Counterfeit Silver $20 Silver piece. Anyone ever seen this?

My friends' boss picked this up from someone... Who either tried to pay with it or from a dealer. I got consulted and offered the following reasons why I thought it was counterfeit....1. never seen it, 2. Wasnt in Red book, and 3.because only gold was worth $20.00 back then through the 20th century. just wanted to know if: 1. I'm correct, and 2. If anyone else has seen this?

 

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Not an expert on Double Eagles but...If it’s not Graded and slabbed ,not legit until proven innocent. Experts sure to follow

 

The CC looks wrong. Has the metal been analyzed? What's the weight?
The mintage lists 5000 pieces of 1891-CC double eagle.

 

No, and if genuine, why would anyone silver plate a twenty dollar gold piece?

 

Because silver prices were going up?

 

It’s a reproduction of a $20 coin.

 

I would be curious as to what it weighs, also.

 

I agree about the mintmark being wrong. Here's a photo from the PCGS site:

 

Can't say anything about it from those pictures.
Possibility: Contemporary off-metal counterfeit intended to be gold-plated and passed as $20.
Most Likely: Modern off-metal counterfeit meant to be plated and fraudulently sold to a collector.
Long shot: Genuine coin improperly cleaned in something like Jeweluster that had previously been used to clean a lot of silver coins. Jeweluster strips silver off of the surface of each coin, which then remains suspended in the solution. If you leave a coin in polluted Jewelluster for a long time you can, sometimes, plate the coin with the silver. I once saw a genuine Proof copper strike of a Liberty $20 that had been plated this way. Looked like dull copper-nickel.
Do not attempt to clean it. Get weight and specific gravity before doing anything else.

 

I think the first thing I would do is check the metal content & whether or not it was magnetic

 

The thing about this one to me is that the devices appear crisp. Well beyond what I am used to seeing from counterfeit outfits.

 

Yes they did a good job except for the color.
Since it doesn't say COPY or R, I am going with China until the answer comes in.

 

Hi. You are correct. It is an off metal counterfeit. There was only one die used for the Obverse and Reverse 1891-CC and the item you picture ( I enlarged it) does not match the known Obverse and Reverse dies. Wrong CC's, wrong date position, wrong size lettering. I would suggest going here: https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/l...-winter-1-a-the-only-known-dies-ms-62-ngc-cac . One can learn much by reading the works of Q. David Bowers. Enjoy coin collecting and researching die varieties and characteristics.

 

That would make it a $2 black box curio

 

Somebody should do a specific gravity test on it. It it is a modern counterfeit the metal is probably garbage. If it is a contemporary counterfeit there is a chance it was made of platinum.