1877-s Trade Dollar... Please tell me it's not a fake

Sending it back as soon as I get my refund. I just thought you all would like to know that they're making fakes with real silver. Seemed significant to me.

 

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And have been for a long time, especially high end fakes that sell for considerably more than melt. Most are now struck on 90% silver planchets using standard laser cut dies. I bought a few examples awhile back (bust dollars, not trade), and took them to my LCS to see if they would be fooled. They were.

 

Remarkably right on . I think I know something about fake Trade dollars but this thread has been a real learning experience . I knew I had a lot to learn , just wish more people in the know would chime in as I think this thread has turned into more of a learning about TD fakes than buying one .

 

I'm not thinking of buying , just wonder what people think of this coin .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1878-S-Trade-Dollar-w-Chop-Marks-PS/360811718221?hash=item54020de64d

 

It would be nice if certain others chimed in, but it's a tough subject when not given much to work with.

Here is another photo - a comparison - of the OP's example and the same slabbed example used for the overlay. In one of the earlier links a missing crossbar on the 4 (of 420) was mentioned. Unfortunately, since the photos were taken at different angles, they will not match perfectly, and not that this means a great deal, but is still worth noting.

 

I know the op said that Miss Libertys' arm was off but then I started comparing one of mine and at certain angles I could get the same effect . I know you really can't say without the coin in hand , but I was wondering your thoughts about possible authenticity . I'm back to where I can't tell . lol

 

BTW , Good work on the overlays .

 

Here is a Rolex watch. I paid $25 for it in New York. Think it is genuine?

 

Ha ha. No one has ever bought a real Rolex for $25. But I'm willing to bet there is at least one lucky son-of-a-gun who bought a trade dollar for a lot less than Greysheet.

 

You didn't.

 

Touche, but at least it's conceivable and in all likelihood *has* happened.

 

Rarely. Coin dealers know what they have. If you want to sell one, it may well go way below Gray Sheet. Should you want to purchase it, expect to pay the asking price or close to it, as that is business. There are always some rare exceptions, but that is the nature of the business and hobby. Artificially low prices are often a dead giveaway as to genuineness or quality of a coin.

 

Ok, finally we agree. <whew>

 

Morgandude , hey you might have a real one there . lol BTW I do agree with you 99.9% of the time you get what you pay for . I just looked at Trade Dollars on ebay and to me if they're raw they're suspect . But it is fun learning about the die markers , and a lot that was discussed about whys or why nots about the ops coin being fake .

 

Oh absolutely. I think sometimes the mistakes we make in acquiring coins teach us more than the purchases that go smoothly, as we're forced to learn a lesson the hard way.

 

I think we all learned the lesson the hard way when we started , I'm just glad it didn't cost too much . I still have that TD I bought from someone here for $200 that is probably fake . I mean nobody on a public forum like CT would rip us off . Talk about naive , but It's such a good fake . Now to send it in to confirm it . : )

 

Even the best photos can be deceiving, no matter how much effort the photographer put into giving an honest in-hand representation, but when working with downright poor images, everything must be taken with a grain of salt. As for the arm difference, you're correct.

As I believe I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent a fairly significant amount of time trying to confirm my initial suspicion, which as you know can only be done to a certain extent. While I would not want to mislead the OP, let's just say that there is more than enough that is right about this specimen than has been claimed wrong.

 

And I believe I said right in the beginning the arm and the ribbon looked off the ribbon too wide her arm too flat and shapeless and the lack of wear looks like it was polished not circulated the wear is not just at the high points I've seen a lot of trades and quite a few bogus ones and I believe this to. Be one of the better fakes I've seen on par with the draped bust dollar fakes biggest problem with both is they just can't get the exact fineness of detail and surface quite right good enough to fool the masses but not enough to fool an expert by the way I still have the 1788 Massachusetts cent that fooled me was an electro type that got carried as a pocket piece I wasn't the only one who thought it real was a $160 lesson cheap I feel in the scheme of things

 

Alrighty then, real or fake??

 

Fake .