Error Or Fake?

Just back from vacation and got your note.

First - the date. This can not be an 1898 because that date uses the "Peso Forte" style eagle not the earlier Republican Peso style bird.

Second - what the heck is the mint mark? CH M The format is mint mark followed by assayer. Cn M would be allowable or Mo M etc. CH M or any three capital letters is wrong and leads to the conclusion that you have a Fantasy Counterfeit.

Third - the doubling is very nice but the pictures are rather grainey so I can't see if anything else is "doubled".

Fourth - there are hints of a collar seam - but this can be found on originals of the era. Machinery used in this series was often worn and quality control suffered in the period so a collar seam is not as bad a problem as at other times.

Next is value which will hinge on age. So I have a series of questions.

1. Is the coin silver?
2. What does it weight?
3. What does the edge look like?
4. Are the die surfaces smooth or rough?

Definitely very interesting to a fantasy collector like myself and worth MORE than either silver melt or Numismatic value of a real coin in the equivalent condition.

Sounds like you have a Contemporary Circulating Fantasy - the weight being correct means the coin must be silver - or too big - usually too thick. I guess it could be a lead antimony alloy (close to SG of silver) but those have a greasy feel and are rarely accepted as real. The color does look like the lead antimony mix.

Is the reeding applied with a ring die - roller die or does it look like a three part press?

The Ring die produces split top and split tail reeds.
The roller die produces an overlap in the reeding.
The collared press produces reeding that is uniform with no lap.

Any chance it is a casting? You say smooth fields so I conclude that casting can be eliminated from the mix.

Given the weight and two obvious errors - I am leaning toward the coin being worth about $20. I would definitely get a bid like that from myself.