1832 capped bust half dollar

I am still a virgin in coin collecting, just got back into it 3 yrs ago, question purchased an 1832 capped bust half dollar in AU58 or MS60 and read that there was a lot of conterfeits made. I was wondering if anyone knows how to tell if it is or what websites may be helpful. I am looking to have it graded, but dont want to waste my time or dollars. By the way I have gotten into vams pretty heavy. I purchase all the good books plus a very good digital microscope w/ 5.0 camera which downloads to computer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:headbang:

 

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Greetings and welcome to the forum. The easiest way to tell if it's genuine is to weight it. The weight should be at or a smidge less than 13.48 grams, but NOT over. The diameter should also be 32-33mm.

Take Care
Ben

 

I weighed it at 13.60 god or not?

 

Perhaps your scale needs calibrating. One gram is a little overweight, can you post a picture of the coin?

 

An easy way to see if your scale is off is to weight a coin/item you are certain of the weight on. My idea would be to get a new quarter which weighs 5.7 grams and then see how it performs.

Ben

 

Thanks for that excellent tidbit! I just got a gram scale and have been trying to find gram weights for calibration... Now I know it is accurate...

 

Ben is correct. Contemporary counterfeit coins were made to spend, not to sell to coin collectors. The counterfeiters made their counterfeit coins from inferior materials (e.g., lead, German silver, etc.) and profited on the difference between the cost of making their coin and its face value. If your half dollar is the correct diameter and thickness but it weighs substantially less than it should then it is probably not 90% silver (and is a counterfeit).

There are many ways counterfeit coins were (and still are) made. There are markers to look for with each method. You should educate yourself on counterfeit coins so you can identify a counterfeit when you see one.

JP Martin's DVD Detecting Counterfeit And Altered US Coins is a great place to start your education. This video is dated but the information is still very useful. It is available from the ANA and may also be found on eBay. There are VHS versions but I would recommend the DVD.