Yeah, I noticed that...but I just don't have a lot experience with this series to know if that's normal or not. I've just looked at this coin as a counterfeit, so I assumed that was another bit of evidence.
That's not supposed to be there. Having said that, the "circulated look" of this piece would fool me at first, perhaps even second glance.
About 5 years ago, I bought (for close to $3,000) a similar 1795 dollar at a San Diego Coin show. Looked great, obverse and reverse graded near EF, lightly cleaned. Sounded like a good coin to fit into my type set. However, the lettered edge spelling was not correct and I was told that (unlike bust halves) incorrect spelling was not found on Bust dollars. It turned out that Coin World did a column on 1795 counterfeits and mine was, in fact, the exact same counterfeit. To check, I sent it off to PCGS and it came back "Questionable Authenticity" Now to the good part, the (LA area) dealer not only returned my purchase price, but also included the $50 I paid PCGS.
I hope we are all wrong in our expectations/opinions that the coin is a fake...getting a coin valued at between $2-$4,000 as you stated you did is a fantasy we all have... I assume your cost was a tenth of the value I just mentioned...But Cringely hit in on the head---and that's to send it for certification/grading by PCGS or NGC or whomever....just to be absolutely sure.
This is a vampire hub piece and unless he has just happened to stumble onto the exact coin the hub was created from it is a fake. About 99.9999% certainty.
The obverse and reverse are a passable fake (although immediately obvious if you know what you are looking at). It would fool many collectors. That edge though... if that fools you, you need to go look at a real dollar immediately.
@stldanceartist. How did you confirm that your coin is a fake. Could you share some deep insights regarding the determination of fakes, as i too had recently bought a 1795 $ - ungraded.
The 1795 Draped Bust $ (BB-51) is a heavily counterfeited coin, with several different counterfeits known. Michael Fahey did an article around 2008 or 2009 on this fake in Coin World. The weight on these fakes is usually correct, as is the specific gravity and the "ring" of the fake. On many of the fakes, the spacing of the lettering on the edge of the coin is wrong, so this is the first place to check. If you contact Coin World, they may be able to tell you which issue.
I believe this is the logical course of action...I'm still bedeviled by 'fakes' in the marketplace and even purchased one recently at Agora Auctions---they sometimes 'fall through the cracks' or are otherwise missed by even the 'experts'.....