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how do you spot fake Trade Dollars, anyway?
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<p>[QUOTE="ksparrow, post: 652994, member: 7638"]Trade dollars were made in a very precise manner, partly because they were mass-produced, and partly, I believe, to discourage counterfeiting, rampant in the FAr East where they were intended to go. Forgers often fail to reproduce the precision of the real thing, especially in the rims and dentils.</p><p><br /></p><p>In general, the rim of a Trade dollar is fairly flat and of a uniform width- generally no wider than a dentil is long (measured along the radius of the coin.) Coins with fat or puffy looking rims are suspect. The dentils are very uniform and evenly spaced, about the only variability they have is that sometimes they will appear to be lightly struck on a small area of the coin. A coin where the dentils are of variable length, appear fused in spots, pitted, or where larger areas have absent or faint dentils is likely to be a forgery. Be aware that sometimes lighting, camera position, or dirt can cause the dentils to look triangular or like 'candy corn.' </p><p>some genuine dentils: </p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1873headandstarsdetailsredo.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1877sMSdentils.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Next, look at the lettering on the coin, the date, the stars. They should all look crisp, rising sharply out of the fields. Letters or numbers that look malformed, or fat/rounded (except on a well circulated coin) should make you suspicious. </p><p><br /></p><p>The stars on Trade dollars are generally well formed, although sometimes weakly struck. Fakes may have stars with weirdly curving rays, or sometimes look like 6 grains of rice stuck toghether. </p><p><br /></p><p>Fakes often have pimples, or small bumps on the fields, that are a dead giveaway. These are simply not seen on genuine examples. Forgers will often polish or abrasively clean these coins to remove the pimples. Some will be left on the devices, however, where they are hard to spot until you have the coin in hand (and the seller has your money!). So, a harshly cleaned TD is not necessarily a fake, but it should raise your index of suspicion. </p><p>Fakes also do not have normal luster, where present it has a weird foggy/hazy look, under magnification it looks more like a chemical treatment, and is not due to metal flow. On fakes designed to look circulated (or that actually did circulate) the remaining luster within the devices looks too coarse, almost like fine sand. You would have to have the coin in hand to spot this, naturally. </p><p><br /></p><p>Central devices: because the forgers spend the most time getting these right, the figures of Liberty and the Eagle often look "natural" and are the last place I look. Be aware of a disparity in wear between obverse and reverse (so you have to know how to grade these) because the forgers will pair dies made from different coins in different states of wear. Look for engraving that seems too deep or out of place, since forgers often try to touch up the flat areas on their dies (Liberty's gown and the eagle's breast are often affected).</p><p>Lack of detail in the bale, wheat sheaf, and Liberty's foot are often seen on fakes. Frequently forgers have trouble getting the eagle's eye just right- it pays to study some genuine examples here. That reminds me of 1 more difference between a type 1 and type 2 reverse: the feathers on the back of the eagle's head. On type 1, the tips are above the eagle's "shoulder": <img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1873revdetailforT1birdneck.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>On type 2, they flow smoothly onto the base of the wing: </p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD77sT2detailbirdneck.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The closeup images I obtained using photos from the Heritage Auction Galleries Archives. All collectors should be appreciative of Heritage making this priceless resource available, free of charge, to the community. Thanks, Heritage![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="ksparrow, post: 652994, member: 7638"]Trade dollars were made in a very precise manner, partly because they were mass-produced, and partly, I believe, to discourage counterfeiting, rampant in the FAr East where they were intended to go. Forgers often fail to reproduce the precision of the real thing, especially in the rims and dentils. In general, the rim of a Trade dollar is fairly flat and of a uniform width- generally no wider than a dentil is long (measured along the radius of the coin.) Coins with fat or puffy looking rims are suspect. The dentils are very uniform and evenly spaced, about the only variability they have is that sometimes they will appear to be lightly struck on a small area of the coin. A coin where the dentils are of variable length, appear fused in spots, pitted, or where larger areas have absent or faint dentils is likely to be a forgery. Be aware that sometimes lighting, camera position, or dirt can cause the dentils to look triangular or like 'candy corn.' some genuine dentils: [IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1873headandstarsdetailsredo.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1877sMSdentils.jpg[/IMG] Next, look at the lettering on the coin, the date, the stars. They should all look crisp, rising sharply out of the fields. Letters or numbers that look malformed, or fat/rounded (except on a well circulated coin) should make you suspicious. The stars on Trade dollars are generally well formed, although sometimes weakly struck. Fakes may have stars with weirdly curving rays, or sometimes look like 6 grains of rice stuck toghether. Fakes often have pimples, or small bumps on the fields, that are a dead giveaway. These are simply not seen on genuine examples. Forgers will often polish or abrasively clean these coins to remove the pimples. Some will be left on the devices, however, where they are hard to spot until you have the coin in hand (and the seller has your money!). So, a harshly cleaned TD is not necessarily a fake, but it should raise your index of suspicion. Fakes also do not have normal luster, where present it has a weird foggy/hazy look, under magnification it looks more like a chemical treatment, and is not due to metal flow. On fakes designed to look circulated (or that actually did circulate) the remaining luster within the devices looks too coarse, almost like fine sand. You would have to have the coin in hand to spot this, naturally. Central devices: because the forgers spend the most time getting these right, the figures of Liberty and the Eagle often look "natural" and are the last place I look. Be aware of a disparity in wear between obverse and reverse (so you have to know how to grade these) because the forgers will pair dies made from different coins in different states of wear. Look for engraving that seems too deep or out of place, since forgers often try to touch up the flat areas on their dies (Liberty's gown and the eagle's breast are often affected). Lack of detail in the bale, wheat sheaf, and Liberty's foot are often seen on fakes. Frequently forgers have trouble getting the eagle's eye just right- it pays to study some genuine examples here. That reminds me of 1 more difference between a type 1 and type 2 reverse: the feathers on the back of the eagle's head. On type 1, the tips are above the eagle's "shoulder": [IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD1873revdetailforT1birdneck.jpg[/IMG] On type 2, they flow smoothly onto the base of the wing: [IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/fakes%20and%20forensics/HATD77sT2detailbirdneck.jpg[/IMG] The closeup images I obtained using photos from the Heritage Auction Galleries Archives. All collectors should be appreciative of Heritage making this priceless resource available, free of charge, to the community. Thanks, Heritage![/QUOTE]
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how do you spot fake Trade Dollars, anyway?
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