Need help with 1948 dollar it weights right and is the right size in MM

Coin Finder · January 18, 2020 1:52PM

I would love you guys to give me your opinion on this coin and what you think it might be worth! A price range. Thanks!

coinkat · January 18, 2020 2:13PM

No opinion on this coin from these images.

bidask · January 18, 2020 2:26PM

You can check heritage or stacks sales of this date or even Ebay

Boosibri · January 18, 2020 4:25PM

might be worth an acetone dip.

Coin Finder · January 18, 2020 4:45PM

Mostly wondering if it is real or a fake and if it is a proof or not..... I looked at the 5 know counterfeit varieties of this coin and this has none of those features....

syl · January 18, 2020 5:58PM

The 1948 is not a scarce coin, but it is extremely popular with Canadian collectors because of the mintage and has been since they were struck. You can find any number of them at any major coin show. It is also the most counterfeited of all the Canadian coins. With the photos, I can't say without it in hand. It is not a proof or specimen and really don't think it would make MS. In Canadian Trends, it would Trend about $1700 Canadian or about 3/4 of that in US$$, but only if real. For less than MS, you wouldn't have to pay Trends. With the luster/toning the way it is, you might be able to sell it for about 50% of Trends but, again, only if real. There are many many low UNCs out there that look better and they sell at almost all auctions with Canadian items.

Coin Finder · January 19, 2020 6:02PM

@sly Thanks what is trends in AU55 for this coin assuming it is real.. It does weight right and is the right size. No weirdo pimples or odd shaped numerals or letters.... Thanks

syl · January 19, 2020 6:08PM

I gave you the Trends for AU-50 ... there is no 55.

Coin Finder · January 19, 2020 7:07PM

@sly Thanks for your help!!

Coin Finder · January 21, 2020 3:35PM

@sly I just had this coin tested with spectro analyst metal tester. The big machine and the wand. It tested at 92 to 93 percent silver.. I thought these were 80 percent silver. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. Thanks!

amwldcoin · January 22, 2020 5:57AM

I wasn't going to comment because my gut said fake. This confirms it as they are .800 Fine.

@thebigeng said:
@sly I just had this coin tested with spectro analyst metal tester. The big machine and the wand. It tested at 92 to 93 percent silver.. I thought these were 80 percent silver. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. Thanks!

Coin Finder · January 22, 2020 8:59AM

Well, I don't own it, I'm doing some research on it. So my next step is to take some other Canadian dollars back to the lab and test those. I have a 51, 47 etc... See what those test... I'm learning a lot. If it is a fake is a darn good one made of sterling. The dies used for this issue and others after 47 I think where chome plated, that accounts for the shiny appearance.. I am always ready to be corrected and learn something from the experts!!

7Jaguars · January 22, 2020 11:19AM

Occasionally blanks or flans are either annealed, or they are "pickled" with acid that will increase the surface read of percentage silver.

syl · January 22, 2020 12:42PM

Canada dollars up through 1967 were all .800 Ag and .200 copper.... plating and other alloys started after 1967.

YQQ · January 22, 2020 1:01PM

good points for all above posts.
if the coin is real, and I have my doubts for my own reasons., it is worth to have it graded.
Maybe the OP should compare his coin with coins posted on Feebay and auction sites.
while at it, he should also look at his 47.

SYL
perhaps Mike M. would want to have a look at it?
he would be able to just take one look....(for me the obv is questionable)

syl · January 22, 2020 2:45PM

I have emailed Mikey.

Coin Finder · January 22, 2020 3:14PM

The poor photos do not help. The serif on the “S” on the obverse photo looks different when compared to slabbed specimens, but in hand it looks the same.. I tested a 35,47,and 51 today they all came back the same 92 to 93 percent silver. Same machine, same wand and same person. These coins are layered. When melted, they come out as 80 percent silver overall. The top layer is a higher percentage of silver and as you get closer to the core, a lower percentage..
I do appreciate the help. Examining all serifs now with known examples..

syl · January 22, 2020 4:28PM

I contacted the person with more experience & knowledge of counterfeit coinage than any 4 numismatist researchers that I know. He is the one person who is able to have Ebay fakes of Canadian coins removed. He works very closely with the RCMP and even the US House of Representatives when they were initiating a bill that dealt with US counterfeits. He holds seminars and training on the ID of Canadian fakes, mostly those from China, but is well attuned to the earlier fakes from Europe and the MidEast.

