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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,021 |
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Valued Member
United States
113 Posts |
I've come across this "supposed" 1833 Capped Bust half dollar that looks double-struck on obverse, and an overpunch on the 0 on reverse. Don't see any Overton variety anywhere for this. Can someone explain what this is? Thanks.    |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
This appears to be a contemporary counterfeit, very neat!
The diagnostics of this coin does not match with any genuine die pairs used that year, and the crude details suggests that the dies had been hand engraved. Take note this is not done today to deceive collectors, but back then to be passed at face value. These contemporary counterfeits are popularly collected by themselves today.
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Valued Member
 United States
113 Posts |
Thanks JTT, that makes perfect sense. So that would mean the coin is not silver, otherwise no point in making a counterfeit. Interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3331 Posts |
Quote:
So that would mean the coin is not silver, otherwise no point in making a counterfeit. You will need XRF or some other test to determine if there is any silver in your half. There were times when it was profitable to make counterfeit coins in silver. For example, many Morgan dollar contemporary counterfeits are made of higher-grade silver (~92%) than the real coins were. At the time, the counterfeiters realized about 35-40 cents profit on each counterfeit dollar. "Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
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Valued Member
United States
113 Posts |
Thanks Bump111 - I don't actually own this, it's up for auction today on ebay and was looking for exactly what I got. An explanation as to why it doesn't match any of the Overton varieties. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3848 Posts |
Correct, contemporary counterfeit with a double struck obverse. Very neat! I would buy it if it had a more dramatic error striking, for I collect capped bust half mint errors.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Moderator
 United States
190400 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
34455 Posts |
Very interesting @bdlc! I wonder if the counterfeiter was accidently holding the zero punch sideways when putting the denomination into the die (making this a vertical over horizontal zero).
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
75476 Posts |
Very cool piece!  Errers and Varietys.
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Valued Member
United States
113 Posts |
Thanks for all the help and input. Cheers guys.
Edited by Bdlc
10/14/2025 9:55 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10601 Posts |
Pretty neat counterfeit - that poor eagle is a bit deformed  |
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Moderator
United States
99180 Posts |
Interesting looking piece.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3676 Posts |
Absolutely fantastic contemporary counterfeit! These are collectible, and frequently are worth more than authentic coins, some of them substantially more. The 1833 CBH was a particularly heavily counterfeited coin, and has a lot of different known varieties. Some of them are cast in silver. Others are German Silver (Cu-Ni-Zn in a 60/20/20 composition). Some are silver plated copper. Some are pewter. Quite a few are silver washed or plated lead/tin/antimony/zinc or a mixture as base metal. Head over to the Contemporary Counterfeit Capped Bust Half Collectors Club for online resources to help identify your coin. Keith Davignon's book is the go-to guide, but many more additional counterfeits have been discovered since his book was published. You have stumbled on one of the fun rabbit-holes of coin collecting. Enjoy the hunt!
EDIT: This may be 1833 Obverse 11, Reverse K in the online version of Davignon's guide. If so, he lists it as "very scarce."Edited by fortcollins
10/17/2025 1:08 pm
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,021 |
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Posted 10/14/2025 09:00 am
