Hey everyone, I rarely dabble with silver so I am having trouble determining if this is real or not. It weighs 11.30 grams. I am having suspicions because it weighs a gram less, along with the edge or reeding detail looks really sharp. Also on the 1873 series with no arrows, I think the CC mint mark is suppose to be small(er). But what do I know! Any help please is MUCH appreciated.
I don't like some of the details, especially the date and mint mark. Here is a genuine example for comparison.http://stacksbowers.com/auctions/AuctionLot.aspx?lotid=237606
If your scale is correct it is probably a fake. And that mint mark does look off but I have only seen a couple of them.
I don't think it's authentic. There's no evidence to think that it is. The weight is off and the lettering is wrong. The color doesn't look right either. I'd check to see if it was 90% silver next. Either do a specific gravity test or better yet, drop it on a table and listen to the ring (or lack thereof).
I'm leaning toward this way as well. I have been doing the ring test and also comparing it to other halves I have. By far, it is the highest pitched one. What does this mean? Hopefully the seller will accept a return on this, hmmm....
IIRC, WB-103 does have a large mintmark (or mintmarks) but is an arrows coin, so on the surface this link would be for a different variety. Beyond this, the OP really should do a little more research on his own since he has the coin in-hand.
I know I've seen several Chinese counterfeits with a rather interesting "CC" mint mark. The space between both "C's" and the fact that the "C's" are so open lead me to believe it is fake. I'm no expert on Seated coinage so I could be wrong.
See if this helps here http://www.ngccoin.com/NGCCoinExplorer/CoinDetail.aspx?CoinID=16338. To me the mint mark looks way off - maybe added.
Mintmark looks all wrong to my non-expert eyes. I would check your coin against the Heritage archives if I were you.
Really? It seems that when you posted the link, you did so going only on the no arrows obverse, and stating that the mintmark did not match. All I did was to point out the opposite. Considering the OP mentioned the larger mintmarks, I did not think it wrong to note that this does not automatically mean counterfeit. WB101: No arrows and small mintmark WB102: Arrows and small mintmark WB103: Arrow and large mintmark So even if ignoring anything else, what would the above suggest? By saying that OP should do a little research on his own was a nice way of saying "buy the book before the coin". Of course in the case though, the book is free and probably could have saved him from a headache. I would be contacting the seller immediately.
It suggests that there is only one no arrows variety. That is the reason that I suggested checking the diagnostics of that coin. There is no reason to compare diagnostics of an arrows coin. If it has no arrows and a large mintmark, it does automatically mean that it is counterfeit.
Thank you everyone for your responses, I'm glad my natural instincts kicked in! Thankfully the seller has refunded my money and all is well. I too thought the date and mint mark are just too "off" looking for it to be real. Take care everyone and thanks again! It sure is a real shame how many counterfeits there are out and about... and it's scary how real they can look.
One thing about that book, it dos not identify all of the varieties. Case in point the 1861-O half. That book lists four varieties, there are actually 15. They have been working on new books, one for each mint, that do have all the varieties I think two mybe three of them are out now.
Just as a point... You suggested he compare to a genuine example based on one thing and without looking at other aspects of the coin - because no one has ever burned off arrows before, right? Ill keep it in mind to never look beyond first appearances. So sorry to have dared show another way of looking at this. Three of (I believe) six have been released to date, and yes.. not all varieties are listed (WB book), at least by die marriage, but are instead general groupings. It (WB book) is still a useful and free reference though - especially if one is unwilling to spend the $50+ for the die marriages book/books.
