Counterfeit 1898 Morgan & Experimental Images Off New Canon S2 Is

This is a counterfeit 1898 Morgan dollar sent to me by a friend in Singapore. In hand, it looks real enough at first blush, looking like a circulated silver dollar, but a closer look, espcially under a loupe, hand lens, or magnifying glass will show that it is a casting (very fine-grained) and slightly off-cast at that - note the offset of the closeups of the date and reverse (slightly fuzzy). It has absolutely no luster. Weight-wise, an uncirculated authentic Morgan should weigh 412.5 grains; a typical circulated (est G-06) 1879CC Morgan in my collection weighs 398.2 grains; this counterfeit weighs 380.0 grains, not enough to detect in hand. It appears made of a lead-tin or possibly pewter (tin and antimony, bismuth, copper, and/or other metals) alloy, probably the former to keep its weight up.

I'm still experimenting with my new Canon 2S IS working out the techniques. I have not yet been able to find blue photography bulbs, so have tried a variety of screw-in decorator and "flourescent" energy saving bulbs, all without much success - too much yellow (I can't explain the whiteness of the last image). I'm also still playing with the Canon's multitude of settings, but haven't yet found the optimal settings for my coin photography. (For Canoneers, these were taken on "P", Super-Macro and Macro - all handheld. I have a small tripod, but have balance problems. I decided to quit while ahead for these images.)









Fred