As promised. Not sure about what this is. Again, one of the coins I found deeply buried in my grandma's box when I was a kid. Please forgive me if this isn't the correct forum for this. Let me know if any of you guys/gals have any info on this. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's a one dollar type 2 Indian princess small head gold coin, the design was changed in 1854 so both type 1 and type 2 coins exist with 1854 dates. Assuming it's authentic the pictures need to be a bit clearer to determine but nothing glaring jumps out from whats there. It looks to be in pretty good condition based off the out of focus photos though. 1854 is pretty common with an initial mintage of 783,943 though being that this design was only minted three years 1854, 1855, 1856 they are usually in demand as type coins and carry a larger premium than type 1 or type 3 coins. Also welcome to Cointalk
Thank you! I'll get some more pics going. Any idea on what the value of this particular coin could be? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice gold dollar! My favorite US coin - see my avatar :-D As Blissskr said, better pictures are needed to determine authenticity or grade. NGC coin facts: https://www.ngccoin.com/priceguide/Series-Detail.aspx?MVDetailID=19&Series=Indian-Head NGC Price Guide: https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/gold-dollars/54/ Btw. the type 2 G$1 was my most recent acquisition... if you don't mind I'll share pics too It's an AU58, your coin also seems to be in the AU range.
Thx micbraun! I'll get some pics generated soon. I appreciate the links! Would this be the appropriate forum to advertise coins for sale? Or do I need to seek a dealer in town someplace? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You'll need a minimum number of posts and you can only sell coins in the advertisements / for sale forum, but not here. I have received coins from my grandparents too, but wouldn't sell such a nice gold coin... think about it first.
Copy that! To me, they are pieces of history and family gifts. And that's priceless. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Be aware that they are very, very commonly counterfeit and have been for a long time for the jewelry trade. I have two that were bought on 47th Street in the 70s. Lebanon fakes (at least those were made with melted down 14kt gold jewelry, unlike the more modern fakes with zero gold). To check it out we'll need good, sharp photos.
Thx Burton! I'll get some pics soon. I'll get some really good ones up close Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Amen to the images! Cannot be sure from what is posted. As to these statements: "Lebanon fakes (at least those were made with melted down 14kt gold jewelry, unlike the more modern fakes with zero gold)." 1. I have no idea where the notion of melted down jewelry to make fakes in Lebanon comes from. IMO, this is some nonsense from some uninformed old coin dealers or an equally uninformed pseudo-coin authenticator. There were many of these folks around in the 1960's and early 1970's when counterfeit detection in this country was in its infancy. I learned all about the counterfeit industry in Lebanon from a former ANA President who visited one of the actual factories in Lebanon the late 1960's. They did not melt jewelry to make coins. 2. I have yet to see a "modern fake gold piece w/zero gold" that was not a crude spangle on a belly dancer's dress! These imitations should fool no one who collects gold.
The Lebanese fake typically were full weight and fineness. If they melted down 14Kt jewelry they would have had to refine it or add a lot of 24Kt gold to the melt to bring it up to the 90% standard. If they were going to do that why not just start with the 24 kt and add copper.
This is not what I observed during the late 60's up to the mid-70's. The counterfeits from Lebanon were not in tolerance. The fineness of the gold alloy they used was so "off" that someone familiar with gold could tell the coin was a counterfeit just by the color of the coin. At that time the fakes produced in Lebanon were so crude and "fatty" that a few "Ex-Perts" of the time were falsely teaching that the coins were cast when in fact they were struck on the same presses (at least at one facility that was visited by an ANA officer) used at the U.S. Mints. The counterfeiters had no idea of the proper way to anneal their dies or the correct tonnage to use. That's why the coins looked cast. Interesting and funny (?) story that was written about the first time a nationally recognized and well-regarded numismatic authenticator who helped start ANACS visited the service (1972) to meet the rookie authenticator. The "Ex-Pert" sat the kid down at the scope and removed a coin folder from his pocket. Inside the folder were gold coins. As the old man removed the first 2X2 from the folder the kid said it was counterfeit. When asked why,(he had not even touched the 2X2 which never got closer than a foot away), the kid said the color was bad. The old man started to pull the next 2X2 from the folder and the kid said that's counterfeit too! The "Mints" in Lebanon were shut down by war in the country. It was not until the late 1970's that the counterfeiters started to get the alloy of their gold coins correct. By then, weight, color, and specific gravity testing was of no real use to detect the fakes. The quality of their dies had also improved and that's when counterfeit gold began to get deceptive. At this time, one authenticator/instructor was teaching that the days of the hand lens were dead. In spite of his opinion, there are many professional numismatists who still use a hand lens to detect fakes and they seem to be very good at it!
Because that was their margin. The coins were selling as jewellery by weight - 22kt. The ones I have were just under 17kt. So a mix of 14kt and 18kt...
