I got two USA Trade Dollar silver coins one is PP the other is S. Check them out and lemme know if they're the real deal or fakes. CC version: S version:
Hi, and welcome to the forum. I don't see any of the obvious flags on either of your coins, although the CC has been harshly cleaned, and the S hasn't exactly been treated gently. Have you verified that each coin weighs 27.22g, and has a full 38.1mm diameter? (Many fakes are only 38mm, and any significant weight variation means fake.)
Roy,I have seen a lot of fakes of these coins.They all had a very soapy appearance,which gave it away,as did the extremely light weight. Aidan.
Obvious flags as in? These coins were supposedly dugged up from underground so they're not in the best shape.
On some of the fake the details are mushy looking and are pretty easy to spot. Others are a little harder, it is important to get a weight on them and see if they are close to the proper weight or not. In hand they will appear to be grainy looking under magnification, and the ones I have are heavy in weight. I'm trying to add a pic of a fake trade dollar for reference.
Among others: Grainy surfaces, indicating that they are castings "Mushy" details indicating either castings or poorly done electrotypes Misalignment of the legends Incorrect character shapes Excessively wide rims Design errors - too many or too few arrows, feathers wrong shape, etc. Weight and diameter are strong signals that can't be seen in photos, as is another sign of casting - a line around the edge with possible displacement of the reeding lines. Actually, on closer examination the rims on the 1978 do appear somewhat wider than normal.
I agree Roy, the thickness of the rims lead me to believe that the 78S is a fake. Also the fact that there is a "line" around the obverse rim of the 77CC leads me to question its authenticity too. Additionally, the denticles on the obverse and reverse of the 77CC don't match each other. It is my opinion that both coins are countefeits, unfortunately. I am suspect of any trade dollar where the owner claims that it was found in the ground. The reason is that in 1877 a dollar was a lot of money and with the coins being as large as they are they are pretty hard to lose, and if lost they were valuable enough to warrant a thourough search. Imagine losing a $100 bill; trust me you'd look for it until you found it. Usually, on these old fake coins the dirt is used as a disguise of the questionable authenticity. If the coin is dirty enough you wouldn't be able to see the bad surfaces.
