New purchase 1876 $5-P Half Eagle -- Grade?
zski123
Posts: 256 ✭✭✭
My latest purchase at an estate auction. Very happy about this one! I'm sending out over the weekend. I'll post the grade when I get it back. Any guesses?
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What’s going on with the date?
It could be the picture, but it looks cleaned. Too tough to grade by these pictures.
Cheers
Bob
Is it real. In the picture it looks fake to me
Counterfeit. I hope I’m wrong.
Has an off look to me as well. Let us know the results!
Good luck, not sure about that one.
Poor lighting. I'll repost.
That 7 is huge and too flat. I’m in the fake camp but good luck.
Authenticity of OP'S coin is highly questionable.
My first thought is fake.
Sadly I think it looks counterfeit, too.
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Good article from CoinWeek:
https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-coin-detection-us-gold-1892-half-eagle/
I hope you're wrong but looking closely at the "7", it's not as flat as the photo I posted but certainly is flat relative to the other examples. I'm sending it in for confirmation but also notifying the auctioneer that it is likely coming back.
I hope I’m wrong but 1876 $5’s have a mintage of 1400 with 45 survivors. The likelihood of you finding a raw one that isn’t fake at an estate auction is pretty slim.
You're right but on US coins, I'll often take my chances. If they are fakes/counterfeits, I return the item.
I wonder if it was holed, plugged, repaired and that's what we are seeing.
What does it weigh? Magnetic? Diameter? Specific gravity?"
bob
Too much wrong to list. Sorry, coin is not even close to real looking.
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Well from the postage stamp size photos I think it is real. First thought was fake and it looks off. Maybe altered surfaces, cleaned, ex-jewelry. One larger dentical between 1 & 8 on genuine, the copy would have had to come from a genuine host coin not one that just a date was changed.
Coin is not genuine 100% positive
Agreed. The shape of the 7 is totally bogus.
Upon further review I wanna change my mind.
Very rare coin if genuine. It’s not genuine
Latin American Collection
The details on the coin are fuzzy unlike what's found on a genuine coin. Don't waste your time and money sending it to any slabbing service. Just return it to the auction company so they can put it in their next auction.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Sorry, but it looks like a nice piece of copper.
As expected, the auctioneer cited their terms and conditions. I paid with a credit card which helps and the U.S. has a law against selling coins and currency that is manufactured or altered. She is insisting the coin is genuine and she had experts authenticate it. I'll send it out so it will cost me $65 to prove what my friends here already know. She'll have a returned charge and be reported when it shows up in her next auction. I suspect she owned the coin otherwise she would simple get it back from the consignor.
It's at least gold. I do know what. Had it tested today.
The mouth doesn’t look right.
the coin is worth about 2 dollars, slightly higher if you find a buyer in China
The coin is worth $315 in melt value. It is an altered half eagle.
So long as it’s gold that should be about right. Are you sure it’s altered rather than counterfeit? Date doesn’t look like the only thing that’s off.
How did you test it? TYIA
From CoinWeek 11/20/17:
"Counterfeit Gold coins exist for virtually every date of US gold coins and the 1892 Half Eagle is no exception. Because this is a common date, the fakes were generally not intended to fool collectors. Rather, many of the spurious pieces originated in 1960s and ’70s in the Middle East (particularly Lebanon), where merchants preferred gold in coin form as a store of value. The merchants were not particularly concerned with the authenticity of the coin as long as it had the correct weight and composition.
A number of these Middle Eastern fakes ended up in the US, where private ownership of gold was illegal until December 31, 1974. Many of them were likely imported by people who wanted to own gold coins, but could not legally acquire genuine US gold coins domestically.
Although these Middle Eastern counterfeit gold coins were not manufactured to deceive numismatists, many have found their way into collections. As older collections are sold, the fakes will reappear in the marketplace. Luckily, the spurious pieces still have significant intrinsic value because of their gold content."
Original article here: https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-coin-detection-us-gold-1892-half-eagle/
Well it's official... It came back MS63! I'm not sure how everyone here missed it. Apparently I discovered a new die which featured a flattened "7" and very bulbous beads. Ok...That's all b.s. It is as everyone suspected "Not Genuine". The auctioneer claims that I damaged the coin when it was removed from its plastic holder. A transformation took place turning it from genuine to a fake.
The auction company is Gray's out of Cleveland, Ohio. Capital One will refund the money which is why you should always pay with a credit card. The auctioneer is stating they won't accept the return. Clearly they own the coin and it was not a consignment. If it were, they would gone back to the consignor. Anyway...steer clear in the event you run into these gals.
I don’t know the whole story so don’t be mad if I’m misstating the facts but usually if you crack it the auction houses won’t take a return even if it’s fake.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
It wasn't slabbed. It wouldn't matter if it is slabbed. An auctioneer's policies can't be in violation of the law. They must also comply with their merchant agreement with the credit card company. Thus the reason you should only pay with a credit card unless you are 100% certain the coin is correct. Learned that one the hard way but fortunately it wasn't a large sum.
Doesn't matter what their policy states, it is illegal to sell fakes. Tell them they can either give you a refund and get the coin back, or you are doing a chargeback and keeping it.
Looks as fake as the news that starts with an F and ends with an X. Hope you are able to recover funds.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
Out of all the threads on these boards, I'm not sure I would have expected this one to get political.... come on guys.
I hadn't really thought about framing it like that.
I wonder if anyone has ever sued another party to force them to replace the fake item with a genuine item? That would certainly deter auction companies and other sellers of fake items from perpetuating fraud when they fight the refund. I'd much rather have a genuine 1876 AU-UNC than my money back.
Not the real deal. At least it was exciting for a little while.
Depends on your credit issuer, but if you do not return the coin, the issuer may not allow a chargeback. If you return the coin and chargeback and have proof you returned the coin for fraud, you will get all of your money back.
I wouldn't wait for the auctioneer, out of the goodness of their hearts, to refund you the money. They have already shown themselves to be untrustworthy. Just call that number on the back of your CC and charge it back.