Interesting Trade Dollar news

Bunch of us (about 8) have talked about this coin and we are 99% certain this is a counterfeit
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-6YBMR

It is part of a interesting chop mark collection. Most of the coins are ehhhh but it is cool seeing more people focus on such an exotic are on international commerce.

The details are not squarley sharp
Unknown die pair for a rare year/Hub combo
Chops are too evenly applied
Scrubbed as many fakes are

Buyer beware

Also interesting there are 3 major trade articles in the Gobrecht Journal. That is a lot of good reading on a sparse subject matter.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Just joining the conversation to learn something. Could someone enlighten me about the details lacking sharpness? To my inexperienced eye, the denticles appear uniform at least.
Steve

 

On the rev there is a puffy look to some of the numerals and letters towards the bottom. Of particular concern to me are the dentils just to the right of 12 on the rev. I see some bridging and some malformation. And as Crypto79 points out it does not match any of the 3 known rev dies for the 76cc.

 

Why did they cover the reverse slab label

 

I should have added, there are 3 reverse dies used for the type 1/1 76 cc's. Of course, there are plenty of type 1/2's.

 

Regardless of authenticity, shame on PCGS for putting that in a problem-free holder.

 

It's a chop mark holder not a normal.....

 

Looks OK to me.

 

On reexamination of the denticles I see the bridging @ksparrow pointed out. Owning only one trade dollar (authentic, I hope ) may I ask the CT community: is bridging of this sort ever found on authentic ones?
Steve

 

I'm talking about the cleaning.

 

Stevearino, I've never seen it. the dentils on trade dollars were cut into the dies very precisely, sometimes they are weak in areas from die spacing, but they are as a rule very consistent. Pitting, bridging, variable length== all red flags.
see my thread on "how do you spot fake trade dollars"

 

I think it is authentic. The discrepancies some may be seeing is due to the angle of the heavy lighting. See the shadows on and around some rim areas? Throws off the look of the coin and makes it seem that some details are "off."

 

Thanks, @ksparrow, heading there now .
Steve

 

As crypto79 pointed out, there are 3 rev. dies for the 76 CC type 1/1: the DDR, the small, wide spaced cc and a third one with the regular tall CC's (like this one) BUT the C on the right is very high leading to a goofy looking mintmark. This coin has an even, tall CC MM so it is either the only known example of a 4th rev die or it's a fairly high quality transfer die forgery (which is what I suspect). Unfortunately SB images can't be enlarged like at Heritage allowing for close examination of fine details. So call it an educated guess.

 

Probably to avoid reflections of the label/hologram while taking pictures...? If you look at the next/previous lots they covered the labels too.

 

Chop marks are still post mint damage and wouldn't be acceptable on any other type of coin. This double standard is hypocritical.

 

Hypocrisy pays.

 

Trade dollars (authentic ones) aren't "any other type of coin." So, I disagree with @Michael K about classifying chop marked certified coins as being hypocritical. I love the chop marks on mine.
Steve

 

I too love chop marks on trade dollars. Chop marks are physical proof that trade dollars circulated in the way they were intended. The only trade dollar I own has no chop marks, but I'm in the market for one that does. Although chop marked specimens may have somewhat less value, I believe the marks add history to the series in a way that is of particular interest.

 

I don't think it's hypocritical. The market has shown an interest in differentiating chop mark Trade Dollars from coins that have "traditional" post mint damage. PCGS is recognizing that by providing a grade, but still classifying the coin on the label as "Chop Mark" (not that it isn't readily obvious) to differentiate it from an undamaged coin.

Personally, I prefer PCGS's approach than NGC's (details grade). I don't currently own any chop mark Trade Dollars, although I have in the past, but they have a unique appeal due to the history embedded directly into them.