Fake Susan B Anthony Dollar or something else?
U1chicago
Posts: 6,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
I saw this on CoinTalk and wanted to see if anyone here had any ideas?
Copied below is what member "hamman88" posted:
"Hello again after 15 years.
I have this strange SBA in my collection. Annoyingly, I can't even remember how it got there, I bought some lots of coins about 5 years ago and I think it might have shown up in there.
It appears to be a close copy of a SBA, but the art is just slightly different. It is medal turn instead of coin turn. There is no "one dollar" on the reverse. It is clad, which I find odd if it was just a simple copy. Weight is a little heavy at 8.67 grams.
I just can't wrap my head around why someone would create this, it is very well done. Someone spent a lot of money to make this.
It seems so ridiculous to make this I have to entertain the possibility that this could be a pattern, of which I can find no record of. But even so, it should still have "one dollar" on it.
Thoughts? Possible arcade token?
Sorry for the slightly blurry photos."
Comments
@MWallace
This same coin/topic showed up there in 2014.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/susan-b-anthony-dollar-with-no-denomination.245011/
This is the first I've seen or heard of these. Interesting. I can't understand why someone would strike these. Surely a genuine piece would be cheaper than making these.
.
I do not think those are US Mint dies.
Here is a genuine 1999 Susan B Anthony Dollar reverse.
Compare the position of the feather tip to the "R" in AMERICA,
and also the position of star in relation to the "ES" of STATES:
.
counterfeit
The coin is circulated in commerce far more in South America than North America so I could see it being counterfeited.
WS
But you would need the denomination
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
The fact that “One Dollar” is missing and that it has a proof appearance, makes me think it’s unlikely this was intended for circulation.
Ecuador (and elsewhere) use the Sacagawea dollars but not the SBAs.
If this item is indeed clad that thickens the plot quite a bit.
This is a pretty high class counterfeit, other than the obvious missing denomination. In an economy where SBA dollars were sometimes spent, I think this would have passed.
Individuals don't unnecessarily closely study every coin they have before spending it.
Agreed that it could easily slip by.
Pete
Any possibility of this being a pattern coin?
I can honestly say I've probably looked at thousands of them and hardly turned one over to look at the reverse.
Maybe someone practicing their hobo skills.
highly unlikely
the design is the same from 1979 and think patterns would be from that era.
My wild guess is that as 1999 approached and there was talk of a new mintage of SBAs to tide them over until the Sacagaweaa in 2000, someone produced a mockup to sell. The clad composition (if it really is clad) is odd, though.
overall it is quite similar but i do notice the craters are slightly different as is north america