Most pointless fake ever or something else?

Hello again after 15 years.

I have this strange SBA in my collection. Annoyingly, I can't even remember how it got there, I bought some lots of coins about 5 years ago and I think it might have shown up in there.

It appears to be a close copy of a SBA, but the art is just slightly different. It is medal turn instead of coin turn. There is no "one dollar" on the reverse. It is clad, which I find odd if it was just a simple copy. Weight is a little heavy at 8.67 grams.

I just can't wrap my head around why someone would create this, it is very well done. Someone spent a lot of money to make this.

It seems so ridiculous to make this I have to entertain the possibility that this could be a pattern, of which I can find no record of. But even so, it should still have "one dollar" on it.

Thoughts? Possible arcade token?

Sorry for the slightly blurry photos.

 

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https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1013340/counterfeit-susan-b-anthony-dollars

http://www.smalldollars.com/dollar/add014.html

 

That is weird.

And welcome back!

 

Welcome back!
I echo the thoughts of this being weird.
The counterfeits linked by @Mr. Numismatist look more crude and intended to circulate. The example posted here has a proof (prooflike) look and is missing the "One Dollar" inscription like the OP mentioned.

My first thought was a private mint like Gallery Mint or Dan Carr but I don't believe either made something like this.

 

Those counterfeits posted are low effort casts. Someone spent a lot of money to engrave these dies and get clad blanks. Additionally someone who went through all that effort would have presumably made a lot of these, so its strange we have not seen these before.

Yes, the fields are nearly proof like.

 

I posted this thread on the PCGS forums as well in case someone there knows:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1119322/fake-susan-b-anthony-dollar-or-something-else/p1

 

Always looking for contemporary counterfeit coins. No Henning yet

 

Not a Daniel Carr because he doesn't use a real date and they made SBA's in 1999. Seems to be a decent quality, and I think it's a keeper. Just label it counterfeit. I bet it is worth more than a dollar. ($3-$5 I guess.) Here's my counterfeit quarter I found in a Coin Star. At first I was disappointed and then I realized THIS IS EVEN BETTER!

 

Never mind. It's in Mr. Numismatist's 2nd link.

 

He has used real dates but usually the design is different (for example, he made 1958 memorial cents when that was the last year of the wheat cents).

 

Probably so, but I won't be convinced 100% until another example is presented.

 

A 1958 Memorial is not a real US Mint coin. And so it's not a real date for that coin type which is what I was saying.
1919 is a real date, but not for a Peace Dollar, etc.

 

A better example would be a 1942 Jefferson nickel. It's a real date that had the same general design but there were none with 3 mintmarks (and none that were struck with the silver alloy).

 

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/susan-b-anthony-dollar-with-no-denomination.245011/

This was brought up before. So more do exist. Rare enough that no one has really done any sort of write up on these counterfeits, IMO the highest quality counterfeit since the henning nickel, at least for purposes of being spent.

 

The government made SBA's intending general circulation, but they promoted this by forcing coin-operated machines to accept them. They were even given out as change by machines at the PO. If someone made enough of these, they might make a significant profit using them mainly in machines. If caught, they could argue they were not, in fact, counterfeit since they nowhere claimed to be worth a dollar or any other amount. Perhaps there are many more in the possession of people who got them in change and just put them in drawers or jars when they got home without even noticing anything amiss (doubtless the fate of many genuine SBAs), or perhaps they just decided there wasn't enough profit in it and quit making them.

 

Seems quite likely, given that they're apparently still getting mistaken for quarters...

 

Whoever made this made the decision to use a new engraving of the artwork, instead of a direct copy, and to omit the denomination. Possibly in an attempt to not break the law as bad. Knowing that about the creators personaility, it seems possible they got cold feet early into production.

 

I did not make it, but it is an "interesting" item.
The dies (and by extension, the hubs) do not match the US Mint model.
Do you have a clear picture of the edge ?
What is the weight of it ?

Here is a genuine 1999 Susan B Anthony Dollar reverse.
Compare the position of the feather tip to the "R" in AMERICA,
and also the position of star in relation to the "ES" of STATES:

 

Interesting coin. I've seen older coins on occasion stamped "counterfeit" or "bad" or something else but never figured out the reason why it was done. Why not just take the coin out of circulation?

Bruce

 

Someone did. Stamp the coin, and it keeps anyone else from putting the coin back into circulation.