What's the most counterfeit "small" Gold coin?

Comments

• DennisH Posts: 14,010 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 9:06AM

  How about California fractional gold pieces?

  When in doubt, don't.

  0
• coinbuf Posts: 11,811 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 9:10AM

  I have seen several 1911-D 2 1/2 Indian fake D's
  
  Chris

  My Lincoln Registry
  My Collection of Old Holders
  
  Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.

  0
• BillJones Posts: 34,778 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 9:10AM

  The Type I gold dollar (1849 - 1854) probably had the most counterfeits made of it, and the date 1853 is the most common counterfeited date. 1852 and 1854 are close behind. These tiny coins were so small that the counterfiets' job was made much easier by their size. These counterfiets were made to fool average people, not coin collectors, but they have fallen victim to them none the less.
  
  The counterfeit problem plus trouble with handling such coins, let to proposals to make the gold dollar larger. The result was the Type II design was turned out to be a technical failure. The relief of the design was too high, and that resulted in weak strikes. The response was the Type III gold dollar, which as modeled after the Three Dollar Gold Piece design.

  Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?

  0
• Colorfulcoins Posts: 3,371 ✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 10:28AM

  BillJones, I always wondered why the design changed on the Gold $1's.....I be smarter now!

  Craig
  If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!

  0
• PerryHall Posts: 46,821 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 6:08PM

  All US gold has been counterfeited. The gold $1 and $3 have been especially popular with the counterfeiters due to their high premium over melt. The Indian $2 1/2 and $5 are also heavily counterfeited since the incused design is easy to reproduce. The Liberty $10 and $20 are the least counterfeited but they do exist.

  Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
  "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
  "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  0
• 291fifth Posts: 24,680 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 6:59PM

  Prior to the advent of certification services, counterfeit gold $1 coins were a plague on the market. I still wouldn't buy them raw.

  All glory is fleeting.

  0
• nesvt Posts: 2,214

  October 17, 2005 9:36PM

  
  
  << <i>How about California fractional gold pieces? >>
  
  
  
  I just bought one a few days ago. I'll post some pictures tonight. It has some tripling in the date and a few die gouges. How do I know if it's real or not? Check the melting point?

  0
• PerryHall Posts: 46,821 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 17, 2005 10:16PM

  Most of the California fractionals of recient manufacture (mostly from the 1960's) are not counterfeits but rather are fantasy pieces since the designs don't imitate a real coin. A perfect example are the coins with a bear on them. No original California fractional gold coin had a bear on them.

  Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
  "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
  "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  0
• Merc Posts: 1,646 ✭✭

  October 18, 2005 1:04AM

  I heard a talk by one of the graders at ANACS at a FUN show. He said a collector brought in a complete $2 1/2 Indian gold collection for a grading opinion. Every coin was fake.

  Looking for a coin club in Maryland? Try:
  FrederickCoinClub

  0
• Conder101 Posts: 10,536 ✭

  October 18, 2005 1:05PM

  Without a doubt type II gold dollars. At one point ANACS reported that over 80% of all the type II dollars submitted to them were fakes. Second most commonly faked were three dollar gold. During the gold boom in 1980 Silvertowne had hundreds of twelve piece liberty and Indian type sets come through their hands, and in nearly every case the type II dollar and three dollar golds were fake.

  0
• thebeav Posts: 3,902 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 18, 2005 1:12PM

  I've stopped counting the counterfeit type III gold dollars I've seen in the last 25 years......Hand fulls of them, literally.....
  I was always under the impression that they were of Mid-east manufacture. As previously noted, their high premium and small size made them great targets......
  
  Paul

  My Ebay Coin Store

  0
• majorbigtime Posts: 2,937 ✭

  October 19, 2005 10:00AM

  There are probably a zillion bogus gold dollars, mostly type I.

  0
• jdimmick Posts: 9,775 ✭✭✭✭✭

  October 20, 2005 6:55AM

  stopped into my local dealer who showed me a collection of gold from an estate he is buying
  
  thier were
  
  2 Lib $20 04-s, ?
  2 Indian $10 1932(2)
  1 $5 1909-d
  2 $3 1854, 1874
  3 $ 2 1/2 1911, 1913, 1861
  1 $1 1853
  
  IMO, the 2 $10 indian were bad, both $3, were 100% guaranteed bad, and the $1 was bad.

  0
• shirohniichan Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭

  October 20, 2005 2:36PM

  I've seen a really convincing counterfeit 1874 gold dollar.

  
  Obscurum per obscurius

  0