Counterfeits From Ebay

Today was a very good day at the Post Office, I had not been in 3 days because of ill health - several ebay items arrived and a couple represent the "exceptions that prove the rule."

The first I opened was the following:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...120010897326

There is a rule in counterfeit collecting that runs sort of like this. "A counterfeit of a rare or scarce coin type is MODERN." That is because the vast majority of period (Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits) forgeries are common coins. But this coin is the exception. I won it for openers - a steal by my standards because it is a contemporary Sheffield Plate copy of a two year type - the KM 107. It is possibly associated with the Riddell # 50 but proving that connection may be impossible.

The reason I see it as odd is that counterfeiters were prone to copy very common coins so they could slip their coins past undetected.

Just in case anyone wants to know what a Sheffield Plate is here is a brief explaination from a web site I like:

http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/sheffplate.htm

The second coin I bid on because I suspected it might be a fake - I was not positive but when I opened it it absolutely is a fake. The age is not certain but I believe it is a Hard Times era casting made in off metal (high copper content). The coin is correct weight but is far too thick. The molds are very well done but the grain is apparent. This is a transfer mold made from a real coin but a few features were recut on the mold because the details had not transferred well. My suspicions were raised by the color - the verdegris (copper corrosion) on the coin is hinted at in the green tint on the scan. The surface texture was the second feature most visible at about 10 o'clock on the Cap side. Finally the poorly executed denticulation on the eagle side is also readily visible. In person, under 30X the forgery is much clearer. The only recut features clear on the scan are the eagle's left foot (the claws are far too long) and the lower branch of the laurel branch (the stem on the right side of the eagle die.) Both were recut crudely on the mold. One of the worst features in person is the edge - it is lumpy with extra metal and CRACKS running along the edge near the center of the coin (that is not where an edging die fractures).

What makes this a possible "exception" coin is that early castings are RARELY executed this well.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...260008790208

I also received a nice period copy of an Irish Bank Token - this is a common period forgery a brass casting that was tinned to make it look like silver. This one was properly described but the seller called it "silver plated". I am very sure this is tinned because silver electroplate was not available until long after these were demonetized. The typical copy is washed with a silver like paint or tinned. In addition an electroplate is a different color than coin silver because it is a layer of PURE silver and coin silver is alloyed with copper.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...120006946274

The next one to arrive is a bit of an oddity - it is a coin button. These were very popular on Military Uniforms in the 1800s. Buttrey and Hubbard devoted a chapeter to them in their Sixth Edition of the Standard Catalog of Mexican Coins. But this one is odd - it reads 4R but is actually the size of an 8R. I have no reason why that would be done. These super large buttons are odd by virtue of their size. The typical button is a 1R (dime) or 2R (quarter) size. I don't know what these big ones were for but I suspect they were a sash button of some sort.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...330002327302

This final one is Bolivian - also a counterfeit and in my opinion it is definitely pre-Civil War. Many counterfeits are multiple strikes. They are usually made on fairly low pressure presses and at times they need more than one strike to set the design. I person the fields are terrible and there are THREE strikes not two. The metal will require further analysis but appears to be a tin alloy with some lead. The surface texture is greasy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...330004005073