I always liked this one. The chase after the nickel gets more and more harried. Eugene Troobnick as Arnie is quite good but the real scene stealer is Victor Buono as Eric Damian! He's always great in everything he turns up in. Hammy perhaps but that's his trademark. Doesn't McGarrett call him a "fat cat"? LOL. To me he's part fat cat, part sly fox. His scenes with McGarrett are priceless! He's so oily and transparent that McGarrett can't even keep a straight face talking to him. The ending with the coin hidden behind the ear was perhaps a bit forced (how did McGarrett know?) but it was fun, in keeping with the episode. This featured the second music score by Bruce Broughton (after "The Finishing Touch") and he was actually Emmy nominated for this one! Season 6 actually had a record 3 nominations for best dramatic score - this one, Don Ray's "Nightmare in Blue", and of course Morton Steven's "Hookman" which won the Emmy.
4 Reviews
My wife thought i was a bit TOO PICKY< BUT I found several numismatic mists in this one...but it was entertaining.
planktonrules13 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
If you are a coin collector (a 'numismatist'), you'll no doubt spot some problems with this episode. While I am not an avid coin collector, my brother is and spotted several problems with this otherwise entertaining episode. Now I should point out that my wife thought I was being a bit picky--but I still think that the show took a great premise and messed it up a bit due to silly technical glitches.
A scumbag (Victor Buono) has arranged for bail for a petty thief. It seems the thief is a sleight of hands expert and the scumbag has hired him to switch a counterfeit 1913 Liberty Head Nickle (one of the rarest US coins ever made) with a real one at a coin show. Well, the scheme works well at first but the thief ends up hiding the coin when the police show--and he spends most of the show trying to find it before Buono has his assassin friend kill him for losing it. However, what the greasy thief and his wife don't realize is that Buono is planning on killing them regardless! It's a neat idea for the show. But, the technical nut inside me noticed that when the engraver was making the fake coin, instead of two coins being used to make the single fake, SEVERAL were used--and it was obvious because the condition of the coins varied a lot in this initial scene (ranging from a fine to an uncirculated or almost uncirculated coin). Then, later, when the thief panicked when the police shutdown the show (just after he switched coins), he shoves the stolen coin into a newspaper machine--BUT his putting the coin in is shown in closeup and it's clearly a 1910 coin--not the super-valuable 1913. It's VERY noticeable when you watch the DVD, as the intro page shows this closeup! But, for the non-nutty person who is NOT obsessed with mistakes, it is entertaining and fun.
A scumbag (Victor Buono) has arranged for bail for a petty thief. It seems the thief is a sleight of hands expert and the scumbag has hired him to switch a counterfeit 1913 Liberty Head Nickle (one of the rarest US coins ever made) with a real one at a coin show. Well, the scheme works well at first but the thief ends up hiding the coin when the police show--and he spends most of the show trying to find it before Buono has his assassin friend kill him for losing it. However, what the greasy thief and his wife don't realize is that Buono is planning on killing them regardless! It's a neat idea for the show. But, the technical nut inside me noticed that when the engraver was making the fake coin, instead of two coins being used to make the single fake, SEVERAL were used--and it was obvious because the condition of the coins varied a lot in this initial scene (ranging from a fine to an uncirculated or almost uncirculated coin). Then, later, when the thief panicked when the police shutdown the show (just after he switched coins), he shoves the stolen coin into a newspaper machine--BUT his putting the coin in is shown in closeup and it's clearly a 1910 coin--not the super-valuable 1913. It's VERY noticeable when you watch the DVD, as the intro page shows this closeup! But, for the non-nutty person who is NOT obsessed with mistakes, it is entertaining and fun.
Could have made 10 Stars... but it drags a bit in the middle.
FloridaFred25 October 2023
The plot is really good. One of the rarest U. S. Coins is going to be auctioned at a Numismatic Convention. The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, of which only 5 exist. Today's value (year 2023) is approaching $5,000,000.
International thief Eric Damien, played by the great actor Victor Buono, hires a man who is an expert at sleight of hand. Local con artist Arnie Price (actor Eugene Troobnick), pretending to be a well-heeled coin collector, will swap out a faked 1913 nickel for the real coin.
Eric Damien is assisted by master assassin Paul Anthony (actor James Grahlmann). Anthony is as cold-blooded as they come.
The swap of the fake coin for the real coin goes as planned, but the theft is discovered before Arnie can get out of the hotel. Per the Summary and other reviews, he deposits the coin into a newspaper vending machine to hide it.
From that point on, the story gets laborious. Arnie and his wife Millie (actress Hildy Brooks) run from place to place, and from scene to scene, trying to find the lost nickel. This is where the story begins to drag a bit. And some of the events are highly improbable.
This show could have been 10 stars... but there is too much filler. So, I rate "The 100,000 Nickel" 8 stars.
International thief Eric Damien, played by the great actor Victor Buono, hires a man who is an expert at sleight of hand. Local con artist Arnie Price (actor Eugene Troobnick), pretending to be a well-heeled coin collector, will swap out a faked 1913 nickel for the real coin.
Eric Damien is assisted by master assassin Paul Anthony (actor James Grahlmann). Anthony is as cold-blooded as they come.
The swap of the fake coin for the real coin goes as planned, but the theft is discovered before Arnie can get out of the hotel. Per the Summary and other reviews, he deposits the coin into a newspaper vending machine to hide it.
From that point on, the story gets laborious. Arnie and his wife Millie (actress Hildy Brooks) run from place to place, and from scene to scene, trying to find the lost nickel. This is where the story begins to drag a bit. And some of the events are highly improbable.
This show could have been 10 stars... but there is too much filler. So, I rate "The 100,000 Nickel" 8 stars.
Very frustrating
VetteRanger17 February 2023
The scheme was simple. Have an engraver make a fake rare nickel, then get a sleight-of-hand grifter to substitute it for the real thing at a coin show where the real nickel is about to be auctioned.
Unfortunately for the grifter, Arnie Price, the selling dealer notices the switch before Arnie can leave the building, and thus begins possibly the most frustrating episode of Hawaii 5-0 ever. LOL
Arnie uses the $100,000 nickel to buy a newspaper to hide it. Then he tries to steal it from the man who collects change from the newspaper box. The nickels scatter in an alley and a little boy finds it before they do. The chain of events gets complicated and ... as I said ... frustrating.
And all the time 5-0 is on their trail ...
Unfortunately for the grifter, Arnie Price, the selling dealer notices the switch before Arnie can leave the building, and thus begins possibly the most frustrating episode of Hawaii 5-0 ever. LOL
Arnie uses the $100,000 nickel to buy a newspaper to hide it. Then he tries to steal it from the man who collects change from the newspaper box. The nickels scatter in an alley and a little boy finds it before they do. The chain of events gets complicated and ... as I said ... frustrating.
And all the time 5-0 is on their trail ...
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