| Author |
Replies: 18 / Views: 4,910 |
|
New Member
United States
9 Posts |
I found this 1849 Oregon Territory $10 gold piece in the bottom of a creek bed and Cheyenne mountain in Colorado springs Colorado my question is is this coin genuine has there ever been any counterfeit 1849 gold pieces ever found because when I looked this coin up on PCGS even the worst grade in the world goes for $30,000 anybody ever seen anything like this?.. 
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3323 Posts |
Can we see the other side? Also, higher resolution photos will likely be needed. Interesting find!
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21603 Posts |
Compare your coin to an original Oregon gold piece, it is vastly different. I would say yours is some sort of a replica or souvenir piece. Almost forgot  To the CCF
Edited by JimmyD 06/23/2021 4:14 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
2843 Posts |
Picture is a blur, but I believe that there are fakes of any and every valuable coin out there. And lots of not valuable coins too. I am rooting for you, hoping its genuine. The first step would be to determine the metal. Is it gold? What purity? Just one more note. Finding it in a creek does seem to make it more believable, but it is by no means proof of authenticity.
|
|
New Member
United States
26 Posts |
I recently purchased a bag of assorted tokens and coins at an auction that had a counterfeit Mormon gold piece in it. You're looks like a higher quality specimen than the fake that I received so as to its genuineness I don't know. A good place to start is a jewelry store or pawn shop. They can put it on an rf analyzer or metalytics and tell you the composition in under a minute. I believe the Mormon gold coins were 8 to 10 carat.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Reverse image, please.  to the CCF!
|
|
Moderator
 United States
188213 Posts |
 to the Community!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7618 Posts |
Well-focused pictures of both sides of your coin will be needed to assist you. I would be shocked if it were a genuine Oregon 10$ gold piece. It would be nice if it were!  . to the Community! (Edited for punctuation)
Edited by westernsky 06/23/2021 7:41 pm
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Just remember: ALL US gold coins have been faked, even the common ones, the best fakes in .900 gold. leftcoastcoins has shined a true light on the possibility of Mormon gold fakes, which have also been made in good quality gold. The book 'Numismatic Forgery', by Charles M Larson, shows how really convincing such a fake can be. This book was endorsed by none other than a past President of the ANA. Due to the potential value, this coin definitely should be closely examined by a professional expert in this series. I am nowhere near skilled or experienced enough to consider the character of the damage this coin may have sustained in it's exposure in a creek bed. That is most probably how Heritage or some other professional business will establish the veracity of your provenance. If it was taken to Heritage, they would question you to consider the veracity of the provenance. If you wish to sell it, it's authenticity needs to be established, thus Heritage would be a good place to start, to do that. I would trust Heritage in preference to a TPG, whose main job is to grade coins, not verify them. In order for a TPG to protect their own professional butt, if they were unsure about the coin, it would simply not get graded, and so you would have to resort to Heritage anyway, along with some already implied expressed doubt about it.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Almost certainly some sort of worthless fake.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Hard to argue.
Edited by Coinfrog 06/23/2021 9:17 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1788 Posts |
Based on the weak denticles and strike, counterfeit.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
Other than having a beaver on a log and most of the same letters and numbers (the OP coin has an I instead of a T), pretty much everything is wrong compared to a real one. I'm not sure what to think of the story - I suspect there are some people who get their jollies from putting counterfeits where someone else will find them, for whatever reason. Or maybe some kid just tossed their souvenir. I think I've read about metal detecting finds turning out to be fake as well. 
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5826 Posts |
No idea? Test whether it's gold or not, bring it to a coin shop that has one of them XRF machine.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18660 Posts |
i have to go with the majority here. the coin does not look genuine. too many issues. lettering not correct. date not correct. surface and color is not right, tree limb not correct. beaver body shape wrong etc...
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
|
| |
Replies: 18 / Views: 4,910 |