2007 Double Headed 5c

[Hercules]

Who is Peter Foster?

Google it. Anyway, I don't think the government would be too concerned about fake 5c coins, because you can hardly buy anything with them. They're much more interested in crooks who make fake $50 and $100 notes, which is why they're replacing all our banknotes with new ones. :ok:

[trout]

Counterfeiting is a criminal act regardless of the denomination chosen, It is also  a criminal act to steal government property.
You have to remember that it wasn't THAT long ago people were Hung for "Coining", So it is not exactly a "Misdemeanour" offence.

[gnome]

Don't actually recall a hanging, but the sentences could be pretty harsh

[JeffH]

Peter Foster is a well known serial conman.
In 2006 he tried to escape arrest in Fiji by jumping off the Navua bridge. Check out the snags in that river!

[ausjack]

Who is Peter Foster?

Google it. Anyway, I don't think the government would be too concerned about fake 5c coins, because you can hardly buy anything with them. They're much more interested in crooks who make fake $50 and $100 notes, which is why they're replacing all our banknotes with new ones. :ok:

Yes they're only 5 cents Herc but have you seen the prices they go for, in the thousands so for the humble 5 cent it's a HUGE mark up.

Peter Foster is a well known serial conman.
In 2006 he tried to escape arrest in Fiji by jumping off the Navua bridge. Check out the snags in that river!

Shame he didn't get caught up in them Jeff :dodgy:

[Basil]

Peter Foster is a well known serial conman.
In 2006 he tried to escape arrest in Fiji by jumping off the Navua bridge. Check out the snags in that river!

Golfing friend lives close to his latest home,Police dug the backyard up last W/end.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/conman-peter-foster-a-flight-risk-facing-new-charges-after-false-irish-passport-found-in-byron-bay-backyard/news-story/2f53b91504e01a9004e49146b490197c

[Hercules]

Google it. Anyway, I don't think the government would be too concerned about fake 5c coins, because you can hardly buy anything with them. They're much more interested in crooks who make fake $50 and $100 notes, which is why they're replacing all our banknotes with new ones. :ok:

Yes they're only 5 cents Herc but have you seen the prices they go for, in the thousands so for the humble 5 cent it's a HUGE mark up.

It's not coin collectors they're worried about. It's the general community. If you receive a double-headed 5c in your change, you've only lost 5c. Most people wouldn't bat an eyelid over that.

[trout]

A boycott on these sort of things by the collecting community would put a stop to this sort of nonsense But unfortunately there are far too many dodgy and greedy people in the community for this to have any effect :cray::dash1:

[Ozcoins]

A few people have commented on how quickly they think double headed coins would be spotted in circulation.

I think the chance that the average person would spot one is very close to zero.

Other than collectors, virtually no one even looks at coins when they are using them, let alone looking at both sides and paying enough attention  to spot that both sides are the same.

There is a lot of speculation and theories in this thread, but very little verified facts.

Eg "It was a woman smuggling them out".  Is this true? Is it false? Has it been spread to muddy the waters and in fact it was a bloke smuggling them out?  
Surely staff go through metal detectors and these would still be detected anyway (wherever they were hidden)?
Did someone make a whole die run of these by mistake (or as a prank)?
Maybe a die was incorrectly made and that allowed the wrong die to be used?
If they were in fact made in error, would the mint say "We made a mistake."?  Or would they say "A bad staff member did it,"?
None of what I have just said should be taken as "Ozcoins thinks these are legitimate errors".  
I still think that these are dodgy, it's just frustrating that there are so few verifiable facts and people are posting things (without any proof) as if they are facts.

[Hercules]

I think the chance that the average person would spot one is very close to zero.

Other than collectors, virtually no one even looks at coins when they are using them, let alone looking at both sides and paying enough attention  to spot that both sides are the same.

:agreed:

[nealeffendi]

Counterfeiting is a criminal act regardless of the denomination chosen, It is also  a criminal act to steal government property.
You have to remember that it wasn't THAT long ago people were Hung for "Coining", So it is not exactly a "Misdemeanour" offence.

"Don't steal, the government hates competition"
Until the 18th century women guilty of fake coins were burnt at the stake. In 1777 a 16 year old girl was sentenced to burn but was saved by the Marquess of Bath. IIRC at least one female convict transported to Australia had originally been sentenced to burn.

[robbiegal]

The fed's should be all over this sort of thing but they don't seem to care so what's the use of them :dodgy:

They're too busy focusing on those who are easy to catch. Not too dusty  having "I rounded up Peter Foster seventeen times" on your C.V. I suppose :laugh2:

OK I Google this bloke. No David Gee mind you
Just a megalomaniac greedy conman
At least  david Gee had a passion and drive for the art of coin making
Even that deserves more kudos than a couple of Norti mint employees fiddling with dies in the production rooms on public holidays or a mong tel. Conning investers  with fake health products and fake betting businesses


As for the 5c no skill in that
Sheer greed and conciously being deceptive under the public service management act
And yes I agree that workplace behavior in a mint should be investigated by the federal police
Like many 'error' coins they are still deemed to be genuine circulating coinage after having been manufactured at an official mint

So it's tricky
But the employees are behaving in a criminal manner IMO

[Fulvio]

Golfing friend lives close to his latest home,Police dug the backyard up last W/end.

Dodgy link there. Try this one:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/conman-peter-foster-a-flight-risk-facing-new-charges-after-false-irish-passport-found-in-byron-bay-backyard/news-story/2f53b91504e01a9004e49146b490197c

workplace behavior in a mint should be investigated by the federal police

Trust me, it is. I once had a federal microscope inserted where de sun don't shine because as the only person in the computer centre with an interest in computers, I was the obvious suspect when some junk terminals disappeared from a storeroom. It was a huge pain in the bum as they searched our house from top to bottom, to no avail of course.

So yes, they WOULD have investigated, even over 5 cents. And no, they wouldn't say anything about it, unless there was a leak or a PR or political angle to it.

[Ozcoins]

From my noodling, i would say 5c get heaps of circulation (and therefore travel).
Why?  Because I almost never find an old (say pre 1975) 5c in nice condition, while it happens that I find old 50c in quite nice condition.

That's probably because they're commemoratives, and people hoard them. All of the non-commemorative 50c coins I find of that vintage are just as worn as the 5c ones.

Not just commemoratives.  
There are not a lot of them, but I regularly find quite nice Coat of Arms coins before 1977.
On the other hand, I almost never find a 5c before 1976 that is 8n good condition.
I also look at many more 5c than 50c too as they tie up less money to get.

[nealeffendi]

Golfing friend lives close to his latest home,Police dug the backyard up last W/end.

Dodgy link there. Try this one:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/conman-peter-foster-a-flight-risk-facing-new-charges-after-false-irish-passport-found-in-byron-bay-backyard/news-story/2f53b91504e01a9004e49146b490197c

workplace behavior in a mint should be investigated by the federal police

Trust me, it is. I once had a federal microscope inserted where de sun don't shine because as the only person in the computer centre with an interest in computers, I was the obvious suspect when some junk terminals disappeared from a storeroom. It was a huge pain in the bum as they searched our house from top to bottom, to no avail of course.

So yes, they WOULD have investigated, even over 5 cents. And no, they wouldn't say anything about it, unless there was a leak or a PR or political angle to it.

How did they get a warrant to search your property on a silly hunch?