1883 Morgan Contemporary Counterfeit

The date on that thing is gross.

Among all collectors of counterfeits (not just US varieties) there are two distinctly different approaches to establishing value. These are in addition to the state of preservation and eye appeal.

One approach uses the metallic composition as critical and the other stresses how the coin was made. Some collectors blend the two in a matrix.

For the collectors who favor metal as a determinant of value - the Brittania metal copies, Babbitt metal, pewters and similar white metals are often treated as a single class. I know of no date by date collectors - so you are usually dealing with type collectors who are hunting for one example in each of several categories. For a type collector this one should bring $10-20, depending on how long the collector has been hunting for a decent clean copy. (They are not that common uncut.) Coins with test cuts and holes are $1-5. The electroplated copper alloys (bronzes, brass and pure copper) are typically treated as more valuable than the white metal coins. These might add $5-10 to the price for a coin that is defect free. Sheffield plate (silver fused to German silver or pure copper) is next. This is an older technique that was largely abandoned by 1900 so the coins made this way are scarcer and much harder to find. Prices in the $50 up range would be expected for any decently clean example. The silver counterfeits are king. The assays will vary from debased 600 fine to 900 fine. Some varieties that found their way into Van Allen and Mallis are still trading in the hundreds of dollars especially if they are in PCGS holders. Others have yet to be discovered.

The second method of establishing value is how the coins were made. Here there are two sub categories production and image. Production means were the coins cast or struck. Cast copies are worth much less than struck counterfeits. Some collectors of counterfeits do not even allow a place for "cast examples' in their collections, even if the casting methods appear to be ca 1820 or earlier. [As an aside: There is a minor price difference based on how the edge was treated. Cast edges are usually seen as the least valuable because they show a seam somewhere on the edge. Next are plain edges with a visible casting seam, plain with a casting seam ground away, plain with a casting seam ground away with a subsequent edge detail that was hand applied (irregular reeding cut by hand), then for reeded edges the tapered ring die, then rolled on edges, then struck plain edges and finally closed collar struck edges.]

When you reach struck counterfeits there are two extremes involving image - a perfect transferred image at one end or a perfectly engraved die made from scratch at the other. The transferred image even if perfect is lower in value. Image transfer processes are numerous even for contemporary Morgan dollars because they were circulating coins until the 1960s. Rule of thumb the older the technology the better the price.

The perfect counterfeit is a dream coin - like a white whale. The price for the right collector might be very high.

The problem is that a coin struck from perfect dies might not be easy to distinguish from an original. You need to establish a way to be sure. Good luck. I have tried.

Some near perfect dies have been discovered. Values can be very high running to many hundreds. Most valuable because the dies were hand made NOT MACHINE MADE. Really poorly copied images fall under this high value category. Typically once you get past "nearly" correct then it is better to be really far off.

Actually, your coin is a CRUDE CAST fake. Looks like it is lead. IMO, NOT a contemporary C/F as even a blind man could tell it did not "feel" right.

Skippy... seriously? Read the thread!

Are you sure about this? I know of no law that makes their mere possession illegal. The HPA might make modern unmarked fakes illegal to posses, but contemporary counterfeits made before 1973 don't fall under the HPA.

While my reading of the statutes didn't turn up anything making possession illegal, there is one that requires they be surrendered upon the request by any authorized agent of the Treasury Dept. So it seems you may keep them unless they are specifically asked for. There is also a provision in that statute for the possibility to petition for the their return and if there is no evidence that you intended to use them to violate the law they may be returned.