"California Gold" authenticity question

cmerlo1

I got these at a show recently. The dealer had a number of them available, but all but the 2 I bought were obviously modern fakes. These are both "bear" coins without denominations, so I know they aren't period, but I know people still collect them. I don't have the Bree/Gillio book, but they resemble some of the ones I've seen certified online and will get the book and spend time attributing them once I know if they're real or not.

What bothers me about both of them is that while they show wear, errors, and are very thin, the rims look odd and I think I can see copper showing through in places.

Am I correct in my assumption they are fakes? I got them for a dollar apiece so I'm not really out much on this gamble. Thanks in advance!

jonathanb

http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/wreath2.htm

PerryHall

All the Breen-Gillio types are shown here in the PCGS Coin Facts site where they show pics of each B-G type. If you don't see your coin there, you have a token, replica, charm, or fantasy coin many of which are back dated and modern.

dcarr

@PerryHall said:
All the Breen-Gillio types are shown here in the PCGS Coin Facts site where they show pics of each B-G type. If you don't see your coin there, you have a token, replica, charm, or fantasy coin many of which are back dated and modern.

.

Some of the "charms" can still be worth a good amount, if they were made circa 1930s or before.
The one on the right appears to match the "1875 Arms of California #1" shown on this page:
calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/wreath2.htm
It is described as being "fairly common" (as charms go).

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cmerlo1

Thanks, everyone! Both pieces definitely fall into the token/charm category. Being a variety guy, I really like the blundered 'R' in 'EUREKA' (it appears to be a R/K) on the larger one and the E/? and blundered 'N' on the smaller one.