I stand by my words of 5-years ago

It isn’t an error coin–it’s not even a coin and certainly it wasn’t done in error, I believe it to be intentional. How is a nail going to run through the system and come out pristine with an MS65 dime stamped on it? And ….”no one really knows how or why it was struck”? I think $42,300 explains that statement. If the nail wasn’t graded, I’m thinking it wouldn’t have been more than a curious little trinket.

You are right on point on the King Farouk/Stephen Fenton specimen of the 1933 $20 Saint-Gaudens coin being the only coin of its type that is currently officially monetized by U.S. Mint officials. But those coins were struck in large amounts in 1933 for circulation but were ordered to be melted by President FDR’s orders etc. But the five 1913 Liberty Head “nickels” were never approved by Congress or U.S. Mint officials & were struck by at least 2 Philadelphia Mint employees (one in the die department & one press operator at least, & obviously after hours since it was not approved on any level !) The fact that they only struck five specimens (that we know of since 1913) also suggests that it was a quick “after midnight” type illegal operation. Otherwise they would have struck more to make more $ selling them to the dealer who bought all 5 specimens. The die was never found at the Philadelphia Mint or anywhere either. This was just a quick opportunistic inside job. Luckily 2 of the specimens (they are NOT coins!) are permanently impounded in museums. I was lucky enough to have held the specimen in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in the late 1980s & the curator at the time basically had no respect for that “piece of round metal” as she described it. “It leaves me cold” she told me (Dr. Elvira Eliza Clain-Steffanelli) I met Aubrey & Adeline Beebee from Omaha, Nebraska who owned the specimen that they donated to the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum & he told me the only reason he bought it was for publicity for their coin business (he didn’t even leave it to his children in his will because he told me it would one day be ruled as illegal to own so he got a large tax write off for donating it to the ANA museum right before he retired! As for the 3 specimens that are currently in private collections, they are subject to forfeit at any time the U.S. government orders it. The U.S. government has a special division that seaks out stolen government property, including U.S. Depression era art work that President FDR had commissioned to hang in every U.S. federal building in every city/state & they recently recovered a painting done under his Works Progress Administration (WPA) that the U.S. gov’t paid the artist $10 to paint back in the 1930s. The painting was tracked down to a private art collection & had to be immediately forfeited by the “owner” & the gov’t auctioned it off for $700,000 a couple of years ago, after about 80 years of searching the country for such items. It is only a matter of time before a U.S. Mint young & upcoming lawyer gets the nerve to confiscate the 3 specimens currently in private hands! I saw all 5 specimens together at the 2003 ANA convention in Baltimore, Maryland & they are amazing “things” to look at, but they are not coins & are stolen U.S. government property & always will be wherever they are outside non-profit museum collections. Those who pay millions of dollars for such “bragging rights” will one day regret that their egos got the best of them! There are many legal coins that are unique coins (1 specimen known) or just a few specimens known that are a much better alterrnative IMHO.
Happy collecting !

-NumisDudeTX

You are probably partially right on your comments. The Mint lawyers are basically acting as if they are impotent on such matters & spend most of their time worried about U.S. Mint trademark issues instead! I called them once about an illegal offering of a U.S. Mint Martha Washington bronze test strike experimental piece going to auction & even contacted the U.S. Secret Service about it and the agent called me back & said unfortunately the Mint lawyers basically didn’t care since it wasn’t a legal tender coin! That piece sold at auction a month later for $52,000 ! But when a 1933 $20 gold coin came on the market for $millions, the Mint’s lawyers stood up at attention & fought a 4-year long court battle for it! Go figure. Very inconsistent they are at the US MInt on this matter.

-NumisDudeTX