Trade Dollar Experts, I have a few questions.

MadMarty

My Local dealer took in 9 Trade Dollars (sorry no pictures until tomorrow). The weigh up correct, but to me just didn't look right. The look polished for one, the other thing was the chopmarks. I have never seen a chopmarked trade dollar bent from chopmarks! Any thoughts? Are there counterfits out there that have the correct weight, but are still fakes?

Bubblehead

Well Marty, as you know, I'm no expert, but the (3) trade dollars I did own, all exhibited zillions of chop marks, and none were bent in any way.

Placid

No expert here but good fake bust dollars wiegh the correct amount and are the right size.
Ask Tradedollarnut.

EVillageProwler

Pictures would be of immense help to resolving the matter at hand.

EVP

braddick

Good question Marty. I had one "CC" counterfeit Trade dollar I insisted was a fake- albeit, a good one. The buyer insisted it WASN'T (usually it's the other way around!). He either got a great deal or I did.

Bottom line- these are getting tougher and tougher to spot and certification is practically a must now for buying these.

tradedollarnut

Yes, there are die struck counterfeit trade dollars out there of good silver and weight. The problem is getting worse and worse. I've begun seeing them with chopmarks as well. I passed on a rare 1873 chopmark on ebay because the coin appeared to be a fake.

Areas to look for in spotting fakes: Incorrect type for the date [1877 and 1878 are all type II reverses], poor definition in the 0's on the reverse, incorrect style or size of numerals in the date, improper relief of devices, improper strike on the denticles, etc. If in doubt, don't buy it!

With regards to enough chops to bend the coin, yes, I own several of that same occurance.

shirohniichan

I've had some bent into a bowl shape from numerous chopmarks, also. Another red flag is the lack of a period after the weight on the reverse. I've seen a couple of really suspicious 1874-S trade dollars that looked good apart from that.

tradedollarnut

Unfortunately, the lack of a period is not a foolproof test for being a fake. The 76-CC DDR has no period after the weight and I suspect there may very well be other authentic examples. But it's definitely a sign to take a closer look.

I've also noticed fakes that have the correct berry but the incorrect eagle's neckline.

shirohniichan

How about the 1883-S trade dollars that show up every so often? There are more than a few red flags on them!