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 Replies: 16 / Views: 1,694 |
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Valued Member
United States
127 Posts |
Got a call from an elderly friend today in desperate need of cash with an 1888-S for sale. Given the brass undertones on both sides, I suspected a fake but gave him the money he needed anyway. He did have it loose in a box with some brass jewelry, so I thought there was a chance it could be gently wiped clean. At home now, and I see the weight is 25.1 gr. There are some bad tool marks to left and right of date. My question....any chance it could be real? If not, what are the dead giveaways so I can learn more. I have no ill regrets, he's old and blind and needed cash. So I'm calliing it a gift. Here are the pics:   |
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Valued Member
United States
465 Posts |
Hard to tell and I'm no expert but to me it looks polished,
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Pillar of the Community
United States
505 Posts |
At that weight, it's definitely brass with a silver plating that's beginning to wear away. It is probably a decently old counterfeit but fake nonetheless.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
It appears that you have a counterfeit as the coin is a little under weight. The S mint mark is out of position for any genuine 1888 s example. On the OP example the top of the S mint mark is above the bottom of the ribbon. On the genuine examples the top of the S is at the bottom of the ribbon or lower. The denticles look off.
Edited by Slider23
02/05/2024 5:13 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5238 Posts |
The underweight is a dead giveaway. The US mint was quite scrupulous is ensuring that the coinage was the correct weight.
And that was a nice thing to do for someone who needed cash. It also preserved their dignity.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Some sort of counterfeit, definitely. Lots of bubbles and marks.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Moderator
 United States
34393 Posts |
Any thoughts as to whether this likely was a circulating counterfeit vs. a relatively modern fake made for the collector market? I ask because wouldn't a circulating counterfeit have a modest value?
"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
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1484 Posts |
Devices are soft/mushy and the S mintmark is wrong. The eagle's wings are far too close to the beginning and end of IGWT.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
I'd think a collector of counterfeits would quite like to own this.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
For me the dead giveaway is the color. It's all off. It should be a nice silvery white. This one has a bajillion colors going on.
Edited by jpsned
02/05/2024 6:39 pm
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Valued Member
 United States
127 Posts |
All good to know, but at least he has food tonight. I stopped and bought him a burger and he wolfed it down in three bites. I don't think he had eaten for some time. No regrets, and I learned something too. Thanks all.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1484 Posts |
Agree with @Spence that it would be nice to know the provenance of this fake, if your elderly friend knows where/when he acquired it.
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Moderator
United States
34393 Posts |
Quote:
No regrets, and I learned something too. Yes. Maybe you didn't receive a numismatic prize, but you did a nice thing today. "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
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Valued Member
United States
127 Posts |
Halfamind - his dad gave it to him as a child. He cherished that coin, so I will give it back as a Christmas present. I never really meant to keep it, and I knew the moment I looked at it that it wasn't real. But that means nothing to the man who held on to it all these years.
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
Quote:
He cherished that coin, so I will give it back as a Christmas present  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8515 Posts |
WTG Paul, you did a good thing.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
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Replies: 16 / Views: 1,694 |
Posted 02/05/2024 5:04 pm
