How I Wrote a Technical Book on Coin Authentication: From a $10k 1933-S Half Dollar Scandal to O’Reilly Publication
October 1, 2025A CTO’s Strategic Lens: How a $10K ‘Fake Coin’ Auction Exposes Risks in Technical Due Diligence
October 1, 2025
When software lands at the center of a legal battle, attorneys need someone who speaks both tech and law. That’s where you come in. A career as a tech expert witness offers more than just high earning potential—it puts your specialized knowledge on the stand, literally. If you’ve ever examined a rare coin and spotted a flaw invisible to the untrained eye, you already understand the mindset this role demands.
Why Tech Expert Witnesses Are Crucial in Legal Disputes
Judges and juries aren’t coders. Lawyers aren’t forensics analysts. That’s why they call in experts like you. As a tech expert witness, you translate complex technical details into clear, credible testimony. Whether it’s parsing source code, tracing digital footprints, or verifying digital assets—including digitized rare coins or blockchain-based collectibles—you’re the bridge between tech and truth.
Take the recent $10,000 sale of a 1933-S half-dollar coin in a Czech auction. It looked real at first glance. But seasoned numismatists noticed subtle flaws: a flattened arm, a misaligned “IN” in “IN GOD WE TRUST.” These tiny clues suggested a forgery. Sound familiar? The same scrutiny applies to source code, metadata, or smart contracts. Whether it’s a coin or a commit log, authenticity lives in the details.
The Role of a Tech Expert Witness in Litigation Consulting
Your job isn’t just to analyze—it’s to clarify, explain, and defend your findings under oath. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Source Code Review for Legal Cases: Dig into code to uncover IP theft, licensing violations, or stolen trade secrets.
- Digital Forensics: Recover deleted files, trace user activity, and verify timestamps or metadata.
- Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Authenticity: Track digital provenance, much like tracing a rare coin’s history through auction records and grading reports.
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How Expertise in Authenticating Rare Coins Translates to Tech Expert Witnessing
Ever held a rare coin under a loupe and noticed a detail that didn’t match the mint record? That same instinct—trained observation, pattern recognition, skepticism—applies directly to tech litigation. The skills are different, but the mindset is the same: trust, but verify.
1. Attention to Detail
The 1933-S half-dollar raised alarms because of a canted “IN” and a lost texture on the arm. These weren’t just cosmetic—they broke known minting patterns. In code, it’s the same. A misplaced semicolon, a reused function with altered variable names, or inconsistent indentation can signal copying or tampering. One detail, when out of place, changes the whole story.
2. Comparative Analysis
Coin experts compared the disputed 1933-S to verified specimens. Differences in strike, relief, and die alignment proved it was a fake. In tech, you do the same. You line up two codebases, metadata logs, or blockchain transactions and look for alignment—or lack thereof. Here’s a real example:
// Original function
function calculateInterest(principal, rate, time) {
return principal * rate * time;
}
// Suspicious version
function calcInterest(p, r, t) {
return p * r * t;
}
The logic is identical. The variables are renamed, but the structure, logic, and purpose match. That’s not a coincidence—it’s a red flag for potential infringement. Your job? Spot the copy, explain why it matters, and stand by your analysis under cross-examination.
3. Use of Tools and Technology
Numismatists don’t rely on eyes alone. They use spectral imaging, die alignment software, and 3D overlays. You do the same with tools built for digital truth:
- Static Code Analysis Tools: SonarQube, Fortify, or Checkmarx scan for code duplication, vulnerabilities, and anomalies.
- Digital Forensics Tools: Autopsy and FTK uncover deleted files, recover timelines, and verify file origins.
- Blockchain Explorers: Etherscan and Blockchain.com act like digital grading services—verifying ownership, tracking transfers, and confirming authenticity of NFTs or tokens.
Building a Career as a Tech Expert Witness
You don’t just wake up one day and become an expert witness. It takes focus, credibility, and the ability to speak plainly in court. But if you’ve ever corrected a friend who misidentified a coin grade, or spotted a bug in a repo without running it, you’ve already started.
1. Develop Deep Technical Expertise
Specialization wins. The tech world is vast. Pick your lane: blockchain, cybersecurity, machine learning, fintech, or software architecture. The deeper you go, the more irreplaceable you become. Just like a coin expert who knows every die variety of the 1933-S, your niche becomes your authority.
2. Gain Legal Knowledge
You don’t need a law degree, but you do need to understand how courts work. Learn the basics of intellectual property, contracts, and evidentiary rules. Consider taking a short course in legal tech or shadowing attorneys during depositions. The more you speak their language, the more they’ll trust yours.
3. Build a Portfolio
Start small. Take pro-bono cases. Help a startup defend its code in a dispute. Write up your findings like a case study. Detail how you spotted the anomaly, what tools you used, and what conclusion you reached. These reports become your resume. They prove you don’t just talk tech—you apply it.
4. Network with Legal Professionals
Attend legal tech panels. Join bar association roundtables. Write articles on authentication techniques or digital forensics. The more you show up, the more lawyers remember your name when a case hits their desk. Reputation spreads one solid opinion at a time.
Real-World Applications: From Coins to Code
The 1933-S half-dollar taught us something bigger: authenticity isn’t about price. It’s about proof. And that truth applies to every tech dispute you’ll face.
1. Evidence Matters
That coin only failed because high-res images were shared. Experts could zoom, rotate, and overlay. In tech, access to clean logs, original repositories, or unaltered metadata makes or breaks a case. No evidence? No expert opinion.
No one spots everything alone. In the coin world, collectors and dealers shared images, debated edges, and reached consensus. In litigation, you’ll work with forensic accountants, IP attorneys, and other experts. The strongest case is built by a team—not a solo genius. A 1933-S half-dollar with flawless strike and no wear? Suspicious. In code, a file with zero bugs, perfect formatting, and no version history? That’s a red flag. Real tech has scars. Real coins have quirks. If it looks too clean, dig deeper. A tech expert witness career isn’t about showing off how smart you are. It’s about making the complex clear. Whether you’re analyzing source code for patent infringement, tracing a cryptocurrency wallet, or authenticating a digital artifact like a rare coin token, your job is to find truth in the details. The debate over the 1933-S half-dollar wasn’t just about a coin. It was about expertise, process, and trust. And that’s exactly what courts need when tech is on trial. Your skills—whether honed in a lab, a server room, or a coin grading session—have real value in the courtroom. The path starts with curiosity. Then comes practice. Then comes credibility. One day, a lawyer might call you to authenticate the next “1933-S” of the digital world. And when they do, you’ll be ready—not just with data, but with clarity. You might also find these related articles helpful:3. Beware of ‘Too Good to Be True’ Scenarios
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