A lot of Updates!

It is 5 AM when I'm writing this, and I've been working since 3:30 AM to push my next book to completion, but that effort feels like running in sand - a lot of effort for not a lot of movement - but it is all progress! The amount of time and effort (and $$$$$) that I've given to this forthcoming book is immeasurable. With that said, one of the primary goals this morning has been to add 1 Seated 50c transfer die and 2 Barber 50c transfer die new varieties to their respective chapters. These are just 3 of the >500 die struck counterfeit half dollar and silver dollar varieties I've documented in this next book!

Essentially, the only thing left to complete with the next Bad Metal book is formatting chapters for the printer. Fortunately or unfortunately, I've had to re-format previously completed chapters b/c I've recently added more, pertinent info into those sections, thanks to the info discussed below.

• Book Pre-Orders. Once this book is with the printing company, I will start offering pre-orders in the SHOP section.

• Book Promo Special. To commemorate this upcoming book on counterfeit half dollars and silver dollars I have the following offer. Starting now and going through the end of August 2025, any contemporary counterfeit HALF DOLLAR and/or SILVER DOLLAR order of $500 or more will be added to the pre-order list to receive a copy of my next Bad Metal book. The combined value of your counterfeit half dollars and/or silver dollar order must be $500 or more.

I recently bought an XRF handheld analyzer! This has been a true game-changer in terms of analytical and authenticity analysis progress. For example, I've had (and still have) a box of coins set aside because they are odd, many are suspected counterfeits, and many turned out to be counterfeits including new contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins thanks to using this XRF. The spectrum of possibilities for this machine are vast. Some examples of which are below.

I plan to offer a XRF analysis service in the coming weeks. More details will be included in the SHOP section of this website, along with rates, analytical process, etc.

2 years ago, in February 2023, I wrote a blog post which included a Seated quarter with an X-cancellation mark. I asked you to comment whether you felt it was genuine or not based on my analysis at that time. It was the most commented blog post to date. XRF has confirmed this piece to be genuine at 88.9% silver (with a standard deviation overlapping 90% Ag) and 9.4% copper.

I was able to confirm the 3 half dollar transfer dies I identified in the 1st paragraph. One of these varieties, 1915-S TD.2-TD.R, was struck on a low carbon steel planchet - the first such documented counterfeit U.S. coin from this alloy.

As of writing this, and thanks in large part to this XRF, I've documented 20 new die struck contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin varieties this year. About 10 new varieties were added/confirmed since yesterday. I do not have a full list of these new varieties prepared for this blog, but that will be included in an updated supplement, somewhere.

As a final note, I've been gradually adding a few new items to the SHOP section of the website. Feel free to check it out. If there's been anything you've been eyeing, feel free to contact me about any wiggle room I might have.

Thanks for reading,

Winston