What do you think http://cgi.ebay.com/1875-S-SILVER-T...dual?hash=item3ef7e17c42&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Surprising that its coming from Thailand. The guy is a 99% guy. That Fake US Trade Dollar comes with every Chinese counterfeit set. You would think the Secret Service would have a say on them faking US coin. I would simply ask the seller to put a magnet on it. I have a gut feeling, he does not know its fake. Traci
Wow just look at that auction, no one bid on it which is a good thing, Like I was saying in my last post e bay don't care about what goes on there site as long as they make money.
I think that is an unfair statement regarding Ebay. They do pull a lot of auctions. The problem is that they don't have the resources and expertise to know which coins are counterfeit and require outside assistance. Also, I have seen a number of people make accusations about coins being counterfeit or sellers being scammers when such was not the case. Ebay can't act merely because a person makes an accusation.
I think they're back! . A friend brought this to me to "identify". I told him it was a "Trade Dollar". I pointed out is said so on the rev. Showed him a book, waved my magnet (non-magnetic), weighed it (ooops! Just shy of 26 Grams.) Declared it to be a wanna be despite not having it stamped COPY. Then I really put my foot into it by asking how he got it. Things went downhill from there as I assume he wanted me to buy it or something. He thought 10c was a little low. So I told him I'ld get him a second opinion. That would be you folks. What is the best home brew noninvasive way to determine silver content? He left it with me with instructions "Not to Hurt it", but I flipped it once just to listen to it's dull ringing vibrations. Not silver I declared, though it didn't sound all that bad. It seems to be a little thicker than my Morgans. Added thickness is just a normal way to add weight with nonferris metal, right? Plus I don't have any info on thickness of Trade Dollars. I assumed they are the same as Morgans. Please tear this fake apart or I have to apologize for throwing his precious coin into the air.
The quickest and easiest way for me to tell that is a counterfeit is the fact that beginning in 1879, all genuine Trade Dollars were produced only as Proofs, not business strikes. And that coin clearly is not a Proof.
I'll start with that factoid. ThanX, Mark. I think he was at least hoping it was made of silver. Is there a simple field test that does minimal disruption to a coin one can use? Seems that the old magnet trick I'm used to has been foiled.
Only thing you might be able to do is a specific gravity test, and that isn't foolproof. It's pretty good though since about the only way to fake up an alloy with the right SG would be with a lead and tin mix and it would probably be soft enough to be scratched (with difficulty) with your fingernails.
Eureka Eureka! I've got horney nails but instructions not to "Hurt" the thing. Makes me want my old lab scale back. (00.0000) ThnX. Anybody know the thickness of a Trader? Same as Morgans? This one looks a little thicker but I don't have my micrometer at home right now.
"Thickness" as applied to a struck coin has very little meaning because it varies considerably depending on where you measure it and how well struck the coin was. Now if you could put them back into a restraining collar and beat all the detail back down so the blanks are uniform again then a thickness measurement might have some meaning.
