Unidentified Silver Coin Heraldic Reverse. Draped Bust? Trial Strike? Counterfeit?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,200
jacrispies Pillar of the Community United States 3848 Posts	Posted 11/13/2021 11:12 pm This is a new posting on ebay, so not my pics. A silver coin with a heraldic eagle reverse and a capped bust obverse. Except it is the right-facing capped bust design only seen on gold coins. The seller says there is no visible edge lettering or reeding, but any remaining detail could have been worn away. He thinks it could be a "non regal issue or test strike" for the heraldic eagle reverse design. Specifications: Diameter: 34mm Weight: 10.56 grams Width: 1.5mm (about the same as a lettered edge half dollar) The draped bust half dollars are 32.5mm in diameter with a weight of 13.48 grams, and the capped bust $10 gold pieces with this exact design are 33mm with a weight of 17.50 grams. I know... I know... This coin is pretty much a silver disk, but this anomaly has me curious. As far as I know this isn't silver. It just looks silver. Does anybody know anything about this piece? P.S. 500 posts Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955 Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. Edited by jacrispies 11/14/2021 02:40 am Report this Post to the Staff

MisterT Pillar of the Community United States 2003 Posts	Posted 11/14/2021 01:44 am Why not try a specific gravity test to see if it falls around 10.33 or close to it to confirm if the composition is silver or not? Also I think you meant to refer to it as Draped bust, not Capped Bust. Report this Post to the Staff
MisterT Pillar of the Community United States 2003 Posts	Posted 11/14/2021 01:51 am Oh yeah, the design on the gold $10 (Liberty Cap) is closer in design and diameter than your dimensions. Curious what others have to say about this. Report this Post to the Staff
MisterT Pillar of the Community United States 2003 Posts	Posted 11/14/2021 02:22 am After further consideration I believe that it is likely a forgery of a $10 Liberty Cap. That is what the design elements suggest. Looks like there are still traces of possible gold plating remaining. May be silver or other base metal intended to be plated. Specific Gravity Test should reveal the composition. The diameter is close enough that a novice probably wouldn't notice. The weight would be extremely underweight however. Report this Post to the Staff
jacrispies Pillar of the Community United States 3848 Posts	Posted 11/14/2021 02:47 am Quote: After further consideration I believe that it is likely a forgery of a $10 Liberty Cap. That is what I was thinking. But how could a counterfeit get so much circulation without being detected? You'd think that when the gold plating started to wear, then people would get suspicious. Genuine coins hardly get this much wear. Thanks for the response and observations. Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955 Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. Report this Post to the Staff
MisterT Pillar of the Community United States 2003 Posts	Posted 11/14/2021 3:00 pm I'm thinking that perhaps it was such a poor forgery that it was intentionally worn to hide the flaws. Looks like there may be some casting bubbles in front of the mouth area. It may also be a brass disc which was plated with nickel and intended to be plated with gold for the final step. I have a counterfeit Trade dollar which is silver plated over a brass core and displays the same type of raised pimples like those in front of the mouth on this piece. The process was probably abandoned after discovering that the weight was so far off for this piece. Just my thoughts but don't take it for fact. I'd still like to hear what those more experienced than I have to say about this strange coin. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 11/17/2021 06:47 am It's definitely supposed to be a heraldic ten dollar gold piece. I would suspect a counterfeit that has been used as a pocket piece but a contemporary counterfeit or a more modern one I couldn't be sure. I would probably lean toward it being a contemporary fake. Report this Post to the Staff
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