Bust Cap half dollars, real or fake (and grade)

Hello,

I bought a large lot of junk silver and got these coins as a "bonus". Just wondering if they're real or fake and what they might grade. I usually can grade newer coins ok, but have a lot more trouble with older ones. There are 3 coins and the pictures are in sequence. (couldn't get the last picture of the reverse to upload because I think the files are too big. - i hosted the last image on imageshack)

The 1831 is supposedly rare because it's a double die or something? I looked but didn't see where it was doubled.







http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/706/img1067ij.jpg/

 

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Can you post images of the coins, head-on, instead of at an angle?

 

Hmm. I am leaning towards fake. But I will reserve judgement and my reasons until I can see some better, head-on shots. Are you able to weigh them? Also, check the edge for a seam.

Also, if these were real, that must have been one heck of a large lot of silver to throw these in as a 'bonus'. They would be worth over $1000.

 

I sure hope three cleaned bust halves are not worth $1000 today.

To me, they look like many I own, cleaned years ago. I don't see anything that strikes me using your photos as unusual. Yes, better photos will help, and weighing them and examining the edges is always wise.

To me, they simply appear as 3 cleaned, about XF bust halves.

Chris

 

They look real to me but head-on shots would make a world of difference.

 

Look real to me. All common halves you could buy at from most dealers or shows for $100 or less. Still, some nice coins to have.
Guy

 

Well there you have it! I am an idiot!

 

Lol never man. The points about edge seam and weighing are valid points, especially nowadays. I just used to collect these for over a decade, so maybe have a little more experience in them. You still could be right, there are a lot of these coming out of China.

Chris

 

Well, I do not know much about counterfit detection or bust halves..but. Look at the "RICA" in AMERICA on the reverse on the last 2. Is that normal, how the letters trail off at the top? It also appears to be doing that on some of the stars on the front.

 

I agree with Chris, gbroke. It's hard to say for certain if they are real. I was just giving an opinion based on the assumption they are real.
Guy

 

Yep. Thats cool. When it comes to these kind of coins, I am always going to be on the pessimistic side because of all the counterfits coming out of China. They are certainly getting better at making them, and I guess I will always assume the worst. ya know? Mostly because of my lack of education on the matter.

 

They look good to me, I especially like the second 1828. And there is no such thing as a doubled die on these coins since the lettering etc are all punched into the die by hand.

Yes that is normal as the dies wear, the star points and the tops of the letters get drawn out to the edge and the denticals start disappearing.

 

Ok. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

 

Not saying they're fakes or anything. But if they were silver pour cast fakes, they are still worth melt. Would explain why they would end up in a random bag of junk silver. You never know though, I've seen people put key date coins in silver bags and dealers in their melt bins.

 

I'm with Mark those images are not good enough to tell much of anything these have been faked for a long time now and not all of the fakes are cast.

 

This is very common on Capped Bust Halves.

 

Thanks Stewart. It's always great to learn.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll get some direct shots in later tonight. I was having lighting issues, which is the reason for the angled shots (I was getting shadows). I'll probably cut them out of the flips too, weigh them, and try get some shots of the rims. I've owned a lot of silver coins over the years. The first two do look like they're (at the very least) plated silver. The third's surface looks almost cupronickel'ish, which is kinda strange.

Thanks

 

If real, these are actually my first bust halves. I own a couple obvious fakes from china. Also, in my experience I've found that the more you buy, the greater the chance you'll find "weird" items. But still, just the other day I bought a small lot of $10 face junk unseen, and ended up with 2 seated haves, a quarter, and 2 dimes (no rares). You really never know.

 

1)Not worth $1,000 as noted.

2) nothing jumps out that they are fakes, but need clearer pictures to id them.

3) the 'bleeding' of the letters into the rim is normal die fatigue.

4) There are no known Doubled dies on Bust $1/2's.