Is it possible? eBayer stating it's Fake when it's NOT?

braddick

Generally if a seller on eBay calls a coin a counterfeit you pretty much can depend on it. Here's one Trade Dollar though I think is real although it's been tampered or altered to pop apart (kind of like an opium dollar). Check out the seam, visible on the reverse scan. Also, the detail looks too good to be a fake.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1374593385&rd=1

MastaHanky

Uh, that's a 2-cent piece.

braddick

You're right. I added the wrong auction. It should be fixed now. . .

braddick

The more I look at it the more I'm convinced it's a real Trade dollar.
I'm bidding on it, but not aggressively until I get others opinions.

barrytrot

If it is real, you'll have to leave negative feedback for sending a coin that is "not as advertisded"

Also, I checked the seller's feedback items and none of them were previous sales, so you could be right that this is real as the seller may not be as savy as you.

Also, bidding on this is a good idea anyway because even if its not real, you can still get it slabbed by ACG and make way more than your money back.

Cam40

First,WTG on pasteing a link Pat.(spontanious applause).I knew you,d get it one day.

That piece does look nice for a copy.Seller does state that it `doesn`t ring like good silver`
I wonder if a seam is visible around the edge?

braddick

The seam is visible on the reverse scan- right up against the edge if you look carefully. It not ringing like a coin would be due to it being hollowed out and/or altered to allow the coin to be split or popped open.

GaCoinGuy

Gotta ask.............Whats an opium dollar?

MastaHanky

I think you're right. The detail of it is way too good to be fake. Kind of an interesting piece.

TheNumish

Looks like a cast copy to me. If you get it let us know how it turns out.

nwcs

Look at the rim. You have the telltale seam between the denticles and the rim. I bet it's a transfer die struck counterfeit. Also note the softness of the details that don't seem related to wear.

lathmach

I think you're right Braddick. Box Dollars are generally made so well the average joe would never suspect what they are.
This does indeed look like a good coin.

Ray

cointagious

looks like a type II reverse (no berry under the claw). if so, that would make it a bogus piece.

LanLord

<< <i>Gotta ask.............Whats an opium dollar? >>

I believe these would be large coins that were hollowed out and filled with opium or other contraban substance. It could be carried and generally searched (though not too closely) without raising suspicion.

Russ

That is masterful work. The seam is nearly "seamless". If it's real, it's also in fantastic condition. That would be a REALLY cool piece to own if for nothing else then the thought that it may have traveled from country to country filled with dope a hundred years ago.

Russ, NCNE

Monstavet

How much work would it take to hollow out a coin, versus how much opium could you put in there? Seems like a lot of work...

steventheyn

I really don't know what to say, I sure wish that they would give us a close up picture. Otherwise I wouldn't bid on it.

supercoin

I don't think they were actually used to smuggle opium. As I understand it, many of these "box" dollars were made in the Orient (where many Trade dollars circulated). And there was a booming opium biz at the time. So that's how the terms became tied together.

Of course if you were carrying around a little "coin purse" like this in China at the time, it might have been a good place to keep a little happy dust. Most were probably used like lockets to hold photos.

They are cool pieces, I'd like to own one myself. Hmm... thanks for the link braddick!

DDR

Cointagious is right, that coin is definitely a fake. It has a type II reverse (berry under the claw). All 1874 Trade Dollars are type I. Type II reverses did not come into existence until 1875.

lathmach

Ok guys, lets clear things up a little. You can't cut a single coin apart and put it back together that way, if this is in fact a box dollar. These have to be made of two coins. That they might be made of different years and from different mints is understandable.


Ray

braddick

I received a pleasant, unsolicited email from the seller of this Trade dollar with an enlarged scan. I am even more convinced this coin is real and was/is a box dollar.