Vintage counterfeit coin detector

dcarr

I've seen several different vintage counterfeit coin detectors in various configurations. Most seem to be for gold coins and silver dollars.

I had not seen one like this before, so I bought when I saw it at the recent Colorado Springs coin show. It is interesting to me because it is for silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars (unusual because of that), and it is also in the general size and shape of a silver dollar (made of brass).

The front has inscribed circles for comparing the diameters of sample coins to the genuine standard:

The three slots are for measuring the thickness of sample coins.
It took me little while to figure out what the three cut-out triangles were for.
They are used for weight testing.

This picture shows a test on a vintage counterfeit (cast lead) 1877-S half dollar (note: out of balance):

This picture shows a test on a genuine silver half dollar (note: balanced):

Timbuk3

Interesting, nice find !!!

Namvet69

Ingenius! Peace Roy

1Mike1

That is an interesting piece. Very clever

TeamDennis

Thanks for sharing. Very cool.

Azurescens

Sweet! Fascinating lil guy there!

ricko

Well isn't that clever. I would not have guessed what it was for if I saw one....Thanks for showing us Dan....Cheers, RickO

jafo50

Very very cool. I want one ..........

Jimnight

Nice...I never knew that stuff like that was ever made.

morgansforever

Excellent stuff, bet those would sell.

Onastone

That is a very useful tool~

Sonorandesertrat

Counterfeit coin detection devices appeared mostly after the Civil War and were typically made of brass. Most were rocker designs. The piece depicted was manufactured by J. W Sutton to whom a US patent was granted in 1877. This one was issued in nickel-plated brass, and likely was designed for use with a pen knife or piece of string. George Mallis wrote a couple of articles for The Numismatist in 1974 and 1980 on these kinds of devices. Eric Newman and George Mallis later wrote a book that is a good reference: 'U. S. Coin Scales and Mechanical Counterfeit Detectors'.

Leroy

That's a very nice find, something seems odd though. If the counterfeit (cast lead) coin weighed too much, shouldn't the scale go the other way?

CaptHenway

Never saw that type before.

Smudge

Thanks for showing that. Interesting find.

PerryHall

@Leroy said:
That's a very nice find, something seems odd though. If the counterfeit (cast lead) coin weighed too much, shouldn't the scale go the other way?

The counterfeit coin may be pewter or some other pot metal that weighs less than a real coin.

BruceS

Cool find Dan!! Where did you find the instructions on how to use it? ha.

Wil1858

Way nice! Thanks for sharing .

rainbowroosie

That is way cool!

PerryHall

Go to eBay and do a search for "counterfeit coin detector" and you'll frequently find them. There were literally dozens of different styles and designs made for use by bankers and merchants.

ECHOES

Cool

Koinicker

Never seen that either one Dan. PLEASE let me know if you ever find out when that was made and I would be happy to add it to my list of counterfeit detectors and associated patents (which goes beyond the Newman and Mallis book). I would guess this is some sort of turn of the century, if not as late as a 1930s style of detector given its art deco design.

Sonorandesertrat

This detector is in the US Patent and Trademark database, available online. Patent number 188,982, dated 27 March 1877. It is not a 20th-century design.

CoinCrazyPA

Cool piece, thanks for sharing.

dcarr

@PerryHall said:

@Leroy said:
That's a very nice find, something seems odd though. If the counterfeit (cast lead) coin weighed too much, shouldn't the scale go the other way?

The counterfeit coin may be pewter or some other pot metal that weighs less than a real coin.

Yes, the counterfeit that I tested with is lighter than a genuine coin (9.1 grams).
It is probably lead pewter, but it has a significant quantity of lighter metals (tin, zinc) in the mix.

The genuine test coin is 12.5 grams.

Koinicker

Thanks - I actually had an error in my database and had number '188,892' instead of '982'; this was either a typo on my part or was in Newman-Mallis (I don't have the book anymore to double check).

dcarr

@Sonorandesertrat said:
This detector is in the US Patent and Trademark database, available online. Patent number 188,982, dated 27 March 1877. It is not a 20th-century design.

Excellent, thanks for the information.

divecchia

Wow, that is ingenious for sure. I had never seen anything like that before. A really well thought out counterfeit detection device.

Thanks for sharing it.

Donato