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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,471 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
I received coin for graduation ('83) from a family member. Seems to be many reproductions/copies out there, wondering if mine could be authentic? Coin came with a note reading, "Hurricane July 1733 found 70's Coffins Patch Fla Keys" Appreciate your insight on this coin.   My uncle was a scuba intructor, diver, and tour guide for many yrs in the Florida Keys. Edited by MIjanet
09/15/2013 10:48 am
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Valued Member
United States
125 Posts |
 very nice! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
I cannot tell from the photo if your coin is real. There were quite of few pillars dated 1732 and 1733 found in Coffin' Patch during the 70's before the State of Florida shut the area down to salvage divers after a legal dispute over rights between two divers. Your coin could be real if it was truly found there. However as you mentioned, there have been thousands of fakes made of these coins as well. If you can send me clear high resolution scans of the coin by email, I will have a better chance of determining the authenticity of the coin. I suggest you invest $30 or so and send the coin to ANACS or NGC and get it certified "Genuine", that is a very desirable coin if real, even with the heavy sea water corrosion.
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Pillar of the Community
France
1591 Posts |
Can you post clearer pictures (non blurry) ? The easiest way is to take it under sunlight (not when its at the highest though).
Something very important to check as well : the coin's edge.
Some details say genuine to me (high details, double leg on the N) - others are suspect (very clear field VS the edge, excellent details, polished look)
Get clear pictures before mailing it to NGC (in case there are easy hints) - if genuine, you'd better get it graded : as you said those are heavily copied, and that date is pretty expensive (even corroded - that's over 1000 USD)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
685 Posts |
Suspect authenticity. Send it to NGC.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1962 Posts |
RE: "Suspect authenticity", and "other details are suspect (very clear field VS the edge, excellent details, polished look)"... What do you see in particular that makes it suspect - something in the detail or something about the surfaces/manufacture? From a distance, and not checking 1732F varieties, those surfaces certainly could reflect legit 1733 Fleet salvage. On what Mathieu suggested... clear fields but rough rim areas is often from the stacking effect... re: being polished... obviously if legit 1733 Fleet material, it would need to be conserved, and likely would be buffed with something, at least to some degree. A lot of 1733 material you see on the market looks pretty well stripped down to bare silver, and is fairly crummy in general, which related to the point about this one having fairly nice preservation overall. However, there IS some nice 1733 Fleet material out there (such as jfransch has shown us)... I think a lot might be in private hands such as his. Part of the idea behind suspecting this one b/c it's fairly nice, I'm sure, is that logic would dictate that if you wanted to do a replica, maybe you would choose a decent piece for desirability purposes... However, note that this below is a ubiquitous replica prototype that has been used since not long after they started bringing the material up - sort of runs counter to that theory:  |
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Pillar of the Community
France
1591 Posts |
realeswatcher : I did a general check of the picture, but overall I tend to vote for genuine more than bad :)
It would be easier with better pictures, and for sure ... with the coin in hand.
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,471 |
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Posted 09/15/2013 10:49 am
