Numismatic Forgery takes the reader into the clandestine workshop of the criminal forger, and explains the methods and techniques that every serious coin collectors should know about before they purchase a rare or expensive coin.

The informal interviews Larson conducted with the infamous master forger, Mark Hofmann, at Utah State Prison in the late 1980's lay the foundation for a number of methods revealed in Numismatic Forgery. Hofmann is widely known for his forgery of historical Mormon documents, but Hofmann's coin forgeries continue to serve as a note of caution and as a source of frustration and embarrassment to many collectors and dealers.

Numismatic Forgery sheds new light on unique and rare coins, including the much-debated 1959 Reverse Wheat Back Lincoln Cent.

Charles Larson's book offers a detailed, applied and ultimately brilliant approach to how rare coins are privately manufactured. His painstaking, hands-on approach and clever writing style sets a new standard for numismatic research works, and promises to forever change how collectors and dealers of rare coins understand and approach counterfeit detection.