Without the coin in hand, he can't be sure, but it appears to be a Lebanese fake from around 1998. I would use caution when dealing with this coin .. the fakes from there were very well done and both PCGS and ICCS have certified some of these fakes as real, so be careful how you spend your money. He also stated that XRF's of Canadian silver dollars are all over the board. Your .920-.930 are in the ballpark for both the fakes and real ones taken with modern XRF's.... I don't know why. I'm not sure that I agree with the concept of "laying" concerning the coins, because they are all struck from .800 planchets..

Coin Finder · January 22, 2020 7:26PM

Thanks for the information. We tested 40% Kennedy half's and they test at 80 percent! As you file down you get less silver thus the layering effect. When melted they are 40 percent silver..

Not my coin, doing this for friend who knows nothing. Trying to help. thanks again folks your the best!

Oldhoopster · January 22, 2020 7:35PM

@thebigeng said:
Thanks for the information. We tested 40% Kennedy half's and they test at 80 percent! As you file down you get less silver thus the layering effect. When melted they are 40 percent silver..

Not my coin, doing this for friend who knows nothing. Trying to help. thanks again folks your the best!

40% silver US halves are a clad composition. The outside layers are 80%Ag20%Cu while the core is 21%Ag79%cu

syl · January 23, 2020 5:25AM

Maybe the XRF used needs a little calibration or surface oxidation mixing it up. I have a friend who uses the XRF from his work and it will take an XRF shot through the mylar of a 2X2 or any type of surface luster ... but he doesn't do a lot of silver, though lots of bronzes and brass. The "MM" that is referred to in both this thread and the thread resurrected from 2012-14 is the same person that I emailed and got his comment about Lebanese and 1998.

Pokermandude · January 23, 2020 10:11AM

@syl said:
For less than MS, you wouldn't have to pay Trends. With the luster/toning the way it is, you might be able to sell it for about 50% of Trends

There are certain Canadian coins which will sell for 50% of trends, but a 1948 dollar is most certainly not among them! Any dealer worth their salt wouldn't offer that low on a genuine 48 dollar.

JBK · January 23, 2020 3:57PM

@Oldhoopster said:

@thebigeng said:
Thanks for the information. We tested 40% Kennedy half's and they test at 80 percent! As you file down you get less silver thus the layering effect. When melted they are 40 percent silver..

Not my coin, doing this for friend who knows nothing. Trying to help. thanks again folks your the best!

40% silver US halves are a clad composition. The outside layers are 80%Ag20%Cu while the core is 21%Ag79%cu

Agree. 40% US half dollars are separate clad layers, while Canadian silver is like US 90% in that they are struck from alloys which are (or should be) consistent throughout.

I know that silver war nickels had alloy mix issues (striations, laminations, etc.) but I have never seen such signs of bad or uneven mixes on Canadian (or US 90%) silver.

Not sure what is up with the XRF if your other Canadian dollars also came back 90% or more. I'd start to question the calibration....

7Jaguars · January 23, 2020 5:28PM

Please see my comment above: a blank that is 90% silver will have surface composition changes by many means - the simplest is heating or annealing, but other methods will change the SURFACE metal read, and these include "picking" or immersing the blanks in acid which leaches off the lesser metals.

JBK · January 23, 2020 6:23PM

@7Jaguars said:
Please see my comment above: a blank that is 90% silver will have surface composition changes by many means - the simplest is heating or annealing, but other methods will change the SURFACE metal read, and these include "picking" or immersing the blanks in acid which leaches off the lesser metals.

Yes, that makes sense, but the suggestion that the coin gets progressively different as it approaches the center makes little sense for an alloy. The actual surface could conceivably be impacted by various factors

amwldcoin · January 24, 2020 6:06AM

Agree with this 100%. I sold a cleaned AU 48 dollar to a dealer a couple of years ago for around $1100. Wasn't in my case more than an hour!

@Pokermandude said:

@syl said:
For less than MS, you wouldn't have to pay Trends. With the luster/toning the way it is, you might be able to sell it for about 50% of Trends

There are certain Canadian coins which will sell for 50% of trends, but a 1948 dollar is most certainly not among them! Any dealer worth their salt wouldn't offer that low on a genuine 48 dollar.

Coin Finder · January 24, 2020 9:39AM

This specimen, if real has also been cleaned, extensive hair lines on both sides of coin. That is where that price is coming from I think.

Need help with 1948 dollar it weights right and is the right size in MM

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