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 Replies: 9 / Views: 7,296 |
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. I'm 71 years old and a retired electronics engineer. Retired from Northrop Grumman after 42 years. I collect vintage recording, stamps, piano rolls. I'm a casual coin collector with mostly proof sets and modern coins. I bought a small box of coins at an estate sale for $10.00, mostly foreign junk with a few Indian cents, Mercury dimes and Buffalo nickels. Anyway, one coin is about the size of a half dollar, looks like silver and has Confederate states of America on it and is marked 50 cents. I scanned it and if I can figure out how to attach it I will. I just inserted a larger picture.   Identified - moved to Exonumia forum - SapEdited by kalight
12/06/2010 12:20 pm
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
 to CCF. I am sure someone will come along shortly and help you out.
John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
The pic is too small to tell anything. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
Shouldn't a heraldic eagle be on there?
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Moderator
United States
188213 Posts |
to the Community! I moved your post to the identification forum so more people can comment. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
Welcome to the forum!
My vote is that it's a fantasy piece. What's the date on it, looks like 1862? Early Civil War. The strike looks modern though.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
It is a fantasy issue of a Confederate Half Dollar. There was a real one but it used an 1861-O half dollar obverse design with a completely different Confederate reverse. The design of your half dollar is actually based on a prototype CSA cent. |
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New Member
 United States
1 Posts |
Thank you for your reply, do you think it's silver? Who may have struck it? Is it old? lastly is it worth anything? Karl
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New Member
United States
18 Posts |
Check out csacurrency.com.Could be a private token during the centenial.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4415 Posts |
Yes, this is a fantasy token, meaning nothing like it ever existed in the era it appears to represent; this, as opposed to a replica of some coin or token that was contemporary to the era. Your item is the sort often sold to tourists at Civil War sites. Hamilton may well be correct about this being a 1960's era item. It's not likely silver. Try balancing a silver half or dollar on one finger and striking that with another coin - the "ping & ring" test. Listen to the sustained ring. Then perform the same test with your token. I doubt that it will ring, but if it does, it may contain silver. Short of doing a specific gravity test, this method works well. I've long thought that the " Red Book" should devote some pages to illustrating and describing some of these commonly seen fantasy items ... Just my Two Cents! |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 7,296 |
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Posted 12/05/2010 4:08 pm
