Is this 1882 Indian Cent an authentic trial piece or a fake?
USA240
Posts: 79 ✭✭✭
Hello all - Is this unusual looking 1882 Indian Cent a possible trial piece or a homemade "sandwich" coin?
It weighs 4.5 grams and is made of some sort of white metal but not lead. Since both sides are incused, it would have had to be impressed with raised surfaces at the same time. There is some evidence of doubling on the obverse side, with what looks like some damage at the top of the piece. If it is indeed a homemade sandwich coin the host coins would have been very high grade. It does look old and has a bit of some luster to it. I have shown this to a couple of very knowledgeable dealers several years back, and they both expressed some doubt about it. The only pattern reference I could find that is similar is an 1867 Indian Cent trial piece listed as J-A1867-5, and that is only an obverse test on an oversized planchet. The most likely explanation is that its homemade, but who knows?
Comments
From first glance it looks to be a homemade piece, however I'm not an expert.
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Even as a "sandwich" it still has some appeal; you can tell it was most likely contemporary due to the high grade of the coin used to transfer the design.
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
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