1874-S Trade Dollar w/ Chopmark

Apollo_23

Hello friends, I am interested in this 1874 trade dollar with chopmark from an estate sale. It is a little pricey. I am just getting back into collecting. I have read these are heavily faked and I should stay away from one's that are not slabed already but I gotta start somewhere. Do you think it is legit and if so what grade do you see for it so I can make a fair offer. Thanks

gumby1234

It appears genuine, but I would pass on it. At best its low AU cleaned.

TennesseeDave

Looks genuine, but likely scrubbed in the past. Without any luster it shouldn't grade higher than XF. That's a very common date/mint combo that can be had for under $200 usually in that condition.

291fifth

Cleaned. Pass unless VERY cheap which you indicate it isn't.

Walkerguy21D

Agree with cleaned, genuine, and XF.
Not sure of the current market for trade dollars, but I’d be well south of $200 even without the chop mark.

johnny9434

Pass (I'd wait for another) find someone at a good coin show, it's a start

TomB

I agree with those who have stated it appears cleaned since there are pretty strong hairlines going in one direction on the obverse.

davewesen

I question the chopmark

• there usually is abnormal wear on the area on the other side of the coin of the chopmark
• chopmarks decrease value of coin
• that with the cleaning becomes a hard pass for me as I ask myself if they are trying to hide authenticity

lermish

Agreed that it is authentic. On a separate note, I don't feel really great about that chop. @OriginalDan @ChopmarkedTrades What are your feelings about the chop?

EDIT for clarity

gonzer

Portions of the chop appear to have been etched instead of 'chopped'.

Crypto

That a chop for sure and while there has been a wipe in its past, I suspect the grey color and lightness is an over saturation of flash. I bet the different color halos on the rev have luster.

Considering the slight grace given to chopped coins I could see that in AU 50 chop mark holder. Either way it’s about a 325$ coin

Apollo_23

Thank you all for your assistance. I will pass then.

OriginalDan

Interesting piece. The chops look period, but they also look carefully placed / grouped and I don’t see any reciprocal damage on the reverse. Could have been chopped for a special purpose. My take is it’s not anything being faked here, but may not be your regular trade related marks on this coin.

tradedollarnut

My goodness that’s a great chop. Well worth buying at a reasonable price just for the intricacy of the chop. The coin’s condition is secondary in this case

AlanSki

I wonder what it says.

ChopmarkedTrades

Nothing really jumps out that suggests the coin is fake, it's one of the more common dates in average condition with hairlines, probably worth about $200-250 raw given the decent eye appeal. While the chops seem to overlap, there does seem to be a large, multi-character chop, which is unusual at that size.

DDR

The chop is pretty neat but the coin is a dog.

If you are buying it for the chop, go ahead. If you are buying it just to have a chopmarked Trade Dollar, wait. You can get much nicer ones fairly easily.

Apollo_23

Thanks again all. The bidding alone starts at $350.00. It is a hard pass but as others have mentioned, there are a bunch of questions about the chop

Apollo_23

This one looks too good but double the price, cleaned ?

ElmerFusterpuck

That last coin screams fake.

slider23

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
That last coin screams fake.

What are you seeing that screams fake? The coin has been harshly cleaned and there are a few bumps, but the date and mint mark are a close match to a known die pair.

Apollo_23

@slider23 said:

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
That last coin screams fake.

What are you seeing that screams fake? The coin has been harshly cleaned and there are a few bumps, but the date and mint mark are a close match to a known die pair

Now that I saw that, it does look like the very first example with the gash next to the "D"