Archraz - Actually my statement "made while the US was still very young" was more of a reference to the age of the coin and not an opinion about origin. Until I see the coin and examine how it was made I have no clear opinion on origin.
But the question about the specific origin of a given counterfeit issue is a very valid question.
Before getting into the question of origins, I need to preface my remarks by saying that Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits made before the Civil War are difficult at times to distinguish from later Numismatic frauds. But the distinction is CRITICAL. IT MUST be made and made accurately. It may effect the legality of retaining a counterfeit and it invariably effects the VALUE of a counterfeit as a collector's item. It is in this arena of study that I have spent most of my time as a collector/researcher.
But here goes an answer. The identities of specific forgers is unfortunately a very rarely known fact. I wish I could say otherwise but 99% of counterfeits are anonymous works. There are numerous instances of counterfeiters being caught and brought to justice, however, it is very rare for their handiwork to have been copied in a picture of any sort. The early banking newspapers used line drawings that were hideous. The representations are usually of originals not counterfeit coins. The most you normally get in a period publication is a date and possibly a country of origin. That is rarely enough to tie together the counterfeit coin and the forger.
However, I do know of one case where a counterfeit die for an 8R was preserved by a Rhode Island Historical Society after the forger was apprehended. The die impression was transferred in the past few decades so that medals could be struck with the image of the forgery on one side. Using this medal it is possible to hunt for that one counterfeit type and link it to an actual person. But that is a single isolated case and I for one have never been successful in finding a copy.
The Boston forgeries were uncovered by an accidental discovery of a contract for production. But even in that case, the dates of the coins was not given and the company mentioned was only one of several who were doing the same business. Once again the type is distinguished by the way they were made.
The discovery of a Riddell type linked to Attleboro, Mass depends upon the accuracy of a story I heard years ago from a man who attended an auction where a counterfeit die pair and some forged coins were sold.
Even in the case of the Birmingham forgeries. Perhaps the best documented major forgery case involving perhaps hundreds of thousands of copies - all we really have is a list published by the government of Spain listing the dates, mints and assayer initials involved. Individual coins are placed in the "Birmingham" category by similarity of type and manufacture.
For many years I have been building forgery family trees. The easiest links are the mules that you find. One Cap is mated with two eagles and each eagle is then mated with other caps. All the dies are closely related. Those caps used other eagles and gradually you build a family tree. Less obvious are the similar dies that share identical punches for say an eagle itself or for a Cap. The links here are more tentative but often far larger. Then there are the styles of engraved dies linked by artistic similarity. When you get done there are a lot of "linked" dies but the questions about where were they made remain.
That is when geography of distribution comes into play. Where did the coins come from and when? I routinely ask that question. The data in one case may or may not be accurate but over years trends of distribution start to appear. Dug coins are very good sources of data also. Some forgeries are common in the south but rare in the North. Others are seen usually in Canada but never in say Mexico.
Knowing where coinage (or jewelry) was made allows for theories to develop as to where original production was located. This also goes for technology and materials used. A German Silver item that is linked by hard evidence to an 1836 date of production would be of necessity a US product NOT a Mexican product. GS manufacture in 1836 in Mexico did not in fact could not have occurred.
It is a jig saw puzzle with a lot of pieces missing. You try to see the picture by theories about what went in the gaps.
This is all complex and not proof positive, but it is the best there is until the facts start to converge. For instance, the distribution of the Riddell 234 coin (the majority by a wide margin trace to the Northeast US) absolutely matched the story I heard about production of that coin in Attleboro. The fact that Riddell knew the coin but only in ONE variety (which was the earliest based on die states) points to the success of the type because of wide distribution but confirms that the NE US is a far more likely origin than say England or Mexico.
One concluding thought. Above I tried to stress the difference between a Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit and a Numismatic fraud. The book published by John L. Riddell in 1845 is the best possible starting point because it represents a snapshot in time. Being published in 1845 , all of the coins pictured in it were made before that date. In fact, the majority were taken from circulation in New Orleans between roughly 1839 and 1844. Those 290 plus counterfeits are KNOW to be contemporary. It is through the careful study of those coins that patterns form which allows additional coins to be added to the Contemporary list.
For a collector of contemporary counterfeits it is a Bible of sorts.
jfransch I agree completely that
ebay could do better and a board of experts is a great approach. I would volunteer in a minute. But I also understand some of
ebay's legal issues. I just wish a meeting in the middle could take place. It only makes sense. I also agree that removal of identities is a problem and that has caused an INCREASE in fraudulent auctions not a reduction.
and Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits which are often rare, always of historical interest and sometime quite valuable 
.
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It is a great counterfeit in my opinion, made while the US was still very young. It is properly attributed and 
BECAUSE 
Posted 07/15/2009 02:48 am
