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 Replies: 10 / Views: 4,994 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1599 Posts |
Hope this is the right place for this. My daughters father in law asked me to look at some coins his father had. I have never dealt with any fractional gold before and need some expert opinion of this coin. My scale weighs it at .2 grams; diameter is 9.93 mm and .40 mm thick. The coin just does not look right to me (and it is in horrible shape), but again, I have no experience with these. Help appreciated. Is it real, any opinions on value?   |
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Pillar of the Community
7234 Posts |
Damn, IF it is real it is horribly "whizzed" (cleaned) I hope other knowledgeable people chime in! To me it's worth a touch above melt. Unless it's a rarity.
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Pillar of the Community
7234 Posts |
After looking at the Obverse again it kinda looks like a cast counterfeit - just doesn't have the smooth fields from an original US minted coin!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Slightly underweight but approximately correct planchet size (2.3g/10mm is the "technical" standard); appears to be the late disintegrating die state of BG-813, the "Fat Head" or "Large Liberty" round fractional. Early die states can be found prooflike and R5+, average AU/UNC examples are R2+ to R3 which is fairly common among fractional issues.
My guess is that the reverse marks are from a clumsy removal from solder or mounts, and the obverse appearance is due to an extremely harsh cleaning, ruined dies, and maybe someone who misunderstood the concept of an "acid test."
It would need non-destructive testing to determine the content, which could be anywhere from 5-7 kt gold down to gold plated base metal. The value on these is mostly historical and numismatic, and with the amount of damage here, even if it's an authentic fractional gold token, I wouldn't expect to get much money for it. It's better off being saved as a family heirloom or souvenir, and it's still a neat conversation piece.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Quote:
After looking at the Obverse again it kinda looks like a cast counterfeit - just doesn't have the smooth fields from an original US minted coin! These were minted by small independent companies in California after the Gold Rush period; most were crudely designed and struck by hand and/or using old technology, on hand-cut planchets of widely varying quality, shape, and size. They were not minted by the US, but by people whose previous experience was in mining, smithing, and smelting, not engraving, die sinking, and minting. Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Quote:
After looking at the Obverse again it kinda looks like a cast counterfeit - just doesn't have the smooth fields from an original US minted coin! @Mark1959: These are not U.S. Mint issues. Here's a genuine example for reference: https://coins.ha.com/itm/california...Lot=1x=0&y=0Quote:
Slightly underweight but approximately correct planchet size (2.3g/10mm is the "technical" standard); @paralyse: I think you meant 0.23g and not 2.3g. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
BH1964, yup. Thank you for the edit.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I have a similar coin I did a little research on and agree that the design and quality would be crude in a lot of cases for authentic coins.
I found mine most likely to be a brass mid-20th Century reproduction because of the bear depiction which, I read, was never used on the originals.
I would agree that testing the metal content and purity would be a good thing to do no matter what.
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
The rim above the bust looks like flaked plating, and it looks like rust stain above the date.The reverse lettering is sharp and it looks to me like it was struck rather than cast. I'd guess a late strike using old dies and plated steel planchets. In addition to the PCGS coinfacts, Mike Locke is a good contact in understanding the fractionals. He's probably the best person to tell you what you have, and might be able to do it with your pictures. http://www.calgoldcoin.com"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
12/26/2016 08:58 am
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
This is an authentic california gold coin. Many of the later period california gold coins in the 1800s were made with plated gold over base gold.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 4,994 |
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Posted 12/25/2016 10:03 pm
