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Latest Add To My Odd Collection

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jbuck's Avatar
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 Posted 05/19/2025  5:15 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

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Jack Young posted this coin... he collects counterfeits. That, plus the date font... authenticity is not a multiple choice option here.
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 Posted 05/19/2025  5:22 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add livingwater to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Edited by livingwater
05/19/2025 5:31 pm
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burfle23's Avatar
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 Posted 05/19/2025  8:18 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add burfle23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Just looking for some conversation here! I don't need to show it to Shawn (an original owner) or Tom who filmed the EAC auction and this item...



The obverse was reengraved, the date changed to1793 and "LIBERTY" strengthened similar to known Smith "counterfeits". A misnomer as the host coins were genuine. Most were modified to be wreath cents with the beaded obverse.
Edited by burfle23
05/20/2025 09:07 am
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thq's Avatar
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 Posted 05/19/2025  9:01 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add thq to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Granted that it is odd. The modification would have been done to increase its collectable value, but how recently? 1930's? 1950's? Any later than that it wouldn't fool anyone IMO.

Way better job than my silly 1793....





"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
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MisterT's Avatar
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 Posted 05/19/2025  11:16 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add MisterT to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Let me see if I understand this. The coin is a genuine 1794 that has had the date altered to 1793 is that correct? So it is not a production counterfeit but rather an altered date. What sort of value would you place on a piece like this?
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Slider23's Avatar
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 Posted 05/20/2025  12:00 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Slider23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The obverse does not match the 1794 S-63 as the date position, hair curl and bead count is different.
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burfle23's Avatar
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 Posted 05/20/2025  08:55 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add burfle23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Obverse was reengraved aka a "Smith Counterfeit". There obviously should not be a "bead count" on a 1794 large cent, part of the alteration. The reverse is a match.

I'll post images of the edge when I get it in-hand.
Edited by burfle23
05/20/2025 09:03 am
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jbuck's Avatar
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 Posted 05/20/2025  09:11 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

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Just looking for some conversation here!
A decent one it is.
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Slider23's Avatar
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 Posted 05/20/2025  10:42 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Slider23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I look forward to seeing your photos.

I have posted a 1794 S-63 Fallen 4 in Date side by side with the OP obverse. When I look at these side by side, the make over seems over the top with too much work on the denticles, and date. Why change the hair curls? If the make over started from the 1794 S-63, all I can say is amazing work.
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burfle23's Avatar
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 Posted 05/20/2025  6:59 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add burfle23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Another from my collection; a Smithed" 1794 into a 1793 wreath. Yes, his work was amazing...

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 Posted 05/20/2025  9:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add livingwater to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Would fool a lot of us.
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jbuck's Avatar
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 Posted 05/21/2025  09:23 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

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Another from my collection; a Smithed" 1794 into a 1793 wreath. Yes, his work was amazing...
Very nice!
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jacrispies's Avatar
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 Posted 05/21/2025  10:41 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jacrispies to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Very interesting, thanks for sharing!
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 Posted 05/21/2025  11:42 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Slider23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Article from Coin World About Smith Counterfeits:

The "Smith Counterfeit" is a curious 19th century numismatic oddity. Coin World's Paul Gilkes wrote in his Dec. 2, 2013, feature on contemporary counterfeits, "The Smith counterfeits were heavily circulated 1793 and 1794 cents that engraver William D. Smith — known as Smith of 1 Ann Street in New York City — re-engraved in the late 1850s and early 1860s to resemble higher grade 1793 cents. Some collectors suggest the Smith counterfeits are not counterfeits at all, but simply alterations to genuine U.S. Mint cents."


Smith would begin with a well-worn host coin, and he extensively reworked both sides. The description notes that the present piece has a weight of only 157.1 grains, versus the standard 208.0-grain weight of a typical 1793 Flowing Hair cent, showing just how much metal was removed during Smith's handiwork.

1793 Flowing Hair, Wreath cent, altered, "Smith Counterfeit," Fine 12
Carrying an estimate of $2,000 and up, it brought $2,585.

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