I recently found a silver coin with the inscription "Continental Currency" in the house of my grandfather (Pictured Below). And am looking for some more information on it. It appears to be pure silver, although the differences in thickness in different parts of the coin made it impossible for me to determine the exact volume and hence density (although I estimated it to be between 10.96 g/cm^3 and 8.04 g/cm^3, 10.4 g/cm^3 being pure silver). It weighs 105.8 grams, and has a diameter of approx 66 mm (Ranging from 65.1 mm to 67.3 mm depending on where it is measured), and a thickness of approx 3.1 mm (Ranging from 2.9 mm to 3.7 mm depending on where it is measured). It was heavily tarnished (black) when I found it, however I was able to clean it up using Galvanic Reduction. The photo below is a black and white photo of the front, back, and rim of the coin. Thanks for any help.
I dont know much about these types of coins. They just dont appeal to me. It doesnt look like a perfect circle. More like an oval. I can tell this from your photos. The date is 1776 so it may hace some value.
Too bad about the cleaning, I would have left that to pros if it needed to be done- as for some info ,heres what the red book says- It looks like the pewter variety to me- but probably a net G4 grade. I could be wrong but I would deffinatly get it authenticated. It appears to be the first variety listed since it is missing the EG FECIT
It's one of my favorites! Anyway, I don't know much about grading older coins but, nice find ajwright!
Howdy aj - Welcome to the Forum !! Sorry to tell you this, but it is a cast copy - not a genuine coin
And thats why this thread is on this forum ! I didnt even catch the size issue- Thanks GD See I was wrong
For whatever it's worth Bud - see all those little holes & bumps all over the surface ? Those are casting bubbles. Any time you see a coin that look like that - be suspicious. And if that wasn't enough, here are the correct specifications for the genuine coin - Diameter: 37.7 - 40.7 millimeters (varies) Weight: 15.03 - 18.51 grams (varies)
It's worth alot- althogh I may not ever come across one of these myself probably ,All the great info you give me helps me twords becoming better at the hobby I love. So the bubbles are in the areas I circled I believe right? The pic is in black & white & for some reason my paint program wont let me put color on it but you should be able to see them.
Yes, almost the entire surface of the item is covered with them. They are literally everywhere. But the areas you circled do have the bubble pock marks. They come from air bubbles being trapped in the molten metal when it is poured into the cast - and when a bubble near the surface pops it leaves those little indentations because the metal is cooling and getting hard faster than it can flow in to fill the indentation. And this is true of most all cast copies, not just this type of coin.
The Continental $1 piece is strictly speaking,a very rare pattern coin.It is far rarer than the Cheerios Sacagawea $1 pattern coins,however.A genuine one fetched a huge price in an auction in England, of all places,recently.Does anyone know what it went for? Aidan.
GDJMSP, Are you sure that it is cast? The coin has the look of many antient coins i see that have been conserved in that way. Are you sure what you're looking at is not the result of galvanic reduction? Just wondering...Mike
This appears to be a cast copy of a Fugio contenental dollar. The obverse has the casting plug visible at 3 0'Clock on the obverse. There are also casting bubbles present. It was a very common practice to reproduce the rare coins and sell them as souvenirs back in your grandfather's day. In the 1970s, the Hobby Protection Act was enacted. From then on, copies of Numismatic Collectibles must be clearly marked with a copy counterstamp. Your coin must have been made before 1970. I would suggest sending it to NCS or NGC to get it authenticated just in case.
you must have missed the fact that this coin is MORE than an inch larger in diameter and nearly 6 times as heavy as a genuine example would be. Sending it to be graded/authenticated would be a total waste of money! It is an obvious fantasy coin meant to show what that ultra-rare piece looked like, it was never intended to fool anyone.
And in any case, to mention it again - DON'T CLEAN YOUR COINS. Anyway, I also see a faint mold line around the edge, I think.
Well to be honest I couldn't see why anyone would go to all that trouble with an item like this - I mean why bother ? Therefore what I am seeing is the result of casting - not conservation.
