The avid stamp and coin collector found a “two-tailed” five-cent piece in a roll of coins he bought at First Tennessee Bank early on Jan. 21.
“What in the world is this?” he remembers thinking when he found the coin. “It’s maybe like seeing a two-legged dog — it’s a little unusual.”
Mr. Moore thought he had happened upon a valuable federal goof until a few days later when he examined it more closely.
“I knew there was something squirrelly about it,” he said.
When he put it on a scale, the coin weighed a fraction of an ounce less than most other nickels, making him suspicious. When he took it under the lens of a magnifying glass, he noticed a seam just inside the edge along one face and his suspicions were confirmed.
Someone had bored out one nickel and cut around another so the two could pressed into one unusual-looking trick coin, said the numismatist.
“Somebody put an awful lot of work into this,” said Mr. Moore, who lives in Chattanooga off Lee Highway.
Rod Gillis, a numismatic educator with the American Numismatic Association, agreed with Mr. Moore’s theory.
“The chances of that happening at the (U.S.) mint are extremely unlikely,” he said.
Mr. Moore suspects the coin was probably part of a scam operation to sell the supposedly rare and valuable error coins to unsuspecting buyers at flea markets.
Although he acknowledged the counterfeiting scheme as a possibility, Mr. Gillis has different theory — he suspects the coins were bored and pressed for use in magic tricks.
“I hadn’t ever thought about that before,” Mr. Moore said.
Adam Ryan, president of the Chattanooga Magic Club, said two-tailed quarters sell for a few dollars each at magic shops.
“It’s a common prop used in magic,” he said.
Dale Adamson, a magician based in Lawrenceville, Ga., said he has made thousands of custom coins for himself and other performers. He said someone probably spent the coin accidentally, a costly mistake since trick coins can cost about $45.
“It is not fun because some of that stuff is expensive,” Mr. Adamson said. “You just spent $45 as 25 cents.”
HED: Collector finds two-tailed ‘magic’ nickel
Tips on buying coins
* If something is too good to be true, it probably is
* Buy the “Guidebook of American Coins” to check conditions and rarity
* Do a little research before making a rash purchase
Source: Rod Gillis, American Numismatic Association