There are such things as two-headed coins. That is to say, a coin with the same image on both sides, so that no matter how you turn it, it always comes up with the front (or back) design on either side. Chances are you will not find one of them in circulation, but they do exist. Don’t spend too much time looking for one, however, because they are all fakes.
A hollowed penny, made to accept a "heads" insert
Two-headed coins have been made for years to fool people, or to be used as “matching coins.” Everyone knows the game; “I call heads”, and if you are using a two-headed coin, you are sure to win. Some of the two-headed coins are so simple and crude that anyone can see they have been made by joining two coins together without any other preparation. Those are made by amateurs. A more convincing job can be done in a machine shop were the back of one coin is hollowed out and another cut down slightly and dropped into the recess. When the job is done with care and skill there is hardly a trace of where the two coins were joined together.
There is nothing illegal about making such novelties as long as they are not used for any deceptive purposes. I have seen them occasionally being offered for sale in gift shops at prices around $15.00 or less depending on the denomination. Pennies are, of course, the cheapest. I can only guess what people do with these coins, but would be willing to bet that one of them might occasionally be found in a dimly lit bar, and once in a while one will be spent inadvertently. Those are the pieces that turn up in change to startle the finder.
People in the United States Mint assure me that it is nearly impossible for two dies of the same design to be mounted in the press together so as to produce a two-headed coin. There is no recorded instance of that ever happening, and no such coin has ever been verified as being genuine. If you find one, enjoy it for what it is, but be assured that it is not genuine, and that it has very little collector value.
Filthy Lucre
Money carries germs. That is what a bacterial study commissioned by the Wall Street Journal has to say. It is not something that we have to worry about though. There is no crisis, just the recognition of the way that germs travel from person to person.
Staphylococcus Aureus
The study, as reported in the “Health Journal” column by Marilyn Chase, shows that 18 percent of the coins and 7 percent of the notes tested grew disease-causing bacteria. Tests were conducted by Shirley Lowe, assistant clinical professor of microbiology at the University of California at San Francisco, to “reflect how people handle money in the real world.” Cultures were performed on 73 notes and 40 coins gathered “from more than a dozen urban sources, including an ATM, coffee house, deli, donut shop, fast-food chain, grocery store, newsstand, pharmacy, post office, snack bar, two butchers and a bagel shop.”
Escherichia Coli (E.coli)
Most of Lowe’s contaminated samples grew Staphylococcus aureus, and two cultures grew light to moderate colonies of Escherichi coli and Klebsiella enterobacter, bacteria that is commonly found in the digestive tract. Lowe said that staph bacteria are the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in the United States, but “as long as our immune systems are functioning, we can fight off these organisms just fine.” The article held no concerns for the health of the nation as a result of handling contaminated money.
Bacterial specialists recognize the potential dangers of some kinds of bacteria, but contend that there is little chance of any outbreaks of disease from what will be found on currency. Paper money produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is not chemically treated for germicidal protection, and there seems to be no practical way to insure that we use germ-free money. For anyone tempted to worry, the best and simplest way to prevent disease transmission is by a thorough hand washing.