Just snagged this unusual Collis Restrike...
Lazybones
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Took a chance on eBay. Looked silver but the surfaces are grainy. Non-ferrous. Not lead. Certainly not gold. Which only leaves a platinum strike or a counterfeit (but why would someone counterfeit one of these?). Appears to be a thinner planchet than the silver but the only silver one I have is in an NGC holder. The weight is 16.1g. I can't seem to find the specs on these strikes. Anyone out there know the weights? I know the copper is 17.7g.
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.
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You know more about these than I do Bob, but FWIW, it looks cast to me. Attached is a PDF of an August 1959 article from the Numismatist on the restrikes. 2nd page; 1st column; last paragraph; mentions that a signed statement on metals and number of pieces struck was signed by witnesses. It would be nice to see a copy of that statement.
Looks to be cast. Did they make any white metal ones?
Who knows why counterfeiters do what they do sometimes
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Color aside, the surfaces don't look right. I'd also vote cast.
That appears to be a cast copy... No idea what metal... Get an SEM done, it will tell you metal/content. Cheers, RickO
That's my plan.
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.
The Grain makes it look Cast, or a silver piece that has undergone some electrolysis.
When you said Platinum, my ears perked, but specific density of platinum is over twice that of Copper, so if the same diameter as a copper piece, and only a gram difference in weight, A PT piece would need to be less than half the thickness of the CU.
Interested to find out...
It's all about what the people want...
CU thickness - 3mm, Diameter - 33mm
Subject thickness - 2mm, Diameter - 32.5mm
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.
That piece is no bueno. The surfaces should not be so granular and the surfaces should have more luster. The design is also seemingly cartoonish on this example.
Definitely a cast copy. Over the last few years I've seen cast copies of the bashlow CSA cents offered on ebay.
Need specific gravity.
I agree those surfaces look very suspect. I would not expect that for platinum which is inert.
Even if it's a copy, it's an interesting piece as I haven't seen this before.
Let me begin by stating that I have no idea what this is.
That said, back in the 1960’s or maybe the early 1970’s somebody knowledge about counterfeiting did an article in Coin World (I’m pretty sure) about spark erosion dies and they used a Collis restrike as the original. A copper rod was soldered to the center of the plain back to hold it in place close to the blank die and conduct the electricity for the spark.
This piece does look like a modern fake, but I would like to know what it is made out of.
What does the edge look like?
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Plain and grainy. I know it's not likely authentic, just curious as to metal and why counterfeit it.
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.