Counterfeit or Error Kennedy Half

[Tourney64]

I was dumping my non silver half dollars and had this half reject. It was a 1976 Kennedy half, but the reverse wasn't the normal Independence Hall for a 1976. It was the war eagle that is on all other years. The half dollar weighs 10.35 grams, which is over 1 gram light and there is no major wear. Anyone run across anything like this? Are there any chances this is real and I have a major error coin?

[natsb88]

Looks like a seam on the rim of the reverse. Reverse was machined out and a regular half was machined down to fit into the pocket. That would be my guess.

[BlackOut]

Magicians half is what it sounds like to me. Bang it on the edge and it should open. Might even try to stick it in the freezer before banging it open, might help. I found quite a few last year while crhing.

[Thogey]

Magicians half is what it sounds like to me. Bang it on the edge and it should open. Might even try to stick it in the freezer before banging it open, might help. I found quite a few last year while crhing.

+1

I found a couple of these.

The cocaine is inside.

[henrysmedford]

I asked error expert Mike Diamond his thoughts and --

I would agree with the one person who provided an opinion. It's almost certainly a fake produced by inserting a resized reverse into a hollowed-out obverse. The low weight and what appears to be a seam on the reverse would support this contention. No mules are known among US half dollars.

Mike

From -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_%28coin%29
Mule (coin)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In numismatics, a mule is a coin or medal minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece. These can be intentional or produced by error. This type of error is highly sought after, and examples can fetch steep prices from collectors.

The earliest mules are found among ancient Greek and Roman coins. Opinion is divided between those who think that they are accidental, the result of an incorrect combination of a new die with one that had officially been withdrawn from use, or the work of coiners working with dies stolen from an official mint, perhaps at a time when one of them should have been destroyed.

The name derives from the mule, the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, due to such a coin having two sides intended for different coins, much as a mule has parents of two different species.

[Tourney64]

With help of everyone on the board, I can now confirm it is 2 pieces. I haven't been able to separate them, but the obverse and reverse sides should be upside down to each other and they aren't. There does feel like a seam on the reverse.

[Tourney64]

Well, I got the coin open and found the surprise. Here's the inside of the Magician's Half. There were no contents inside the coin other than the surprise English 1967 penny that was part of the reverse.

[cooyon]

That is pretty cool! Check the penny, may be something inside.

[Copper Catcher]

This is used in a magic trick commonly called the Scotch and Soda Trick

Scotch and Soda is a magic effect involving a copper coin and a silver coin which appear to transpose in the spectator's hands. The effect relies on simple gimmick and the tricks performed with it are self-working and require almost no skill. The trick is named after the cocktail Scotch and soda; the copper coin represents the "Scotch" and the silver coin represents the "soda".

The effect is usually performed as follows: The magician displays two coins of almost equal size, one copper and one silver. The silver coin is most often a U.S. half dollar and the copper coin is usually either an English penny or a Mexican centavo. The magician stacks the coins and places them into the spectator's hand. He then asks her to place her hands behind her back and put one coin in each hand, remarking that the silver coin is slightly larger than the copper coin, making them easy to tell apart. The magician asks to see the silver coin which the spectator produces. When the spectator opens her other hand, the copper coin has become a quarter. The copper coin can then be made to appear wherever the magician desires, such as in the spectator's pocket or under an object across the room.

Scotch and Soda is a popular trick that can be purchased at many magic stores. A number of books exclusively on the subject describe different effects that can be achieved with the Scotch and Soda gimmick. Gin and tonic is a version of the trick using a dime and a penny.

The modern version that uses a 20 Centavo and a Kennedy half is often attributed to Richard Himber. In the early 1900s, America's oldest magic company, Martinka made a version that utilized a Barbour Half and a large cent.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_and_Soda