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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;huntsman53, post: 357124, member: 1242&quot;]Hey Coin Talk Folks,</p><p><br /></p><p>I visited an elderly gentleman today to check out his coins and let him know if he had anything of value! During the visit, he stated that he has an 1861 Confederate Half Dollar that he found many years ago in an Indian Burial Mound. He pulls out the Half and I knew right away that it was some sort of crude Counterfeit before he even handed it to me. Once in hand, I was even more sure but at the same time intrigued as it has 17 buds on the left Corn Stalk on the Reverse unlike the 19 on all Restrikes, Copies and other Counterfeits. I pulled out my loupes ad checked the coin over thoroughly. To my amazement, the coin was made in the same manner as the English coinage from 1400&#039;s and 1500&#039;s (i.e. two thin pieces of coin metal hammered separately with Obverse and Reverse Dies on an anvil or similar object, then the Obverse and Reverse of the coin were welded (soldered) together using Lead or other mallible metal). The Obverse and Reverse pieces of the coin were made from what appears to be Copper that was crudely plated with Silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now my question is, has anyone heard of a similar Counterfeit 1861-O Confederate Half Dollar being found? If so, do they have any value over any Contemporary Counterfeits? Does the genuine 1861-O Confederate Half Dollars have 17 or 19 buds on the left Corn Stalk on the Reverse? If they have 17 buds, then how could this coin be more accurate than any other Restrikes, Copies and other Counterfeits? Do you theorize how it ended up in an Indian Mound that probably dates from the 1500&#039;s to 1700&#039;s and if so, then what is your theory? I theorize that the coin was counterfeited by a Blacksmith or someone with Blacksmith skills, sometime in the late 1800&#039;s or early 1900&#039;s and that they may have been found out and hid the coin and probably others in the Indian Mound to avoid arrest and imprisonment. No matter how and when the coin was made and how it ended up in the Indian Mound, definitely stirs the mind!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Frank</p><p><br /></p><p>P.S. No, I did not bother in weighing or measuring the diameter of the coin as I could clearly see that it was slightly smaller in size and from the feel of the coin, I could tell that it was probably half the weight of a normal 1861-O Half Dollar.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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