i recently got a 1776 continental curency coin from my grandpas old coin collection. i realize that there have been many fakes and reproductions but i saw on here and on other sites that it should weigh between 15-18 grams. i compared it to the eisenhower dollar coin which is 22 grams. my continental coin weighs less than it. any help?
Weight is only a first test. Take the coin to any jeweler and ask to have it weighed on their scales. If it is outside the proper range, you know it's a fake. If it's in range, it has correctly answered the very first question on a lengthy questionnaire. Posting a picture here would be helpful as, for instance, evidence of casting might be visible, which would be another test.
I told a friend once that their's was a cast replica (it wasn't even a good copy). They were not happy with me. "But my great-grandpa gave it to me." And they never really completely believed me. Sigh.
I was at my dealer's this past week and heard a stroy a little like this, well not very similar, but your story reminded me of this one. An older gentleman came in with an 1887 proof set, IIRC (it had a 3CN in it and a Liberty head Nickel and seated dime, quarter, and half, plus an IHC and a Morgan so it had to be between 1883 and 1889). Anyway this guy had been to a couple of shops previously to try to sell the coins and was unhappy with the prices offered. Appearantly he purchased the set from a now defunct Chicago dealer (whose name i didn't recognize) for about three times what he had been offered by the previous dealers. He was unwilling to believe that he'd overpaid and that his "great investment" in coins had declined in value 66% in the 25+ years that he'd owned them. My dealer offered about what the other dealers had and the guy gave in and sold the set, thouroughly discouraged. I asked to look at the coins and they were rubber banded together in PVC flips (the flips that they'd been in at the time of purchase) and all the coins were covered in clear pvc liquid. It looked like they were caught soon enough that an acetone dip would be able to save them from permanent damage, but a couple of the coins looked like they had nice original toning on them. It was a sad sight to see the guy disappointed because he didn't know what he was doing when he bought the coins and now it was coming back to bite him. Like your friend he just couldn't handle that he'd been fooled.
I have a similar coin I just posted a thread on here : http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?p=211055#post211055
I find it difficult at times to distinguish between casting and the pourous surface that might occur from corrosion. Is there any way to reliably tell the difference?
Some times it's almost impossible to detect the difference from a picture, but depending on the metal involved, there may be distinct differences that can be seen in hand. With a relatively high power loupe, a line around the edge where the mold parts meet can frequently be a tipoff as well. When you are talking about an item: with a very small number of genuine pieces known which is more than 225 years old, and which is known to have a large number of counterfeits, copies and replicas the extremely high probability that another genuine piece wouldn't just be surfacing for the first time is at least a strong hint about its status.
Experience. Whenever you're in a shop, ask the dealer to see the fake box. All dealers have some counterfeits, replicas, etc. Explain that you want to see the surface of a cast coin versus a genuine piece. Most dealers would be happy to show you the difference. If you have a coin and you can't tell, show it to every dealer and advanced collector you can. Hope this helps, tradernick
I checked the weight of this 1776 I picked up at a yard sell its right at 21grams and its dia. is 1.480 inches or 37.592 mm to 1.520 inches 38.608 mm I'm not sure?
Diameter too small and the weight is wrong. According to Breen diameter should be 40 mm and the weight for the "tin" coins 15 - 18.5 grams, copper 14.4 to 15.1 grams, and silver 23.5 to 24.4 grams. (Obviously the "tin" isn't really tin because tin isn't as dense as copper so it's weight should be less not more than the copper specimens.)
