This old girl was part of an estate collection I recently purchased. I know that 102% of raw trade dollars are fake but wanted to get input from the group. It weighs correctly, but I don’t like the halos around the devices (typical look of other counterfeits) and the general vibe. Toes and fingers seem too cleanly cut but this was a weird coin so it’s tough to say. Any input (and explanation would be appreciated). If it’s fake, I’ll just add it to the impressive collection of counterfeit coins that have come my way over the years! I could almost fill a key date type book!!!
IMO it's real. The halos around the devices are because the original dark tone has been "Brilloed" away.
Looks good to me. Like dekerlegand said, the coin was cleaned and the halos are the uncleaned, protected areas. When I was comparing it to some photos of 1877-S Trade Dollars on PCGS I noticed this: At first I thought it meant yours was fake, but then I looked at another genuine example and it matches yours! Does anyone know if this variance in the olive branch ever been noted before?
It's legit. Just Brillo'd half to death. The olive branch stems often vanished due to die prep, I believe.