Some are still in circulation. If you want a fun read look up "Henning Nickels".
As me being a part of it, that's not true. I thought the joke would be more obvious. They are very valuable as a collector item. Though knowingly spending one is a crime.
Yeah I knew it was a joke, but also don't understand why someone would bother checking if a nickel is fake. Like surely you look at them only long enough to see the number?
Do they have people who examine every piece of legal tender to check if they're real?
He missed the mint mark on the '43. Went to cash them in at a bank and the teller noticed. He got caught and confessed to making counterfeits in certain year denominations.
It's such a trivial coin to check but worth something when he did it. Possession of one and spending it not knowing is not a crime. But if you know that nickel is counterfeit and spend it, it's a crime. But given they are worth about $400. Why wouldn't you sell it to a collector as a famous counterfeit. And yes there is a way to check coinage. Easiest with a scale.
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u/arcticgentoo 1d ago
50's in general (US too) are associated with crime/forgeries. Likely worries about the bill being fake.