Hello again
larrydog Underweight cobs may have been salvaged from a wreck site (as thq indicates) or they may be from a land burial site in reactive wet soil. This is because silver and copper do erode under adverse conditions and the chemical byproducts often wash away over time leaving a lightweight coin. However such erosion eats into the coin from the outside in and the alteration of the surface appearance is very obvious. On your coin there is some apparent corrosion but by no means enough to remove almost 6 grams of metal. A cob that has an apparently intact surface and is underweight falls into one of the following categories:
1.
It may be genuine but clipped, shaved, drilled, hollowed out and filled or filed on the edges to steal silver. In fact the practice of stealing silver from the edges of coins is why crude coins like the cobs were not successful in circulation and are the actual reason the authorities began to add perimeter and edge designs to the coins to prevent the practice. So examine the edges in particular and all surfaces looking for the marks of alteration. On the edge look closely for areas that look like they might have been cut and scratched differently than the surrounding areas of the edge. Even look for color changes. Most of this class will be sold as genuine, however, to comply with
ANA rules all defects and alterations should be noted by the seller. Even if Caveat Emptor Rules apply (Let the buyer beware) the seller does not get a free pass and could be reported to
ANA for sanction if he is a member. Like any other altered coin the extent of the damage effects the value. Be very cautious as it will be difficult to sell these coins and you may not recover the purchase price.
2.
The coin may be fraudulent but at the same time it might be a mint made fraud These are known to have happened when crooks ran or were employed by mints. They are generally referred to as "Debased originals" which includes the physically underweight coins or the coins using too little silver. These coins unlike category 1 types have not been altered after they left the mint. They were made light weigh or with bad alloys in the mint and were placed into legal channels for use. They will normally trade on a par with full weight genuine examples because the exterior surfaces of the coin have not been altered. So in this case weigh the coin and then check the specific gravity of the coin. A check of the design is needed to make sure the dies used were genuine (matched design) and that no evidence of a fraudulent die exists. Remember at this time in history the value of any coin in circulation was the actual metal content of the coin, not the "fiat" or legal value expressed by the design. An underweight coin or a coin with a shorted assay might not be accepted in commerce and the passer could be charged with passing (uttering) a counterfeit. Today most of this type are treated as genuine collectables, but once again a strict interpretation of
ANA rules requires a factual disclosure. Re-sale may be difficult but should be easier than with a type 1 above.
3.
The coin may be fraudulent but made outside the mint. There are two main types here that are based on the original motive behind manufacture. Contemporary counterfeits of this type are collectable and valuable but recently made examples are numismatic frauds and are almost worthless and a danger to the hobby.
3.A.
Contemporary Counterfeits These coins were made for circulation to defraud people in general commerce at the time when the original coins were in circulation. These are collected as historical items. They are legal to own and allowable under
ANA rules if properly described. They do not fall under the Hobby Protection Act.
3.B.
Numismatic Forgeries These coins were made to be sold to collectors as if they were genuine. They are fraudulent and sales of this type are a criminal offense under commerce and fraud statutes. They can be legally sold ONLY if they are stamped (incuse) with the legend "COPY" in accordance with the Hobby Protection Act as amended. (The HPA only applies to the US - Production and sale of Fraudulent copies of coins is legal in many world markets - so know local laws.) These NF types are actually worth their melt value only. Specialists will at times pay a small amount above melt to examine and test various types and retain them for their educational value.
As for the photos you posted, my opinion is that the coin likely falls in Category 3. The design looks too crude to me to be believable, but I could be wrong since I gave up doing cobs years ago as noted earlier. If the design is known to be correct for a known 8R issue of Philip (?) then I would look closely at the edge along the left side of the shield. There appears to be a straight cut line in the surface (face) of the cob that is out of place. It may have been clipped. One thing about clipping - some fraudulent coins (old and new) were edge cut to look at the center metal and to get a piece of the coin for a destructive assy.
Posted 07/18/2021 8:37 pm
