Counterfeit 1818 Bust half - Contemporary or modern?
Manorcourtman
Posts: 8,376 ✭✭✭✭✭
I bought this 1818 Bust half recently. I was hoping to have it grade PO-01 at our hosts. I didn't pay much over melt so no biggie if it was a total, ugly, cleaned piece of junk. I got it today and immediately thought it was an error of some sort. Maybe a defective planchet or maybe a just a case of severe laminations. Kind of cool in my opinion. It was surely in the fair to poor range!
Then I noticed a few curious issues with the stars on the obverse. So next I try to identify the variety of the reverse lining up the T and the I. Well they are nowhere near each other but I'm no Bust half expert and thought maybe it's a weird variety. So I went to Busthalfaddicts website to search for the position. No dice! Next I weighed it. 12.26 grams. Bingo! It's a counterfeit.
It's a pretty decent counterfeit in my opinion. It slipped by the dealer I bought it from who is a large, national dealer. The reverse is pretty convincing in my opinion. The obverse is very worn so that's a tough call. The wear appears very real in hand. My question to those in the know is whether this is a contemporary counterfeit or a very convincing modern in your opinion. What say you? Here it is under different lighting:
Comments
It looks like a really beat up contemporary counterfeit from the 19th century. Even if it were real, PCGS would not have graded it. It’s been damaged, not worn, which is the requirement for a straight graded Poor-1.
I realized it would not grade and would have thrown it in my junk drawer. So the counterfeit aspect was a cool bonus! Even the edge is crudely lettered. I wish it could talk! Thanks for the reply.
German Silver, not real silver
I looked in the latest volume of Bad Metal, it appears to match the photos for variety Z1-R / Davignon 2B. The author noted the composition is German silver and estimated between 10-20 specimens known. The example in the book is in a slightly better grade but still shows lots of weakness in the central devices on both faces.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Thank you so much! I appreciate the info. I had no idea that someone wrote a book on Bust half counterfeits. I just wonder when and where it was made and by who? The history of this hobby is so fascinating!
Ha ha those four stars in a perfect straight line 😄
Winston Zack has written three volumes on contemporary counterfeit US coins covering all the minor and silver series. I believe a fourth volume on gold coins is now in the works.
Your coin is categorized in his book as the "Stumpy Lower Arrow" family, for obvious reasons. He said two reverse and three obverse dies are known with coins dated 1818, 1820, and 1832. The planchet thickness was slightly below the mint standard, which accounts for the weak central devices. Given the use of German silver for the planchets, he estimated these were made in the late 1830s or early 1840s.
Let me share a link to Winston's site, I have all three books and a small collection of contemporary counterfeits, his research and photos are top notch. The first two volumes are no longer available directly from the author, but the third can be purchased here: Bad Metal shop.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Not that I have any expertise in the matter, but I vote contemporary, and as such, perhaps worth a bit more than the lowball candidate you once thought it to be?
So … congratulations on the accidental cherrypick?
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.