Hi guys and thanks in advance for any help received. I am new to the forum and have searched and searched all I can to the point I'm getting frustrated, so I'm posting for help as to what I have. I am fairly certain what I have is a reproduction/fake, but I cannot figure out exactly what or where it came from. I found this coin in my wife's coin collection that she says she got when she was young but can't remember from where. The only thing I have been able to research to tell me it's fake, is that the diameter should be about 19mm and mine is about 22mm. Is that correct? How many different reproductions were made of this coin and from where did they come? I am unsure of the metal, but I'm pretty sure it's copper. It is not magnetic, if that helps. Last question, is what I have worth anything? Thanks again.
There have been several threads on the Lovett Confederate cent,You might use the :search forums: button above to find the old threads. I have several tokens similar to yours as they have been made for confederate get to gethers, and found at trinket stores in the former confederate states. All originals are accounted for, so it would have to be a first restrike if real, and it doesn't appear to be. A book nice reading. http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/haro...confederate-story/ebook/product-18650282.html Also http://www.coinfacts.com/confederate_coins/1861_confederate_cent.htm
Thank you Desertgem for your reply. I have seen some of your other posts in those other threads you mention. As I stated, I have searched and searched, including the two pages or more of threads mentioning anything having to do with the CSA 1 cent coin in this forum. I would not have posted a new thread had I not performed the searches as you describe, unlike some other people may. No threads which I could find mention any specifics about the 22mm coin I have. Some threads do mention reproductions but do not go into detail what they are or where they came from. I am fully aware of the original 1 cent coins history and all of the restrikes' history. I am looking for information on my 22mm coin. You mentioned it being a token similar to yours made for confederate get-togethers and found in trinket stores in the south. Do you know what mint these came from and for how long and how many they made? Are they still making them today? I'm pretty sure it's copper, but do you know for sure the metallic make-up of this coin? Tell me if so, but am I being dumb for wanting to know more about a reproduction coin? Again, I'm only looking for information as to what coin I have. Thanks for any additional help.
They were for sale in Southern trinket stores and I remember even Vicksburg National Battlefield Park gift shop in the mid 1990s. My brother bought one and carried it as a pocket piece for awhile:
The problem is that any company can make up these reproductions and they have done so at many times in the past. They don't identify their products so there is really very little that can be definitively said about them. About all I can say is that if the manufacturer was following the law, your "coin" (and Scottishmoney's) had to have been made before 1973 because they aren't marked COPY as the law passed that year requires.
My brother bought the thing above ca. 1994 - I have some also that I left alone in their holders. These things are not marked copy and probably slipped through because "are they really US" coins? Dixie Gun Works was selling unmarked replicas of Confederate coins in the 1980s - I have a catalogue of theirs somewhere.
It doesn't matter that they are not US coins, under the HPA they still have to be marked. The Act requires all imitation numismatic items to be marked. An imitation numismatic item is defined as anything that purports to be, but is not, a genuine numismatic item. (3) The term "original numismatic item" means anything which has been a part of a coinage or issue which has been used in exchange or has been used to commemorate a person or event. Such term includes coins, tokens, paper money, and commemorative medals. (4) The term "imitation numismatic item" means an item which purports to be, but in fact is not, an original numismatic item or which is a reproduction, copy, or counterfeit of an original numismatic item. This would also include things like the fantasy CSA dime, quarter and $20 coins that are sometimes sold as souvenirs because they purport to be a a genuine numismatic item and they are not.
Conder - I believe that quite a few fakes were made after the HPA because of loose enforcement - even those dumb little mini coins were supposed to have "Copy" on them. Of course we all know that companies like the old Gallery Mint Museum were on the up and up and stamped COPY on one side or another on their replicas - which are quite collectable still. But others got away with it because it was often a mystery as to who made it - because they sure didn't advertise that they were making fakes.
That's why in my first post I said 'if the manufacturer was following the law". I realize that a lot of them didn't/don't bother to.
