Options
1809 half, fake or old counterfeit?? Im stumped

I saw this at a pawn shop earlier and it seemed off to me. The reeded edge was a dead giveaway right? Theyre supposed to be lettered not reeded.... the weight was correct for a 1809 half dollar and it defintely looked like silver. I dont know guys what do you think?
0
Comments
Looks like a modern Chinese knockoff to me.
I'm no authority but I don't think any coins had reeded edges for many years after 1809.
Agree with the counterfeit diagnosis.
No need to be stumped...it's a modern junk fake.
fake
Okay good that's what I thought. I expressed my concern to the guy in the pawn shop but he was not convinced so I left it at that. They had $80 on it and someone will probably buy it from them soon not knowing.
A casted fake and not very good even for the Chinese
This
Looks like modern garbage to me.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
At first glance it looked fake.
As a great grandchild would say to me... "kaka poppy, kaka"....
Cheers, RickO
Modern garbage fresh from the Chinese garbage factory.
That coin should only take 5 seconds to identify as a Chinese-made fake.
For starters, just look at the date numerals - they're way off compared to a genuine one.
Many other diagnostics, but no more are needed in this case.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
It's funny that if this coin were on eBay, there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But in a B&M, we just leave it there and move on. eBay isn't perfect, but they do try and remove fakes.
bogus coin.
That looks really fake, and I have been fooled by some fakes. But not by that.
Obviously the reeding gives it away instantly. Pretty dumb counterfeiters.
Even without the reeds the usual giveaway are letters and numerals. In this case the date is laughable.
Lance.
Just look at the date... fake
Then the reeding, never mint made
BHNC #203
The real Miss Liberty doesn't have a lip piercing with an earring.
I think most here realize there isn't much recourse in a situation like this. As the OP mentioned, the owner didn't seem to care... he will eventually have a sucker that will pay the price.
I've been to some local auctions and have a couple of times pointed out that a certain coin appeared to be fake... but that does not seem to be much appreciated. So... I could only stand back and watch someone throw their money away... but that's just the way it is. Buyer must always beware.
I don't disagree - although a U.S. counterfeit is a criminal offense. But people are always complaining about eBay and eBay removes counterfeits when alerted to it. I just think it's hypocritical to blame eBay for not catching all the counterfeits.