AMERICAN FALLOUT ISLAND PUZZLE

 While  checking  the  latest  condition   of  Magnetic Island's horribly  mutilated  mermaid  , our eagle-eyed Shipping  Reporter  stumbled upon  a trail of  bright   American  money, on the ground , not  far  from  the  ferry terminal .

At first, he  thought they were   Australian  coins- two  dollars and  five cents .  However  , on closer examination  they  proved to be  a 2020 one cent coin with  Abe  Lincoln's distinctive  bust  on the  obverse  and  a 2004  five cents  featuring  Thomas  Jefferson   and  the   1803  Lousiana  Purchase Indian Peace Medal  design  on  the  reverse .

While our  waterfront roundsman is delighted  with his  unexpected   find , he  would  dearly  like to solve this nickel and dime  mystery . How did the coins  come to  be  sitting out  in  the open on  Magnetic  Island ? 

 He remembers  an  intriguing    Townsville  media  story ,   some years ago , about  a large amount  of so-called counterfeit  American money having been  found on  the  island . This was followed up some time later by what was said to be  fake Chinese   money elsewhere .   The  media failed   to follow up  obvious  angles . Boy , does the Townsville  media  need  a  good shaking  up .

Surely low denomination fake  American coins are not being  churned out somewhere on  the  island to  undermine the US  economy  ? If so, the Shipping Reporter  says he will hire a metal  detector  and ,with FBI , CIA  and  US Treasury approval,  see if he  can  track  down   the  obviously  made  in  China  smelter.   

Furthermore ,  he says the above  strange,  military-looking car on the island, which has been  getting much attention from locals , its hubcaps missing,  could  belong  to  an  American SWAT  team  choppered in to raid the  dastardly   counterfeiters . 

UPCOMING: Odd body language from  mutilated  mermaid .