LOOSE CHANGE: FEBRUARY 13, 2022

 

Perhaps my very favorite cent among those of the 1816 to 1857 years is the 1817 with 15 obverse stars. Designated as N-16, this curious coin defies explanation. Elsewhere in numismatics we have the 1828 half cent and 1832 half eagle with 12 instead of the correct 13 stars, but the 1817 N-16 is off by two in its star count. Why?

To read the complete article, see:
The Curious 1817 Cent with 15 Stars (https://www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=the-1817-large-cent-15-stars)

A Tempe, Arizona, Home Depot employee is facing a federal charge, after authorities said he repeatedly took cash from the store and replaced it with counterfeit currency before depositing it in the bank, according to a criminal complaint.

According to a US Secret Service news release, agents from the Phoenix field office arrested Adrian Jean Pineda, a vault employee at the store, who was responsible for counting cash and preparing it for deposit. Pineda is accused of ordering counterfeit bills from Amazon, swapping them with money taken from store cash registers and sealing them in bags for transfer to the bank, according to the complaint. Pineda, the complaint said, admitted to switching the real money with fake bills in an interview with Secret Service agents.

To read the complete articles, see:
Home Depot employee arrested for swapping store cash with counterfeit bills for years, authorities say (https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/04/us/home-depot-counterfeit-arrest/index.html)
The Secret Service says a Home Depot employee admitted to swapping $387,500 in cash with pretend $100 bills marked 'PLAYMONEY' that he bought off Amazon (https://news.yahoo.com/secret-says-home-depot-employee-165344704.html)

 

Outside of Japan's 500-yen coin, which has significant purchasing power, you don't hear much of anything anymore about counterfeit coins. Counterfeiting circulating coins appears to be something out of the past since the financial gains are typically more significant should someone choose to counterfeit bank notes or simply go into theft of cyber currencies instead.

Apparently while counterfeiting coins may be primarily off the radar the business is still prospering. The Financial Crimes Unit of the Israel Police's 443 Major Crimes Unit will attest to that. On Dec. 8 it was announced four suspects were arrested a day earlier. The individuals have been accused of counterfeiting Israeli 5- and 10-shekel coins.

To read the complete article, see:
Coin Counterfeiting Making Headlines (https://www.numismaticnews.net/world-coins/coin-counterfeiting-making-headlines)

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