neat story about 1876 seated half dollar

you guys are too much. i cant believe some of these comments. I'm not out to "prove" anything to anyone here. I just thought it was an interesting story that would be appreciated by coin collectors. I didn't expect receive a bombardment of people itching to tell me they think it's fake. Quite a few eccentrics here I'd say.

 

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the old west:
As a long time (since 1989) metal detectorists, I can honestly say that I believe the story.

Someone quoted Shakespeare, how about: "There are more things under Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in you philosophy."


I have seen and heard of many amazing stories from treasure hunters, and most of them seem like tall tales. But I have witnessed more than one of them. Such as the time that I got a hit for a pull tab and dug a gold 10 Kt ring, and thought that I saw a ring guard it the inside.
Careful cleaning produced a lady’s 14 kt ring stuck inside.
Or the pair of Tiffany earrings that came out of one hole.
Or the gold ring and matching earrings that came from one hole.

Yup, I believe.

 

Frank, did you have those items checked to make sure the items where not fakes?

the old west, I enjoyed your story very much.

Lou

 

old west, 1. I believe the story second, 2. I believe that it's more likely than not that the coin is real.
I was just put off by the response from the other member and I feel that I was a big part of all the negative feedback which was not my intent.

I say enjoy the coin either way it was something your mom found and just knowing the joy she had in her heart when she first saw it would make the coin to me priceless, real or not.

John

 

Cool story. Thanks for sharing...Mike

 

Cool story. Thanks for posting it. But......Can you post some pics?!?!?

 

It is a very good story man. I enjoyed reading it. :thumb: It is just human nature though to question some things IMO. Don't let it get to you man, and I didn't see anything to get upset over. But everyone is different, and you might take something differently than me. But overall we are a good group that loves to help. Would you be able to post a pic at all man? That would put an end to whether it is fake or not.

Phoenix

 

So. old west, can we get a picture of this coin? This is about the screwiest thread I've seen on CT.

It'd be great if you could post a photo or two and put this baby to bed.

 

the coin's at my parents house in alabama. I'm about 800 miles away and they dont have a digital camera. If I remember I'll take a picture in january when I visit!

 

I too believe the story. Just read that a guy found a diamond the size of the chiclet the other day. was the 1000th one found this year at this park. Great story to pass along to future generations of your family. Doesnt matter to me either way if the coin is real or fake, either way the story is worth far more.

 

cough ..cough ....ahhh who cares if its fake or if its real.

If it's been in/on the ground for 131 years it must be a mess anyway.
If it's XF-AU ...that would only make the story a big fib.
Without pictures, we will never know for sure ....so let the kid have his story and move along. Nothing more to see here but a couple old men argueing about a fictional coin.

 

OP,

Don't be put off by previous posts here. There is no reason to question that you actually found the coin on the ground.

What previous posters meant, and probably should have put in a more elegant way, is that it was common for counterfeit coins to circulate alongside authentic coins back then. Even given the possibilty that the coin is counterfeit, it still has numismatic value, not to mention sentimental value. Today, people take coins for granted because counterfeiting just isn't as big of a problem as it was 100 years ago.

Now for a little trivia about this thread, people have used the word counterfeit so many times, that this thread comes up 8th on a google search for "1876 counterfeit half dollar"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=1876+counterfeit+half+dollar&btnG=Google+Search

Now when I used google, it appeared that the recent counterfeit issue pertained to 1876 US DOLLAR coins coming out of China in the last 20 years. I'm not sure how that applies to half dollars, but I would think that it doesn't.

 

Well you should fit right in as an eccentric then since the "bombardment" was one, repeat one, person who asked how your father knew it was real. There was a lot of discussion then about how great the likelihood of it being fake was, along with what appeared to be some odd statements along the lines about "why would someone make a fake in order to hide it in the woods."

Personally I believe your story, it isn't that far fetched at all. But since the 1876 date is a commonly faked one for contemporary counterfeits, Speedy's question wasn't that odd either, although the chances of it being real are much higher than being a fake. And since people can lose fake coins just as easily as real ones . . .

 

okay guys I managed to get a picture of the coin from my mom

the picture is in pretty good quality and you can see the date is clear

you can even make out the first few letters of "liberty" if you look closely

anyway here's the pic: http://a.imagehost.org/0068/seatedhalf.jpg

from the picture what do you guys think an appropriate condition rating would be? anyway hope this will put the naysayers to rest

 

Well from looking at those pics I would say it would grade MS70 Ah, come on....I sure didn't mean to sound rude but as Conder said---

I would have hated to tell you how cool that was only to find out that it was fake and then have to tell you that it wasn't worth the time spent finding it.

Speedy

 

ROTFL! Man, you had me excited for a minute. But, be serious Speedy, don't you know a proof when you see one? I'd say PR70 DC atleast.

Phoenix

 

LOL... Looks like the statue of liberty sitting on a commode. Speedy.. No way would that go 70. Not enough luster in the commode area. Anyone notice the die break at 7 o'clock?

 

very cool! i think it would be worth buying a detector and seeing if there are any more which i bet there is. when you can find old coins on the ground its a pretty good clue that there is more in the ground. and being the house has been adandon for 50 plus years people used to bury their money becuase they didn't trust the banks.

 

LOL (literally).

Thanks

 

I don't care if its real or fake its a cool find. I believe it was found. Happens more than you would think. Cool find, say grats to your mother for me.
At a old home I detected at a few years ago. I was talking with the husband and wife who owned the home and they were telling me while doing some garden work in the front of her home she found a 1877 Indian head. They showed it to me. Nice shape, better than the one I found. They didn't even need a detector. Ya never know.