Help I bought these Trade Dollars from an established coin dealer and I have the opportunity to bring them back to him if I need to. I took pictures of sides and ridges and need to know if any of these look counterfeit. I am not familiar with trade dollars so I hope that you can help me. I realize in retrospect I should have looked before I leaped. My biggest question was regarding the ridges on the coins because i wondered if they looked like they should. photos are hosted at this link: http://flickr.com/photos/mgla Thank you so much for your help!
The pictures leave a lot to be desired but I'd have to say that I don't have warm fuzzy feelings about either one of them.
Agree, difficult to make a judgement from the pictures. Trade Dollars are one of the issues that I just don't buy unless they are certified - especially if they are better dates. Too many questionable coins out there. Dan
If I were you I'd take them back and tell the dealer you want them certified authentic by ANACS and that you are willing to pay for having them certified if they pass the test. If he won't go along, cancel the deal. As previously stated, there are just too many fakes out there and some are pretty darn good.
Better photos would help. Have you checked the weight and diameter of the coins? I agree with the suggestion of having the dealer submit the coins to ANACS at your cost (if they prove to be genuine).
In looking at pics Hi, Welcome to the forum. some nice close-up pics coins, but partial pics are difficult to see all the details to determine type l /type ll obverse /reverse die pairing. I looked at the first coin and noticed the rim ding, notice how the metal is pushed away, rather than broken. Thats bad for the coin but good indicator of coin being authentic. Fake Trade dollar rims will fracture and break off like cast iron metal..... I would wiegh them first, then go to libarary , look through the coin books, especilly 2008 Yeoman , good deal of information about Fakes verses Authentic. Beware ...there are some real good fakes , not easily detected as fake, that have made there way into the United States. Good luck, sorry couldn't be of more help. OzarkTravler
If tyey are fake they are very well made ones , they are probably real but the only to be sure is to send them to ANACS , PCGS or NGC for authentication . With so many fake trade dollars out there , I wouldn't feel comfortable unless they were authenticated . If they were struck as opposed to cast , using the right alloy the weight would be within the mints tolerence of 27.22 grms . Even reputable coin dealers occasionally get taken , good luck . rzage
weights were all 27g i was a little concerned how the coin wasn't as thick as a peace dollar which is against them in one of the pictures for comparison, and also that the edges didnt seem consistent enough to me but i wasn't sure if that was just how the ridges on the trade dollar are. do you know more about this? thanks for all the great replies!
Are you talking about Are you talking about reed edge, or denticles around outer rim? The trade dollar has some-what different reed edge than that of the peace/morgan. Trade dollar reed edge lacks detail found on morgans/peace dollars, slight variance in reed die collar, that result in looking wider and less depth/detail than modern morgan/peace dollars.:smile OzarkTravler
The reeded edge is the grooved notches along the edge of the coin. (The edge is third side of the coin (after the obverse and reverse). On cents, nickles and Sac dollars the edge is smooth. On dimes, quarters and halves the edge is reeded. On Presidential dollars the edge is smooth and lettered. Denticles are the tooth-like (hence the name) things around the rim.
i was referring to the reed edge- does that look right? that is the part which I am most unsure of. thanks!
I would need I don't mean to be rude. I should have told you earlier in my post. At some point in time your Raw Trade dollars will have to be sent in for grading/slabbing... If you expect to get fair market price. Coin collectors in general will not buy a raw Trade dollar. There are exceptions, and some coin collectors with vast knowledge of the Trade dollar, can examine coins and possibly make offer to buy. It is risky business to buy raw Trade dollars. The trade dollar has 100 + year history of counterfiet from the beginning, each provience having to test for autheticity and stamp with there chop mark, as it circulated to another province, it would get a new chop mark. Distrust of anothers chop mark led to chop mark mutilation of the trade dollar. They soon met there fate. I apologize for not being straight forward and telling you sooner. Please don't be offended :smile Good Luck, Ozark Travler
greetings! i hesitate to comment further as many valid points have already been made. the damage has been pointed out on the 1876, and the 1874 does have an odd appearance especially around 7pm on the obverse rim. also, sometimes a coin looks "odd" on appearance,but the collector cannot place the differences w/o diagnostic confirmation. also, as pointed out earlier, trades have become nearly immediately suspect.they are one of the most prevalent of counterfeits. to be honest...what better coin for china to fake for american collectors than possibly the most common collectible american coin available in their region? just as morgans were common and unused here, many bags went east, and as it is here...many trades were available for patterns to be made, and fakes produced. now that coins are more valuable , as well as the vast improvement in technology and more economic growth in china (the ability to afford dies, cad/cam equip, ect..), this leads to more proliferations of counterfeit coins. i am afraid that, unless i know the dealer or collector, or the coin has been certified by a reputable grading service for authentication, i would avoid this particularly series (as well as a key date of any given series or a high dollar coin). if you are an expert...you certainly do not need my advice. only my own opinion and i always seem to prefer to err on the conservative side. a coin is worth (to me) what i am willling to pay for it. i stick w/ peace of mind when in doubt. best wishes, steve
NO problem... the guy (new user) that ask the question seemed to be under pressure to pay for or return coins? I hate to let folks down when there so sure they have spotted a bargin. Regardless what we say to help warn them, there mind set and odds are they will go ahead with purchase. OzarkTravler
