning's had neither.

Despite the obvious fakery Henning somehow managed to put about 100,000 of his coins into circulation before being found out. The rest were dumped into rivers and streams, and only a small fraction were ever recovered.

Henning nickels have become famous fakes akin to the "racketeer nickels" that were made by plating 1883 5¢ pieces and passing them as $5 gold coins, and both are now collected in their own right despite being counterfeits.

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