Hey everyone, new here and don't know much about this. My uncle inherited this as a kid from his grandfather and polished/cleaned it on a regular basis, so the condition is not very good. What's unusual is the 3 missing letters. From what I've seen a filled die usually only occurs with 1 missing character.
Hello and welcome to Cointalk~ A filled die can definitely happen to more then 1 letter, although it does seem a bit unusual given the condition of the coin it wouldn't make any difference to the value. It looks like an ex-jewelry piece given the odd wear on the rim and solder on the front. Maybe it is just the pictures but it almost looke like it could be a cast replica, but like I said that may just be the picture. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in soon enough~ If it's real it is probably only worth melt value which is around $785~
No, I don't have a scale to weigh it on. I'll take it to a coin dealer tomorrow to verify if it's genuine and let you know what happens
I'll agree with Hobo, looks fake. Is that a CC mintmark below the eagle? If so, it must be fake as the Carson City mint was closed by 1898.
My comment was based on the general appearance of the coin. I agree that if the mintmark is 'CC' it is a fake because the Carson City mint closed in 1893. The only branch Mint that struck Eagles in 1898 was San Francisco. The Denver Mint did not begin striking coins until 1906. (This information can be found in your Red Book.)
Thanks for your comments everyone. You guys were right it is a fake, albeit a very old fake. Worth only about $15 or so.
