Two Headed Nickel

[Chimera]

I threw some coins into the change deal in my car today and noticed that one of them was one of the new Nickels with the Lewis & Clark keelboat on the back. So I pulled out the change in there, sorted out the non-nickels and looked for the keelboat nickel. Didn't see it, so I flipped over the lot of them.

Um, ok, I thought I flipped that one over. Flip.

Wait a minute... flip.

flip, flip, flip.

WTF???

A double headed nickel. 1998 d on one side, 1997 d on the other.

Is this some trick novelty nickel that someone spent?

Sure looks real enough, but I can't see how something like that could possibly be made unless it was a gag item.

Anyone know what's up with this?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Ocassionally a piece of change is struck as an error. The U.S. Mint tries to destroy all error coins, but misses some of them. Hold on to it, it may be worth something in about 5-10 years.

 

[tarchon]

If the dates are different, it's probably a novelty piece. One way to make them is to grind down the reverse of two nickels and then bond them together.
Now a three-headed nickel, that would be something.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

If the dates are different, it's probably a novelty piece. One way to make them is to grind down the reverse of two nickels and then bond them together.
Now a three-headed nickel, that would be something.

Presumably it's made for winning coin tosses (i.e. like a loaded dice).

 

[Del]

Presumably it's made for winning coin tosses (i.e. like a loaded dice).

That's my impression too. Available at any fine magic-performance shop.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Take it to a local coin dealer. They will be able to tell you for sure if it is an error strike or a novelty piece.

 

[tarchon]

That's my impression too. Available at any fine magic-performance shop.

Yeah, this is almost a FAQ on coin boards.