My 1846 Half Eagle... Except It is Copper? Thoughts?
Off_Cent_er
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I picked this up a couple of years ago on eBay. I initially thought it to be a contemporary counterfeit, but of the details you can see, it isn't very crude. In fact it is actually pretty spot on to be the large date variety. The edge is even reeded like a typical half eagle. I don't think it is a token, but it does look like it was stuck to something at some point. I posted this on another forum before making the switch here, and they weren't much help. Weight is 4.7 grams. All the other size parameters are the same as a normal half eagle of this date. Opinions obviously welcome.
6
Comments
Looks like a contemporary counterfeit that was gold plated at one time and passed as a real half eagle.
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I vote contemporary counterfeit as well. Looks like someone scratched test marks to see of it was plated long ago. It's cool for sure, though!
Yeah like I said, contemporary counterfeit was my initial thought, but I started to second guess myself.
Would it be scarcer if it were a small date? I know lame joke.
I’m pretty sure this is a known contemporary counterfeit.
My first thought is it is a pattern piece used to test the dies.
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I would go with the contemporary counterfeit assessment. Not sure what happened on the reverse, that would require a close, in hand, study. Cheers, RickO