A phony Bay Bridge?

Barberian · May 3, 2016 7:31PM

Looks fake to me.

Conterfeit Bay Bridge?

I don't recall ever seeing a fake commemorative.

MICHAELDIXON · May 3, 2016 11:03PM

What makes you think this is fake?

MedalCollector · May 3, 2016 11:08PM

Originally posted by: MICHAELDIXON
What makes you think this is fake?

The surfaces are porous and the details lack sharpness.

It also doesn't look to be silver, in my opinion.

lkeigwin · May 3, 2016 11:13PM

Letters and numerals look suspicious...kinda narrow, don't you think?

Lance.

DNADave · May 3, 2016 11:17PM

I don't like the orange peel surface or the 'grooves' down the middle of the "UNITED" and "STATES".

Weiss · May 3, 2016 11:18PM

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot slab.

grip · May 3, 2016 11:23PM

Originally posted by: GoldenEgg

Originally posted by: MICHAELDIXON
What makes you think this is fake?

The surfaces are porous and the details lack sharpness.

It also doesn't look to be silver, in my opinion.

grip · May 3, 2016 11:30PM

and the cables are not straight under bay bridge.

Weiss · May 3, 2016 11:51PM

Originally posted by: grip
and the cables are not straight under gay bridge.

Under the what?

grip · May 3, 2016 11:58PM

Typo...sorry

wooglout · May 3, 2016 11:58PM

Aren't facial features one of thing hardest things to reproduce, not just for counterfeiters? Compare the bears' muzzles (aka snouts).

ElKevvo · May 4, 2016 12:27AM

Looks fake to me, bad lettering, uneven rims, weird execution of the details, etc. although why anyone would want to fake a Bay Bridge is beyond me. I suppose if you were trying to reproduce a complicated coin to perfect your process this would be a good one. Still the results are anything less than elegant. But, according to the seller, it is high grade! So maybe that is what a truly high grade one looks like and all of the MS 66, 76, etc are just not stuck correctly?

K

jclovescoins · May 4, 2016 12:32AM

Fake

drwstr123 · May 4, 2016 12:34AM

Porosity of the rims show casting.

LindeDad · May 4, 2016 12:36AM

Not even a chance it was made at the mint.

shorecoll · May 4, 2016 12:39AM

It's the famous mushy snout strike variety.

braddick · May 4, 2016 12:46AM

Any speculation on whether this is a contemporary or modern counterfeit?
I'd think perhaps it may have some value if it is the former vs the latter.

Insider2 · May 4, 2016 1:26AM

The OP's coin looks like a crude fake that anyone could tell for all the reasons given. The fields alone look terrible...the ten foot pole "look."

Now consider this:

The photo of the OP's coin is horrible. Compare the posting of the unknown coin with the sharp, detailed photo of the genuine example. If the original photo was that good we may be able to nail this one. IMO, coins that have been whizzed resemble the OP's coin. Design elements become crude and deformed as we see here.

C/F's in this series have been around for decades. A Bay Bridge C/F does not ring a bell so if this coin is a fake it is one of the newer efforts. If the coin's surface is original (as struck), than it probably is bad based on its appearance. If the surface is not, there is a good possibility the coin is genuine.

FredWeinberg · May 4, 2016 2:07AM

It looks 'whizzed' to me

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD · May 4, 2016 3:07AM

CommemKing · May 4, 2016 4:32AM

Looks like a fake to me. A good one but fake.

pmac · May 4, 2016 5:03AM

Why would anyone go to the effort to counterfeit this coin? Only this would be sought after by those who collect fakes.

roadrunner · May 4, 2016 5:24AM

Acid dipped, cleaned, whizzed, worn, or whatever. Not convinced it's fake. Though the some of the bridge suspension details don't seem to be visible inside the peripheral lettering.

johnny9434 · May 4, 2016 5:28AM

that might be something id stay away from until i saw it in hand. just saying.

Barberian · May 4, 2016 5:32AM

Originally posted by: Insider2
The OP's coin looks like a crude fake that anyone could tell for all the reasons given. The fields alone look terrible...the ten foot pole "look."

Now consider this:

The photo of the OP's coin is horrible. Compare the posting of the unknown coin with the sharp, detailed photo of the genuine example. If the original photo was that good we may be able to nail this one. IMO, coins that have been whizzed resemble the OP's coin. Design elements become crude and deformed as we see here.

C/F's in this series have been around for decades. A Bay Bridge C/F does not ring a bell so if this coin is a fake it is one of the newer efforts. If the coin's surface is original (as struck), than it probably is bad based on its appearance. If the surface is not, there is a good possibility the coin is genuine.

I don't know much about whizzed coins other than what I've read here and there. How would whizzing create the orange peel surface and choppy waters found on this coin or the gross deformation of the Bay Bridge, particularly the cables?

dcarr · May 4, 2016 11:56AM

I think it may be a genuine coin which has been heavily wire-brushed and re-circulated.

Barberian · May 4, 2016 1:04PM

Would sandblasting do this? I look at the contrast between the smoothness of the bear and the orange peel surface of the fields and think the bear was covered up while the fields may have been sandblasted. That might explain the cables being pushed over flat, the thinness of the lettering, and the scrapes on the ships and other devices.

It's a very strange coin.

A phony Bay Bridge?

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