Fake Massachusetts cent, but how old is it?
cmerlo1
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I picked this up at a recent show on the cheap because it had 'character'. It's very crudely done, and appears to be made of thin copper obverse and reverse pieces with lead or some other metal sandwiched between, which to me looks like an electrotype. It also appears to show some genuine wear and has verdigris in the protected areas. Has anyone seen this counterfeit before, and/or does anyone know why it was made the way it was and how old it is?
You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
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It doesn't say "CENT" on it, does it?
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It's a cast counterfeit of some type. Definitely not an electrotype, as they use genuine pieces to make the copies through electrolysis, and this was definitely not a copy made from that process. If it was, it would match a specific die pair fairly accurately. This is poorly cast from poorly made molds, most likely fairly modern.
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You are correct. I called it that based on the design.
Does the edge look like this?
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Many types of counterfeits can be quite deceptive, and electrotypes can be among the most difficult to detect. However, if you remember to closely study the coin’s edge, electrotype counterfeits can often be easily discovered. Another way to detect electrotypes is to weigh the coin, since electrotypes usually do not have the correct weight.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Here is mine that I believe is real
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
The edge looks like this:
It's actually a replica rather than a counterfeit. I remember seeing these along with other colonial era replica coins being sold in sets during the bi-centennial era. These replica sets came with historical information about the coins. There was no intent to deceive anyone as to what they were.
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OP's piece made circa 1950's-1970's. Cast replica packaged in heat-sealed plastic baggie or pouch with a bit of history about the original coin printed on a piece of antiqued vellum. Not made or sold with intent to defraud but the replicas typically get separated from the piece of paper and a subsequent owner (or maybe victim, depending upon how he got it) has no idea what it is. This and dozens of other replicas in this era are why the Hobby Protection Act of 1973 was passed to require that imitation numismatic items be stamped with the word COPY to identify their modern origin.
Thanks, everyone! I have a grand total of $1 invested in it- I was hoping it was older but it's still neat.
@cmerlo1 , I Agree, that's a great piece to hold onto, for the history of it
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Nice
Those old replicas are OK to keep as examples if one does not have an original....Good teaching tool...Cheers, RickO
Sorry, no picture of the backs.
That's it! Thank you for posting that. I have seen several of the Oak Tree schillings at my table, but didn't know where they came from. Good to know...
This type of thing was actually a fairly common sales promotion item before the Hobby Protection Act. The Southwest Savings and Loan card with the three "coins" is an excellent example of how they were used.
I thought that it is one of those gift shop knock-offs. I’d say it’s no more than 20 years old.