A coworker of mine knowing my interest in coins brought me an 1868 half in a plastic holder marked as counterfeit. This is definitely not a modern Chinese fake, I told him I thought it was a fake from the early 1870s to 1880s period designed to cheat someone out of 50 cents ( a days wage for many people in this time ) Question? Can anyone suggest a site or source of information on fake coins from this period? Also he asked me is this coin even legal to own? I thought technically no since Seated Liberty halves are still legal tender ( having found 2 in roll searching ) however I told him such an old counterfeit I didn't think the Secret Service would be coming to talk to him
There's no legal problem with owning it. Attempting to transfer it fraudulently would get him some attention, though.
There's also no problem in extracting it from the holder - I sincerely doubt it's permanently sealed - for images. Chances are it's base metal which will be around when the human race is dead and gone.
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