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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,111 |
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Valued Member
United States
306 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
764 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
I wonder if the wear is from actual use in circulation? I think contemporary fakes are interesting.  I'll bet it's not pure lead but some alloy similar to pewter to simulate tarnished silver. Edited by KurtS
04/08/2008 5:39 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1208 Posts |
I don't know about it being counterfiet for spending...
It would have cost more than a dollar in labor alone to
make this coin. Doesn't make sense.
That is why crooks don't counterfiet small bills.
It ain't worth it.
Back then, If I was to counterfiet with lead,
I would make a $10 gold coin.
Same weight, just color it gold...
Edited by ratio411
04/08/2008 7:55 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
"It would have cost more than a dollar in labor alone to
make this coin. Doesn't make sense."
Ratio411, perhaps not in current wages and equipment overhead, but probably worth it in the 1880s. $1 bought quite a bit back then.
If you already had the right machinery, the break-even in 1880 might have been worth it.
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Valued Member
United States
393 Posts |
Adjusting for inflation, a Morgan was worth about twenty dollars 127 years ago. So it could have been very lucrative counterfeiting except for getting caught.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
Counterfeiting Morgans seems to be lucrative today, especially if you live in China.  The problem with counterfeiting a gold coin with lead in the middle is, if it gets scratched it's a dead giveaway. Lead and silver are much closer in density, the weight difference between gold and lead would be much more noticeable. Gold has a density of 19.3 g·cm-3, Silver is 10.49 g·cm-3, and Lead is 11.34 g·cm-3. Gold weighs nearly twice what lead does. This is way too in depth for a response, but I had a lot of fun looking it up.   Edited by NGiles
04/08/2008 10:38 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
quote:
Adjusting for inflation, a Morgan was worth about twenty dollars 127 years ago. So it could have been very lucrative counterfeiting except for getting caught.
On the right track but the estimated value is probably a little low. Purchasing power was probably closer to the $30 to $35 range. The average working man earned one to two dollars a day. Once you got your equipment set up, a one or two man operation could probably easily produce a couple months income per day. Think about it. If you couple set up a couple machines in your basement that would allow you do produce a product equal to two months of your income every day would it be worth the effort? Of course the real problem would be the passing of the coins. If you had a magic machine in your basement churning out two months income daily how would you hide your sudden new affluence so as to not attract the attention of your neighbors? Or the government? If you're smart you don't run the machine flat out, but just use it to produce a little extra cash on occasion. |
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Valued Member
United States
393 Posts |
Conder, I agree that $20 is probably low, but I got that from measuringworth.com. Everybody should go to that website, it's real interesting.
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Posted 04/08/2008 5:35 pm
