CoinTalk Member Posts a 1926 Buffalo Nickel Described as a Contemporary Counterfeit
On the CoinTalk forum, member Seattlite86 posted a "1926 buffalo nickel" that the member described as a contemporary counterfeit made on German silver. The member wrote that the piece came from a large batch of nickels obtained in Europe. The source does not show the posting date.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the source, a forum thread of member posts. We removed material not in the source, including claims that precise fakes fooling experts are circulating in the market and passages on the Denver "D" mint mark, mintage, the designer, minting methods and market value, and presented the posts as members' own reports. The previous headline was "1926 Buffalo Nickel Fakes Challenge Experts with Precision."
This article describes a thread titled "Contemporary Counterfeit 1926 Buffalo Nickel" on the coin collectors' forum CoinTalk. The source does not show the posting date. The content consists of individual members' own reports and opinions, not confirmed facts. The source text does not include the photos.
The posted coin
Member Seattlite86 wrote that, to the best of the member's knowledge, the piece is a discovery coin. It is a "1926 buffalo nickel" made on German silver, the member said.
According to Seattlite86, the coin was pulled out of circulation a year or two ago but the member had not really gotten around to studying it. The member wrote: "I sent it to someone who studies them and did an XRF scan." According to the member, that person said it was common to use German silver for contemporary counterfeits.
lordmarcovan responded to the circulation find with "Now that's neat!" In a later post, Seattlite86 said it was "a bit cheating": the member had been in Europe, obtained a large number of nickels, and the coin came out of that batch.
Why the member suspected a counterfeit
Pickin and Grinin asked whether a line coming from the leg was damage or a large die crack. Seattlite86 replied that it is a crack and that the crack first alerted the member that the coin was off, adding that the member had never seen one go sideways like that. The member then saw pitting on the obverse and suspected a counterfeit. The member also noted a couple of rim dings at the 6 o'clock position on the obverse.
Other members' posts
ldhair wrote that the member has a few counterfeits and posted a favorite. KBBPLL posted the only one the member has (that the member knows about) and wrote: "Your nickel looks pretty good at first glance but it seems like by the color you can tell how much copper is in it." The source does not make clear whose nickel "your" refers to.
Source: CoinTalk, "Contemporary Counterfeit 1926 Buffalo Nickel" (forum thread).
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