ncsuwolf74 Here is my take on value of counterfeits.
First a counterfeit is worth just as much as you are willing to spend for it.
That is not as curious as it sounds. There are not that many collectors of counterfeits active today. Many are incorrectly labelled and get missed by some of us on each auction. But if two people are really interested in the same counterfeit - you need deep pockets. Buy Bids can be dangerous.
I collect primarily Cap and Ray 8R counterfeits made during the US Hard Times when there was a hard money shortage. That era 1835-1845 is the period when counterfeiting flourished in the US in particular. The need for some kind of change meant more forgers were at work but it also meant that even identified obvious counterfeits seemed to circulate as some form of token currency. This was likely informal and local but there are many worn out counterfeits that spent years kicking around.
To answer your question about value more directly you need to consider many factors. You are correct that for common date coins sometimes counterfeits are worth as much or more that genuine coins in the same grades. Rare types were not normally counterfeited so a rare date, mint, grade or variety should be looked at with MORE caution since it is more likely to be a numismatic forgery.
So first you must be sure that a coin is an actual counterfeit and not a numismatic forgery. Counterfeits were made to circulate as money alongside genuine coins. Those are historic and old so they tend to be the most valuable. Numismatic forgeries made to defraud collectors are essentially worthless because they may still be in production (like the Chinese fakes). Some collectors like myself do collect them but I limit myself to $15 over actual intrinsic value. Odd looking NF types can attract me to pay more but not often.
So I advise caution because several coins which were called "contemporary counterfeit" on
ebay in the past few weeks were actually Numismatic Forgeries. A couple have sold for what I consider to be outlandish prices.
Some counterfeit examples are recovered from shipwrecks. A shipwreck provides (in most cases) a guaranteed made no later than (sinking) date of manufacture. Those are very rare and when noticed can go upwards of $500.
Coins listed in Riddell's book an 1845 publication also create an effective known date of manufacture. So Riddell coins tend to sell for more, but are rarely properly identified by the sellers.
In my opinion actual scarcity tops condition for most counterfeits. I say this because some of the examples seen in Riddell's 1845 book are still unknown to exist in any condition and some are known from only 1 or 2 examples. So if you want to try to assemble the full Riddell list of near 290 counterfeit varieties good luck. I sit at about 112 right now and I know of few collections that have more varieties.
I chart rarity of the various types and that more than any other factor will influence my decisions on prices.
Struck counterfeits tend to be worth more than casts because more people are interested. Cast counterfeits conversely attract fewer bidders. Some counterfeit collectors avoid casts altogether, but I see that as extreme.
Crude or outlandish designs tend to attract more bidders that counterfeits that are very close to original in appearance. Fantasy dates, mint marks and assayers also attract more interest often from very gullible buyers who think they have discovered a new variety (similar to calling your coin a Guanajuato mint coin with no o.)
In addition the alloy used gets involved because the higher the silver content of the fake the more likely a counterfeit would be melted to recover the silver. Since Base metal strikes survive in far higher percentages condition plays more of a role with them.
In the early 1800s, platinum was a waste metal thought to be valueless. I some rare cases platinum was substituted for silver. More often Pt was substituted for gold.
Now for your coin: The coin that you have is part of a large family of related dies that can be tied to coins in Riddell's book meaning they do generally date to the Hard Times era. That is a plus for me and I place the related to Riddell counterfeits very close in value to actual examples of plate coins.
Your coin is made from VERY common dies used on hundreds of known surviving examples. That is a negative favoring a lower price.
The die pair itself the 1844 G PM mated with the "Beautiful eagle" is also a very common mating. The G mint is a fantasy so you can think of them as offsetting and call that a wash.
The great majority of examples of this family are made of German Silver a worthless base metal. That is a simple fact. About 90% of the coins I have examined from this family (about 500) are GS. Survival rates for any base metal counterfeit are high. Specifically for early GS types so are destructive test cuts and V shaped edge cuts to recover metal for fire assay. When German silver first came on the market business men were cautious and tended to scratch the coins to see if copper showed below a thin outer layer.
Your coin is well above average condition for the type and family. It has almost no detracting marks and no test cuts or drill holes. This is big plus for a common variety.
In open competitive bidding I would value the coin at about $125 - $150 and that would be my limit.
If this coin was in a
TPG holder - add $100 for NGC or PCGS. If it got by ANACS the premium would be higher at least $125-150 but all other grading services would rate little to no premium - for me anyway.
The same coin in VF with test cuts or scratches would only interest me to a $25-35 level. Low grade or drilled would not attract any bid.
If your coin was 80% silver (the highest known silver content for that family), the price would be much higher. VF with test cuts $75, no test cut VF $125. If your coin tests 80% silver, I would value it in the $250 - 300 range or about double the base metal price.
There are also collectors who are interested in the test cuts themselves so odd methods of cancelation (for example a punch spelling "COUNTERFEIT" stamped into the coin) can add value. Also counterfeits re-tasked for another purpose like workhouse tokens, business store cards or theater cards are very popular.
Hope that helps. I am very glad to hear that you like these little coins with the dark history.
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Posted 03/28/2019 12:48 pm
