1878 trade dollar.

Coinshooter

I found this trade dollar when i was metal detecting. I was Wondering it's value. And grade. Thanks






- Dan

DesertLizard

Click Here for price guides

Looks maybe F-VF, about 100$. Rim damage would reduce price further.

Is that your finger print on there? If it was buried how did it get that print?

Coinshooter

I forgot to wipe it off before i scanned it. It's not on the coin anymore. And i did dig it out of the dirt. In my own yard.


- Dan

shirohniichan

It looks counterfeit and/or tooled. The denticles are worn smooth or were never there in the first place, and the eagle's right wing (viewer's left) looks very odd. If it's one of the common Chinese cast counterfeits, it's worth around $4.

Coinshooter

I don't think it's counterfeit. My friend has one, And there identical in every way. And he knows his coins.


- Dan

lathmach

I'm with Shiro. My first impression was that this was not a product of the US Mint.
Get us some good close ups if you can.

Ray

Rotts

Looks real to me,nice find. But just in case it is a fake send to me quick.Rotts

tradedollarnut

The design elements look ok to me, however the "texture" of the coin does not. It's either genuine and is so dark and pitted that it looks like an off metal copy, or it's an off metal copy. Can't tell from a scan. The "ring" test is usually good to determine silver.

shirohniichan

The eagle's wing looks rough. Did someone try to engrave around the periphery to make it stand out more?

BillJones

The trade dollar looks genuine to me, but you should use Tradedollar's "ring test" to make sure.

The one thing I will warn you about low grade trade dollars is that they not worth the $55 to $60 that the Gray Sheet says they are. At least as a dealer I'll tell you I can't pay that price for them because that is all you can get for them retail, if that. The reason is that one can buy an EF-AU for around $80 or $90 more. If a collector will pay $50 for a trade dollar, a lot of them will figure that for $150 or so more its worth it to get a nice looking one. The low grade stuff is overpriced in the price guides IMO.

lordmarcovan

Real or fake, it's a helluva neat find. I wish my yard produced such things. I've never even bothered to detect in my yard- I always go elsewhere. (I live in a trailer park.)

shirohniichan

Keep us updated on what you find out about it.