Wondering about authenticity of this piece (possibly 1807/6?). Or contemporary counterfeit status?

This is my second post here, y'all are great!!
I have copied some of this text from a post I initially put on reddit.
Please pardon the picture quality

"So the first thing that made me wonder more about this coin is the small cud at the top. Looked around, found at least one other completed item on eBay (and another example on another site) with the cud, but also noticed a small line above the 7. Those coins were also designated as 1807/6 and priced accordingly. Possible this could be the 1807/6 variety? I assume the small line above the 7 is reduced in this example due to wear and cleaning in the past.

Edit: for folks who are wondering, it does have the two points of pattern overlap on the rim at opposite ends and weighs in at 26.7 according to my scale."

I'll add to this, I wonder if this could alternatively be some sort of contemporary counterfeit if not genuine. The cud at the top is what first sent me on this quest for knowledge.

 

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Magnetic?

 

I see several places along the bottom on each side that look like casting bubbles.

 

Good question, I should have included that, not magnetic.

 

I concur, they seem to be either some sort of casting bubbles or perhaps die chips? Not sure if they would qualify as the latter, the terminology there is still a bit hazy to me. Cud I understand

 

Here is an 1806 for comparison. It looks like your coin has a couple of chop marks on the reverse which is unusual for a fake.

 

I will wait for the experts to give the final verdict, but I immediately noticed the raised areas as well. They could be from a rusted die, but my first thought was casting.

Which is precisely why the counterfeiters are adding chopmarks to their fakes - to make people accept them!

 

If your coin is a counterfeit, it's a really good one!

 

That is a reasonable thought, though something I’ve found on genuine coins is a very minor loss of mass due to wear. Is it fair to say, given the wear present on this piece, that it could contribute to the given mass? It couldn’t hurt for me to calibrate my scale again though too.

Edit: I have checked my scale with standard weight bullion coins (looked up the actual weights, not using them at precious metal content), and my scale appears to run heavy by no more than a range of 0.05 to 0.09 grams. Closer to 0.09.

 

I bought a set of calibration weights as recommended by @GDJMSP. Otherwise I was just “wishin’ and hopin’” my scale was giving me accurate readings. They are not that expensive.

Steve

 

That is certainly within reason, however I might be slightly skeptical of a coin like this retaining so much weight unless it was closer to AU or so condition, this coin is pushing perhaps an F grade or lower? I will have to look into weight tolerances of coins in general to get a better idea. Another thing to consider which occurred to me shortly ago is that mass could also have been lost due to the coin having been cleaned at some point, perhaps even scrubbed. Some methods of cleaning will remove the topmost layer of the coin, which is why it is so often discouraged unless the outcome is worth the risk. A more vigorous cleaning or polishing would also flatten misshapen high points.

So while I will say I am skeptical of a coin staying within weight tolerance at medium to lower grades (it may have even been closer to the low end of the tolerance at its creation), you are absolutely right about calibrating my scale properly, and I’ll look into doing that as soon as I can. My original calibration weight went missing and that has been a nuisance

 

I agree, I will look into that as soon as I can. Given the nature of things at this moment, it may be difficult to procure “non-essential” items but I’m going to try.

 

Another useful update: I weighed several genuine US coins from my collection to evaluate loss of mass or lack thereof.
An xf trade dollar and BU morgan yielded accurate red book weights (take that as you will) even with my scale as it is now. The trade dollar was indicating maybe 0.1g loss. Weighed a vg uncleaned barber half, it weighed in at 12.1/12.5 (I’ll use red book weights for consistency in my evaluations, though I understand true coin weights will vary slightly). Weighed a cleaned g liberty seated half, came in at 11.8/12.44, and an ag coin even lower. An uncleaned vf liberty seated quarter came in at ~6.1/6.68.
Given even these numbers, I cannot dismiss the possibility that the weight difference is in some way due to metal loss over time as the coin was circulated. Indeed, it could even indicate the coin weighed in on the higher side, assuming that large silver coins like this wear similarly to smaller US coins. I only have one worn US dollar coin (uncleaned F seated liberty dollar) to compare and even that coin showed a weigh-in at 26.3/26.73. For the size compared to the other coins, it lost less mass percentage-wise than the rest. Thoughts? Feel free to critique me if you feel I am not considering other factors, ultimately I am here to learn

 

The magnitude of the difference between measured and actual mass suggests that your scale is not calibrated and is reading 0.5-ish grams too low.

 

Oh, I do hope that’s all it is, that would be swell. I’ll do what I can to replace the calibration weight, I’m really wishing I knew where it was. What did seem most odd in retrospect was that the trade dollar and morgan dollar seemed fine weight-wise.

 

John, how and when did you get a worn piece from the mint?

Steve

 

I greatly appreciate the tolerance information, that does help a lot. And that is fair, it could very well be that my scale is simply inaccurate, I do need to find my calibration weight/purchase a new one. Personally I was surprised the morgan and trade I weighed fell well within expected weights and tolerance levels, while other coins weighed less with greater wear. That still stymies me a bit if my scale is off by up to 0.5g.

But that aside, I do not know the tolerance of this series of gold bullion coins, but I’ll venture a guess at around 33.5 grams, due to assumed standard weight around 33.931 (thanks google). And I will also voice that I have never seen a worn bullion coin like this before, and certainly surprised it was acquired from the mint. How off was I?