I'll try to make this as concise as possible. One day, this 1877 Half Union piece in gilt (gold over copper) came into the shop. At the time, I didn't know quite what it was (the back has been all but removed, ala love token) and the sides have also been scraped down from what I can assume was a reeded edge. One may at first think this is an 1877 Small Head Half Union in copper, but it is not. The dentricles are wrong, Barber's initial is missing from beneath the head, and the coin is 40mm, not 50mm, as the pattern should be. My question is this. What could it be? We have brought the coin to a local rare coin expert (a contributor to the Red Book) who was likewise stumped, but was quite sure the coin is late 19th century, and is very well done, and looks like a US Mint product. He did also say that it is possible that this could be a previously unknown pattern. Any ideas?
I do not think it is mint made - almost reminds me of some cast counterfeits, but could just be a piece someone made. Not really sure what it is.
