There are persistent rumours that the Prince Edward Island Holey Dollar was faked in the mid to late 1950s and early 1960s, apparently in New York, by a party or parties unknown. Can anyone throw some light on this rumour?

Twentieth century fakes of these coins certainly exist, and I have documented a number of them for my forthcoming book on the PEI Holey Dollar from Spink. However, when or where they might have been done is unclear (and it is too late to include such information in my book). Because PEI Holey Dollars produced in the 1813-14 period were made by fairly simple technological means and more or less by hand, on the face of it they would seem to be easy enough to fake. Matters are not quite that straightforward, however, inasmuch as the rough technology involved resulted in diagnostics which are quite difficult to duplicate.

The twentieth century fakes are not to be confused with a replica PEI Dollar and a Dump which appeared about 1961. These replica Dollars were not intended as fakes and the host coins are all dated 1793. One other point. The fakes from the 1950s and 60s appeared at the same time as a spike in fakes in the West Indies cut and countermarked series. Consequently, one might wonder whether all of these fakes came out of the same workshop or workshops. Any help with this mystery would be most appreciated and any confidences will be respected.