Doug Winter's gilt 1842-D half eagle is certainly a "contemporary counterfeit," but we must not be too literal with the word "contemporary." It could have been struck as late as the Civil War, when the equipment to do so was more commonly available, and the desperate shortage of hard currency might have made it a bit easier to pass. It could also have been struck anywhere in the North (most likely) or the South, wherever the model coin copied by the forger happened to end up.

I have long surmised that the extensive series of German Silver "contemporary counterfeit" Capped Bust half dollars were probably made during the Civil War, but of course I cannot prove it. There is a fairly common German Silver 1861 Trime that may have been from the same forger, which is one reason why I suspect the German Silver halves of being Civil War issues. Or it could all be coincidence.

Perhaps the use of older dates was intended to lull the unsuspecting recipients into excusing design discrepancies by assuming "Maybe that's just how they did it back then." After all, genuine half dollars and half eagles of the early 1840's did show variances in device punches and lettering. Or, the counterfeiter of this piece might just have happened upon an 1842-D half eagle at random. We will never know.