Contemporary Counterfeit Bar Coppers?

berylcoin

I've read that there were contemporary struck counterfeits identifiable by the way the letters cross over and under one another. Were these high quality strikings? Is any more or less known about who produced them or the circumstance of their striking than that of the originals? Are they commonly available, and how expensive are they? Any information about the counterfeit or genuine Bar Coppers would be great.

BC

cherrypickincoin

BC,

Yes, there are counterfeit bar copper cents out there. A genuine bar copper exhibits the U underneath the S and the S is under the A in USA. If you flip the piece over and look at the bars, there is a very noticeable die crack on one of the center bars that all genuine specimens have. Off-center strikes for bar coppers are common so should not be used in counterfeit detection. The two diagnostics above is the fastest and easiest way to determine the authenticity of the piece.

MrEureka

There are plenty of fake Bar Cents but I don't think any of them can be classified as contemporary counterfeits.

cherrypickincoin

Most of the bar copper counterfeits known are cast copies.

drainbamage

At my local coin & gun show I will see some counterfits from time to time of the Bar Copper. The Red Book is for sale at the same show and has the warning plus how to tell a real from a fake.

<Amusing thought>

One dealer told me that he made more off his redbook sales than he did his coins at most shows. But the show is nothing but raw coins as far as the eye can see in simple 2x2 cases. Unless it is super rare you will not find a slab in the place.

berylcoin

Thanks to everyone who responded. TomB hooked me up with some information over on the other boards and it seems I was thinking of the Bolen struck copies done 80+ years after the fact--hardly contemporary. According to one website only 65 of the Bolen copies were struck in copper, with more than a dozen struck from the same dies in other metals. One of these Bolen copies sold in a Heritage auction in 2001 for $920--less than the originals but still too pricey for me.

BC