Counterfeit CT State Quarter

Hello, I'm new here.

Well, I am assuming this is counterfeit. But I picked up my ziploc bag of quarters from laundry. I saw a quarter that was different. It was all metallic, a whiter color, like aluminum colorish. It's the correct size, weight and has all the features the coin should have. But there was no copper showing along the edge. I was able to sratch off the coating with my teeth, took some effort, and there was copper color underneeth it meanwhile flattening the ridges somewhat.

PS - It's a 1999-D CT state quarter.

What do you think? I have some terrible pictures if you want to see them. What should I do with the quarter since I'm close 100% sure it's fake.

 

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Welcome to CT, Will.

Without a pic to look at I will have to speculate. What you have may be a genuine clad coin where some of the cupro-nickel clad layers have covered the copper core. I would suggest that you weigh the coin to see if it is within Mint specs. And post good pics here if you can.

 

I weighed each of them on the scale. My scale won't measure in less than gram increments, but it falls within specs at just shy of 6 grams.

Here are two pictures, the first is the clearest. The suspect coin is on the right, a regular state quarter is on the left in both pictures.

First picture...



Front, I'll try to get a better one, my camera stinks...

 

Ok, these might be better...

 

It can't be aluminum if it's the right weight. Might be either environmentally damaged or coated with something. I know people used to coat cents with silver or mercury. I wouldn't be biting on this in case it is mercury.

 

It's impossible to tell from the pictures alone, but compared with the "good" quarter, I would guess that someone silver-plated it. It has the whitish look of silver. If you had to scrape a coating off to see the copper, I'd bet on it being a silver plate. There are silver plated quarter sets available for a ridiculous price: http://store.replica3d.com/pusistquco192.html

 

It is certainly a real mint quarter, just coated or damaged in some way.

 

Thanks, that all makes sense. I'll assume it's fine. Something didn't seem right, but I guess I ruled that out.

 

:hail:Welcome to the forum willv28.

 

Please don't do that.

 

You may want to do some checking to find out what you have in your body know. No telling what was used to plate that coin.

Speedy

 

If it had been an error, chewing on it would have reduced the value, and if it had been fake, let's just hope it wasn't coated with mercury.

 

Ok I'm sorry but don't do that to your teeth! Plus you know how fithy that coin is.....

Since it is about the correct weight it's just plated.

 

Leave the chewing to the professionals. Are you 100% sure that its a D Mintmark and not an S?

 

Probably one of those platinum plated coins from HSN. Counterfeit - I doubt - just isn't worth the time effort or cost to produce - IMHO

 

That's what I was thinking. No statehood quarter is worth enough to bother making all the stuff it takes to strike fakes.

It's plated.

 

Neither is a 1964D Nickel but I have one. Cast Copy. Very Poor I might add.

 

I agree with the plated scenario....they were often plated to be sold at a ridiculous price on shopping networks. There are gold plated, silver, plated and platinum plated ones that are beginning to turn up all over the place. In the past few months, I've found several gold plated quarters, nickels, cents, dimes and even a half dollar that someone cut into with pliers to see if it was real gold or just plated.

My theory is that these things are being brought into coin shops and the people who bought these altered coins are being faced with the reality that there is no market for them other that the one created on the shopping channels. In other words, they are tampered with, essentially considered, junk coins.

Confronted with a need for cash due to our current economy, the owners of these coins just roll them up and we find them.

That's a theory but it seems to account for what appears to be a higher number than usual turning up in the rolls that I search.

 

Agreed, I was about to post that.

HSN stuff is only worth circulating anyway.

 

Ding ding ding! Found you are correct. I've told people to spend them. There isn't even enough gold on them to equal $10. They always storm out because they say that the network says they are collectible & that they are a good investment etc... Insert extra rhetoric here.