A Real Counterfeit

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Collecting Nut, Oct 7, 2016.

  1. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    The complete story was posted not to long ago and that article made me want one of these so darn bad I had to find one. I did! And it even has a nice die crack from 12:00 to 3:00. The think I don't know is, is if this is one of Josh's originals. No way of proving or disproving so I'm going with yes it is. :)

    605A.jpg 605B.jpg
     
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  3. okbustchaser

    okbustchaser I may be old but I still appreciate a pretty bust Supporter

    The original racketeer nickels had carefully done reeded edges rather than plain which is usually the easiest way to tell.

    Incidentally, although there definitely were cases where the type 1 V nickel was gold plated and passed at the time, the Josh Tatum story was probably made up in the early 1960s. Nowhere does it exist in print prior to about '65. The 1880 Federal census lists only 4 people named "Josh Tatum" living in the U.S.--none of whom were deaf mutes. Nor is there any record of a Boston court case involving him.
     
  4. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    My CT Secret Santa sent me one of those last year.

    Interesting history there, OK. Ought to be explored by the urban legends TV show.
     
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  5. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that the Racketeer Nickels were not gold-plated but dipped in a gold wash which probably contained no real gold.

    If that was the case, I would think that decades of circulation would wear away much of the gold wash. I would be very suspect if I saw one in the condition of the one posted by the OP.

    Chris
     
  6. chascat

    chascat Well-Known Member

    Great info...typical modern legend exposed!
     
  7. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    Several years ago, I photographed a "racketeer love token" for someone. It was an 1883 Liberty nickel with the reverse planed off an engraved. Pretty cool piece, but if you think about it, you have someone who took a nickel, had it engraved, and then possibly plated it in gold to pass off to his significant other as a new gold coin. That's one guy who would be in far more trouble for what he did than the legendary "Josh Tatum" ever would have been. I'll dig up the picture later and post it.
     
  8. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Please do! I'd love to see it.

    Chris
     
  9. Insider

    Insider Talent on loan from...

    You guys may enjoy this story I heard about that happened last week at a TPGS.

    Woman Emailed to ask if TPGS slabbed "Racketeer nickels."

    She was told yes, either in the "yellow label" educational slab or in the normal slab if her coin was a genuine contemporary piece w/reeded edge. She wrote back that she was disappointed at the ignorance of the authenticators because the edge of the pieces had nothing to do with her coin's authenticity! The TPGS replied that one reason that gold coins of the period had reeded edges was to prevent metal being shaved from their edge. Furthermore, if someone tried to pass a piece w/o reeding, it would be immediately suspect. AFAIK, she did not send in her coin. I will see the authenticator this weekend at Lakeland to see if there is more.
     
  10. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    I wonder if that woman was my ex-wife!

    Chris
     
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  11. Treashunt

    Treashunt The Other Frank

    actually NOT a counterfeit.

    It is a [technically] damaged coin.

    The coin is real,
    Simply gold plated.

    It could have been counterfeit if he had struck his own coins, this is just 'changed'.
     
  12. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    Here it is. Shot this 7 years ago. The engraving is quite nice.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    That's beautiful. Wouldn't it be cool if that was the official design?
     
  14. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    It's interesting that they chose to do it in "medal turn". Are the letters "YC" or "CY"? I wonder!
     
  15. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    I like the way the C and the Y are interlocked, not one on top of the other but woven together as one.
     
  16. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    Medal turn makes it read correctly when the coin is worn on a chain.
    That style is quite common for monograms like this. You even see it when there are three initials and each appears on top and on the bottom of the stack.
     
  17. kaosleeroy108

    kaosleeroy108 The Mahayana Tea Shop & hobby center

    That is a key factor in finding a true Racketeer nickel

    Sent from my C6740N using Tapatalk
     
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