Very Rare Straits Settlements 1878 Cent

$2200?...wow

Krause lists F as $180 and VF as $500

Nice - it definately is worthwhile searching through those low end coins. You'll never know what you can find. Nice one!

That's definitely something I looked at very closely. There is blotchy discoloration on parts of the coin, including part of the date. I checked out the date under 15x magnification and found no evidence of an over-strike or difference in depth of the strike, just a little corrosion and wear.
I don't know much about the serif of the 7, though I can say that I've seen many slight date and legend variations in this series.
I know sometimes you find fakes of these types of coins that are like a brass-colored base metal and has a specific scent and lighter weight. This one is a full 9.3 grams and is copper.
If there are other ways to determine for sure if something has been altered, will you please inform me?
Thanks a bunch!

I am most familiar with the Cap and Ray series of Mexico, but in that case the coin doctors are working overtime making rare dates out of low grade REAL coins. That way the metal and the weight are right. The low grade coins are also unevenly toned, have damage and dirt spots that can be very helpful when covering the work of the dosctor's.

There are a few ways to expose a fake but it depends on how the forgery was done. So often you have to look for different types of clues until you are sure none apply.

The transition between the numerals and the field are CRITICAL. Nothing else on the coin matters but the number 7 and possibly the nimber 8.

First look at the edge - it must be plain. If a doctor started with an 1888 - a very common date - then he has to remove the reeding. The 1888's were reeded and the 1878's were plain. Make sure the edge has not been "made" plain.

Second look for the all important transition between the numeral and the field. You need to find areas with no dirt and intact surfaces. You will need a binocular microscope and a magnification of 100x or 200x to be positive. Even worn coins should have some portions of this transition.

Third if you have a 200x scope focus on the top of the first digit 8 then move the coin over to the 7. If the top surface of the 7 is out of focus you may have a problem. The dies should be cut to the same level - these were not made with individual element punches at this point in time. The same technique can be used to check the level of the field (see below).

If the last digit or last two of the date were ground off and new ones glued on (the easiest and most common technique) you can often remove the letters with acetone. There are some glues that are better and harder to remove - but dirt is often used to cover the seam. Acetone will not harm a coin in this grade so I would start with a soak. If the numbers stay on look for a seam. You may need to remove some of the dirt, but as long as dirt covers a potential seam location you do not know what you have. The process of removing the old digits often damages the field or adjacent numerals so look for that type of damage.

The second technique I see quite often is the deposition of a drop of metal onto the surface from which a new letter or letters are engraved. Often the metal is softer than the original metal to allow for easy engraving. This is far easier to spot and is usually detected with a high power microscopic examination. Once again dirt (like black goop made with carbon black) is often baked onto the coin to hide the lines. Make sure the 7 is a die struck feature - look for traces of flow lines at the transition.

The next technique is very much like the last. It involves lowering the field around the letters involved and they engrave the letters out of the field material. This alteration results in a depressed area around the digits. Once again dirt is used to obscure the work involved.

This coin has the date so far in toward the center that I doubt the addition of a digit from the edge drilling technique could be used - but check the rim for damage at that point anyway. The technique involves a hole being drilled from the edge to a point beneath the number to be added. A die is then inserted and the number is added with pressure. The hole is filled and the evidence at the edge is covered with a rim bump.

One wild technique seen on cobs is the reconstruction of elements with colored plastic applied to the surface. In one case, a friend of mine had a full date 8R cob in which the entire date was made from a dark plastic material that melted away totally when immersed in acetone.

I'm by no means an expert, but I can't see any signs of the date being altered. I still say it's OK.

Swamperbob, I defer to your expertise and I see what you are saying. Can this not also be caused by wear and corrosion?

This is really excellent information. These marks on the 8 would definitely be good evidence for doctoring on a high grade coin, but the surface is so marked up and corroded that it almost seems normal for those cuts in the date, as echizento pointed out. I agree it looks suspicious that the cracks are only on that part of the date.
I think that since this is a low grade coin, it's not as big of a deal. Had it been Unc and doctored that would truly be heartbreaking =)
I'll keep and enjoy it nontheless, just being a little wiser now on how to spot these things.
Thanks swamperbob for this excellent info, I feel like I should pay you for the time and great lesson! =)
Thanks again,
- Dmitry

Without knowing the individual die varieties (actually the hub varieties) I can not be sure at all which date this could be. Actually if I were doing it I would start from an 1876, but this does not seem to be a re-worked 6. The 1874 is the most common so it could be a 74.