Making false money is something forgers have done for centuries.

Making false money is something forgers have done for centuries. Forgers have been active since coins first originated.

One method forges use is cutting new dies.
Many forgers try to make their own dies. There are several techniques for doing this but the most common is to hand cut the design directly into a piece of tool steel in a manner similar to that used by the moneyers of the 19th century. For this reason, the technique is harder to detect when applied to old coins from tha era.

The example shown here was made in the 1970s and was intended to represent a 1937 penny, which is keenly sought by numismatists (coin collectors and specialists). Differences in detail are readily identified when the dies are compared with genuine coins.
[Text taken from presentation boards.]
- 2013 Sep 08 11:41:19