Unfortunately Mr. Lawrence has documented the coin and had it photographed. If he doesn’t produce that coin then he can be held liable for conversion and he will have to pay the government $250,000. If it is determined that he acted deliberately he could be held liable for up to $750,000.
My guess is that if he had donated to Obama, he would not be facing this nightmare. Obama is determined to reward his friends and punish his enemies.
OK, then My quick-and-dirty immediate reaction would be to obtain a replacement penny with the exact same year, go to the effort of purchasing a modeler's spraypaint gun and aluminum colouring from a hobby shop, and quickly paint the replacement item the correct colour with the aluminum paint and then challenge the feds to prove it to be not the same one originally photographed. As long as it looks the same, they can not prove it to be anything other than was originally photographed without physical possession of an item incontrovertably proven to be the item originally photographed.
Make them WORK to prove it is false.