Expert: Dan Moore - 4/12/2009

Question
Is there really a way to determine if a double sided quarter is fake or real? I have one and it has a rim on it and i think it is just a fake magicians coin, but I just want to make sure. So is there another way to be sure, like is there a something on the heads side of the coin that wouldn't be on a double sided magicians coin, say maybe a letter for the mint it was produced at?

Answer
Lindsey,

Magician's coins are made by altering two normal coins, so anything that appears on a normal coin can also appear on a magician's coin.

In the entire life of the U.S. Mint, only 2 doubled quarters have ever been found, and those were both 2-tailed coins, determined to have been minted in the late 1960's.  I still don't know how they did it, because the coin dies are made so that they will only fit into one side of the press -- you cannot fit a heads-side die into the tails-side slot in the press, and vice-versa.

Things to check for :

1) obvious evidence of a seam where the two coins were altered and fit back together -- usually found just inside the raised rim on one side of the coin or the other.

2) weight of the coin should be 5.67 grams.

3) a real coin will "ring" when dropped on a hard surface -- an altered coin will "thud".

If your coin passes all three tests, then you may consider having it examined by a professional.

I hope this helps,

Dan