1853 Flying Eagle Cent?

Nice attempt.

 

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Can see chisel mark... 1858

 

Put it on etsy only existing 1853 FEC cash in be happy for the rest of your life.

 

& somewhat larger purchase price!

 

If you compare the 8 already on the coin to what is believed to be another 8 that has been chipped away by some accident or purposely, the "3" does not seem to actually be an altered "8" .....it is different, look closely?

 

Copper is soft. It can be manipulated. Moving the copper in the 8 to resemble a 3 might not only be done by removing metal, but also by repositioning some of the existing metal on the 8.

 

Actually it is an altered 3 and it’s the large letter variety. Look closely.

I’m courious as to why you think it’s not an altered 8.

 

Because they didn't make flying eagle cents in 1853!
Oops, misread your comment.

 

Uncle, that's EXACTLY why it IS an altered 8.

 

Misread the comment. My mistake.

 

I kind of figured that All good.

 

Welcome to Coin Talk @John Underhill. You have an opportunity that many of us here would give dearly for. Going through a collection of coins.
I hope you treat that challenge with thought, being careful on how you handle and store the coins. You've come to the best forum for information on your grandmother's collection, so I'm looking forward to seeing more posts.
Your journey should be an informative one for you.

 

Wow! Thank you all for so many quick replies!

SO... It seems as likely as any other explanation that perhaps my Grammie had a secret life as a skilled forger! (I think I love her even more now!).

I know these coins have been buried in the junk in my dad's attic for at least 50 years that I know of, so a modern forgery seems unlikely. The "tampered-with 1858" theory seems like it's got to be the answer. Which leaves me wondering, as Lordmarkovan asked above... why? It doesn't look scratched off as a prank. To the naked eye it looks really good, even under the loupe it looks pretty good to me. So who would have enough skill to alter it fairly convincingly yet be such a dim-bulb that they'd create something that not only isn't rare and valuable, but that never even existed? Seems like a waste of a perfectly nice coin.

When seen in-person it does look like the copper must have been manipulated beyond just removing material. I can certainly see how erasing the left half of an eight would make it into a three but there seems to be much more "meat" on the three than there is on the number eight. Especially where the top and bottom curves join. That is to say at the "waistline" of the 8. The right-hand "arms" of the three, and the vertical line in the center of the three, where that 8's waistline would have been cut, is much wider than that same area is on the eight. Seems like material would have needed to be added there to get the 3 to be that shape.

It's a good mystery...

I'll try to get a look (and hopefully a photo) with better magnification later today. Will update then.

Thank you all again!
John

 

As for the coin in question: it is a conundrum how and why the date was manipulated like it was. Just for clarification, here is a real one against the photo you have provided.

 

That might have been done in the mid to late 19th century. Literally a hundred years before video games and their way to have fun back in those days. Craftsmen practiced their craft on the most unsuspecting items. Could have been done by a young high school shop student, maybe the son/daughter of a blacksmith, a young jeweler, or any one of a host of different trades.

Interesting to say the least.

 

Maybe it was a Dan Carr coin. He did one of the Flying Eagle, 1859 so why not a 1853? LOL
http://www.moonlightmint.com/blog_40.htm

 

The number 3 should be a bit bulbous at the beginning and end of the number. I wonder why this was not attempted when it was "doctored."