I was working my way through an online auction and wondered about the authenticity of this Seated Dollar. I am not claiming it is counterfeit, as I don't trust my knowledge of these. But I wonder what I'm seeing on the rim. Are those casting pits? And the reverse seems to be in far better shape than the obverse. I would welcome your thoughts. Steve
Yes, I'm thinking those are casting pits, also on the reverse the In God We Trust, the font looks a bit sketchy. Liberty's head doesn't look right at all, I could be wrong but I doubt it! I would steer clear of it!
It looks OK to me on the authenticity front (caveat: I'm no specialist, so take that with the proverbial grain of salt). Does appear to be somewhat harshly cleaned, though. Which is sadly the norm. Really, I don't know for sure. I'd likely steer clear regardless, though I don't personally see anything that screams "fake!" about it.
PS- I'm not sure what's going on with the rim anomalies you pointed out, but I will say that if that is a cast coin, it's a pretty high quality cast. The finer details seem better defined than I would expect on a cast piece. Personally, I think it's a real coin with a few issues. But I will defer to more experienced opinions on that.
I think it's genuine, but agree with lordM. that it's been cleaned and stripped of any original surfaces. The rim issues look like typical damage to me.
The rim damage looks exactly like the damage on this barber half. I believe this is an authentic coin with some problems (rim hits and improper cleaning).
Thanks, everyone. @YoloBagels the ones on the half dollar appear more like hits; the ones on the dollar are incuse and look quite different, IMO. @Kevin Mader I hadn't considered a rusty die; but why would those incuse depressions be only on the rim? Steve
Good coin, just cleaned. I have an 1847 in AU with incomplete rims like that. It looks like there were issues with mixing and the metal didn't fully adhere, so when it popped out of the collar, off came some of the silver.
one big TELL on these coins is the reverse motto or the scroll above the eagle. all pre-1866 Seated Dollars didn't have a motto or the scroll on the reverse so thats not the problem, the font used in the motto seems questionable. the fakes are getting better and better, good luck
It may be a high quality cast fake or real but it is too clean. Either way I'd keep my money and pass on this coin.