A Counterfeit 1861-O Half & Phony C.s.a. ID Disk ...

Not necessarily counterfeit, but has engraving after it left the mint. Description is deceiving though.

He doesn't even show the reverse on most of his coins...

I can assure you that this fake NEVER left the mint. THIS IS A COUNTERFEIT, NOT a coin. These are all the same, pot metal. I've personally examined a dozen or more of these. There is nothing original, contemporary to the Civil War, about these pieces. They started popping up in the 1990's.

Don't believe me ... here's a link to read: http://www.realorrepro.com/article/...cation-discs

Another link: http://www.relicman.com/fakes/zfakeIdentify.htm

These fakes are sufficiently deceptive so as to fool many a dealer, but they are underweight and if scrutinized closely, they bear but a slight resemblance to a coin.

A number of actual Civil War soldier's names were used. Thus, if one researches the soldier, they may be inclined to suspect a particular piece is genuine. However, if one does a simple Google search, they should be able to stumble upon info about these fakes. My hope is that, the more postings there are, about these and other fakes, the more chances collectors have to get informed.

A longtime dealer at the Dalton, GA show had one of these in his case. Coincidentally, I had one of my similar fakes in my pocket. I had brought it to the show because another dealer had asked me about these at a prior show, and I had brought it to show him. While he was disappointed to see that his piece was a fake, he immediately removed it from his case. I encouraged him to share this knowledge with other collectors and dealers. Southern folks who seek out CSA collectibles are particularly vulnerable when it comes to buying these fakes.

In my travels, I also encourage dealers and fellow collectors to find the CCF online. As SSuperDave says, "This is what we do!"

52Raymo ... Thanks for the kindly feedback. I too enjoy the learning aspect of the CCF. Never too old, I guess!

BTW, I did report the item, since the seller never amended his listing. He may well have a problem with this sale when/if the buyer starts showing his purchase around. It's at $57 now, and could well sell in the hundreds. Having studied and collected Civil War ID disks for over thirty years now, I have yet to see a genuine piece from the Confederacy. Another item to be extremely wary of is a so-called "slave tag." There are genuine ones of those, issued by the City of Charleston, but many replicas exist.

It's at $76 now with under two hours left. I wonder how long it will take the buyer to realize that he didn't purchase a genuine coin, much less even a relic of the Civil War?

At $89, the buyer didn't get stung as badly as others I've seen. Looks like the buyers are getting more wary. Still, this fake will likely trade hands, again and again, for outrageous prices in the years ahead.