How Does One Tell If A Racketeer Coin Is A Real/Original Racketeer Coin?

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 6,484
casualcoincollector Pillar of the Community United States 574 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 03:32 am Hello, How does one tell whether or not a Racketeer coin is most likely a real/original racketeer? Rather than just a reproduction after the fact. Let's say for the purpose of this topic that a real/original racketeer coin is any coin that is altered in order to try to deceive someone into believing that it is another coin of higher face value than the original coin for the purpose of circulating that coin in general circulation for a profit. I have a small collection of racketeer nickels and one racketeer 20 cent piece and I know that it is pretty much impossible to truly ascertain whether or not these pieces are actually real/original racketeers and were actually intended for general circulation without full provenance but my question is what qualities would a real/original racketeer coin most likely need to possess in order to be considered real/original? Below are the racketeers in my collection: 1875 S Racketeer 20 Cent Piece with a hand cut reeded edge in order to deceive people into thinking it was a quarter: 1883 No Cents Liberty nickel gold plated with a hand cut reeded edge in order to deceive people into thinking it was a five dollar gold piece: 1883 No Cents Liberty nickels gold plated or gold washed with a most likely machine cut reeded edge in order to deceive people into thinking it was a five dollar gold piece: 1896 Liberty nickel gold plated with the word cents Removed with what I think is a hand cut reeded edge: Please let me know what you think and your thoughts on the matter. Also, if you have any, please post your Racketeers! Edited by casualcoincollector 11/17/2017 04:00 am Report this Post to the Staff

spru Bedrock of the Community United States 12477 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 04:10 am Thanks for the pics! I would like to have a Racketeer V nickel. I don't see any way to reasonably discern a contemporaneous example from a modern creation. 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 Report this Post to the Staff
Fuzzy317 Moderator United States 14463 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 04:19 am Here is mine, but I don't know if it is modern or classic Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 34397 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 06:41 am Just my opinion here: similar to how reprocessed steel cents tend to have pristine plating over clearly worn details, I think that if the so-called racketeer nickel has really sharp detail remaining, then it is more likely to have been contemporaneous. If you've got a G-4 example with a shiny new plating surface; however, my thought is that some dude probably plated it last week. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb "The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz Report this Post to the Staff
aristarchus123 Pillar of the Community United States 1695 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 08:24 am The general question is how to date PMD. The best I can say is trying to date the methods used. Report this Post to the Staff
moxking Rest in Peace United States 17900 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 10:07 am A differentiation of the plating content and possibly the thickness of the plating might help establish groups. Deciding which group is the contemporary plating would still be difficult to establish. Report this Post to the Staff
Andrew99 CCF Advertiser United States 1533 Posts	Posted 11/17/2017 3:15 pm Same issue with Hobo nickels. They go for big money, but I can't tell if they were done last week or not. Report this Post to the Staff
nautilator Valued Member United States 330 Posts	Posted 11/18/2017 4:03 pm Quote: I think that if the so-called racketeer nickel has really sharp detail remaining, then it is more likely to have been contemporaneous. This is what I've seen/been told as well. If they were passed as frauds then it would've been done so when they were new, not well-worn. If it was used, there should be areas where the plating has worn away. Report this Post to the Staff
casualcoincollector Pillar of the Community United States 574 Posts	Posted 11/21/2017 05:37 am Quote: I think that if the so-called racketeer nickel has really sharp detail remaining, then it is more likely to have been contemporaneous I've heard this too and I agree with it. The other things that I have heard is that the bulk but not all of the real/original racketeer nickels had a reeded edge as well, and that if it has a reeded edge and looks like it had a mount removed it was most likely a souvenir pendent and was not intended for general circulation. Edited by casualcoincollector 11/21/2017 05:39 am Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 6,484

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