Hi all, As most of you may know, I'm no enthusiast/collector of any such coins as I know all of you are. I'm merely a "picker" who picks yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, storage locker auctions etc. part-time looking for antiques & collectibles. The 2 posted coins were found within an old jewelry box amongst jewelry and many other contents found within a storage locker auction here in Jersey. They're quite worn and beat-up as you can see, and one is dated 1601(?) & the other 1776. Are these authentic? If not, not a big deal as we didn't pay much for the unit and recouped most out funds back from the scrap gold and other contents re-sold. Thank you all so much for your time, replies and thoughts!
The second coin is likely a replica of a 1776 Continental Currency dollar coin. Its extremely rare so I doubt its real as there are tons of fakes but it might be worth checking out.
The coin on the left appears to be a 1/4d or 1/2d of William III dated 1697. The Coin on the right is probably a modern reproduction of the so-called "Fugio" dollar coin.
The Continental Currency dollar coin on the right if real, is Obverse 1 where it is misspelled "CURENCY." It should weigh between 15-19 grams and be made of pewter. If your coin does meet these standards, it should still be professionally examined by a company such as NGC or PCGS. Good luck!!! Please let us know results
Thank you all for your help and replies. For what it's worth, it weighs approx 11g & measures approx 36mm. I wonder if this slight less difference in weight & measurements is due to it being a repro or being well worn? How do I go about having it evaluated/slabbed by these particular companies?
I am not sure what tolerances there are for weight but a few grams seems reasonable for such a worn coin. They are supposed to be 41mm in diameter, so its 5mm off. I think for that reason it is very likely a replica/fake. Also, the overall details of the coin look off and not as clear as a coin in that condition should be. Its still a very cool part of American history though.
Before regarding it as a fake/repro though, I'd wait for other opinions. I may be wrong on a few of the details... If it was my coin, I wouldn't send it in to be graded for the reasons above. But if you want to be sure, I think you have to become a member and then pay a grading fee and ship it in. Or you could do it through a friend/dealer who is already a member.
I was actually just thinking about that, since there are different varieties. I read somewhere that it was the size of a silver dollar, which is 38mm. Numista says 41mm, but that could be wrong or a different variety. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces23014.html Take what I say with a grain of salt, I am by no means an expert in this category
Yeah, you might want to look into getting it authenticated… If it’s real, it’s probably worth somewhere around 15k I would guess in this condition.
Wow! Thanks! I doubt if I'm that lucky, but I'll still have it evaluated by an expert, not going to just toss it aside just yet. The 1697 appears to be authentic, copper and worth a few bucks in its condition. Thanks again for your replies and thoughts!
I'm almost positive this 1776 coin is a repro, but I don't want to just toss it to the side just yet. I stopped in a local Coin Shop to see if they send coins off to be slabbed. The owner (I assume) said "no, we don't, why? what do you have?" I proceed to show him and almost immediately, he says: "I'm pretty sure this is a fake". Ok, I ask....can you please tell me why you think it's a fake? His reply: "because the real ones have a plow on them and they're made of copper, not pewter". Look, I'm no coin enthusiast whatsoever, but even with the very limit knowledge I posses, I know his reply is incorrect. I kindly thank him for his time and leave. I'm just amazed how these coins are just brushed off as being fakes so quickly. I'm sure it's because of the level of reproductions that are out in the world,.....yes I get it! But what IF the piece was/is genuine, it would have been just tossed to the side as a common replica due to this owner's lack of knowledge regarding such pieces...no?
