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 Replies: 66 / Views: 7,491 |
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
what colour would a continental silver coin look like? thanks john
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Assuming you're talking about the so-called Continental Dollar, you could expect to see them in one of three materials: silver, pewter or brass (apparently some of the "pewters" were struck in tin, though). The silvers and pewters I would expect to take the usual route of silver deterioration, with the pewter examples starting life as a little darker and duller than the silvers, ranging from lustrous silver to completely black and corroded. Even the best of the pewters have very little "luster" as we know it.
Now. There are fewer than ten known examples of either the silver or brass mintages; going back to 1993, Heritage Auctions has offered neither type for sale. Stack's sold an AU brass example in 1993 for $207,000. An MS63 pewter example (and there are over a thousand known of these) hammered at $103,500 last week. You can assume that either a silver or brass Continental Dollar, if offered for sale in Mint State, would probably set a new record for a single-coin transaction.
There are, as you would imagine, a large number of counterfeits of this coin. Most of them can be easily identified by the quality of their edges; the original Continental Dollar was minted on crude machinery and the rims tended not to be even.
So, is your interest due to having one in your possession? If so, it would be an excellent learning experience for the forum if you could post photos.
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New Member
 Canada
40 Posts |
I believe you have to have 50 post before you can post photos on this site.
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Here's your coin, John:  The color is correct for pewter. I am not qualified to judge its' authenticity; hopefully someone will come along who knows the issue better than I. Common sense dictates that it's very likely a counterfeit, as it's such a high-value coin and so many fakes exist, but more opinions are necessary. The pictures might be too small for a definitive answer. Can you shoot a pic of the other face? |
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
H Image:  PIX3.jpg87.34 KBere is the picture of the other side. |
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Valued Member
United States
328 Posts |
The toning makes sense for silver, but authenticity is iffy. PCGS could tell you that.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
I know that there is a lot of counterfeit for these coin around.This coin to me looks like a 200 year old coin should look like, by the way the rings in the back are worn down at the highest point by the uneven surface, certain colour to it, also been in my family for over 100 years.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
If it's real, you are a rich man. Send it to any of the 4 TPG for authentication. It's not going to be cheap based on the value if genuine. Just insurance and shipping to a TPG will cost you several hundreds, plus the top-tier price (for coins $50k and up) will run you at least another $100. So I'd bring it to a certified dealer first before you spend the money trying to certify a counterfeit. Edited by 1sikevo
02/24/2008 2:08 pm
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
superdave is there a way to post the pix like you do, thanks john
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1152 Posts |
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
thanks everyone for all help.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
Johnny - Seriously, if you had a 100k coin, will you let some people on the internet verify the authenticy based on some pictures ? Find yourself a reputable coin shop/dealer in your area and have them take a look at it. Then based on their opinion, you may want to have one of the TPGs look at it.
It looks cast to me, but I'm no expert.
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New Member
Canada
40 Posts |
Here is the story how this coin ended up in our possession. My dads great great uncle earl williamsburg lived in boston mass in the late 1800s. He came to visit us around 1975, at the time he would have been 85 years old he was a real adv id coin collector and wanted to pass on this to his family his collection and knowledge of coin collecting.Each relative was going to be given a special coin from his collection when he dies's he passed away 5 years later and this is the coin that my dad end up with.So the history of this coin goes back a long time with our family,Was there ever a counterfeit of this coin back in the late 1800s. This coin can make the expert coin collector look like an amature because of the confusion of the war and very little information on it. I believe there are a lot more coins that are real that our passed as counterfeit than real, but because of the information that we know about this coin it is very hard to prove it, so my advice to anyone that thinks that my have a real 1776 coin is take your time do some research on it, take the little bit of information that we know about the real coin and see if it applies to your coin if not than chuck it up to knowledge well learned and move on.I know I will do more research on our coin and let you know if it is real or fake. thanks
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Sorry but that is a cast fake. And yes there were a LOT of fake Continental dollars made around the time of the centennial and for decades afterward. For every genuine coin there are literally tens of thousands of fakes. The genuine were well made coins which were professionally engraved. The rings on the reverse were strong, even and well formed, not rough and ragged as seen on your coin.
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Replies: 66 / Views: 7,491 |
Posted 02/23/2008 6:18 pm
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PIX3.jpg
