Sadly, the 1857 $3 gold coin is a counterfeit, which I posted yesterday. But I don't feel too bad to know it's a fake. Just on the contrary, I'm so glad to have got the identifications and suggestions from this forum here. Really thank you for your kindness, all my friends! Now here's one more $3 gold coin, a 1878. Please have a look at this one. Also from eBay one month ago.
Here is an article with some info that you can use to determine whether this one is a fake or not since you have the coin in hand: http://www.pcgs.com/Articles/Detail/114
I am going to go with fake. The striking on the reverse is off especially with the wearing of the date. Also it appears as if you are missing the "horse shoe" effect in liberty. You should have "lumps" behind the eye and at the bottom of the neck beside the lock of hair. Your coin doesnt appear to have any of these which to me says fake. Hope i helped you some..
I'm not seeing a positive match for any of the three counterfeit varieties listed for 1878. Two of the counterfeits mention a weakly struck date, with the final "8" much stronger than the other digits, but I can't tell whether that's also true of the genuine coin. I can't positively identify any of the obverse markers that the book calls out.
Jeff, Just because the coin is not in Bill Fivaz's book does not mean it is genuine. There are lots of counterfeits that do not appear in the book.
I certainly didn't mean to imply otherwise. For that matter, I didn't mean to imply that I can reliably identify all the counterfeits that are in his book based on medium-resolution photos.
Thank you very much -jeffB! I have made up my decision to get the book you mentioned. The book is not everything but will still be much of help to someone like me. Many thanks for your replies in my posts!
