Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar *** UPDATE ***

[Half-Hound]

November 10, 2010
(U.S. Marine Corps Birthday)

Update on Trade Dollar Pattern Coin: It is counterfeit.

I spoke with a buyer from a reputable coin dealer who within seconds of seeing an online .jpg image of the coin made her decision. She said the coin probably is silver, and could have been made yesterday or 100 years ago. The conversation was OVER!

The coin is still an interesting piece to me, if to no one else. Thanks everyone for sharing my story.

Half-Hound (199 Silver Halves, 12 Silver Dimes, 1 Silver Quarter... and 1 FAKE 1872 Trade Dollar!)

************************************************************************************************************

November 5th, 2010
Los Angeles, California

I don’t have much to say here – and I wouldn’t blame anyone for not believing it!

I called a bank close to my bus/train route home. I was told they had $100 in halves. When I got there I found out they had $170 worth. Of course I wanted them all. I had no cash – not a single dollar. I needed to withdraw funds from my savings account to buy the coins.

I mentioned to the young teller (Jackie) that collecting coins is my hobby. She then told me she had two old coins, and asked me if I wanted them, too. She pulled these two dollar coins (see the photographs) from her drawer. I had to pay for them with four clad halves that she had just given me.

The oldest silver dollar is an 1872 Trade Dollar, I have never seen a coin like this before.

The take:

1872 Trade Dollar
1924 S Peace Dollar
1939 S Mercury Dime
1951 S Franklin Half
1964 D Kennedy Halves (2)
1966 Kennedy Halves (3)
1967 Kennedy Halves (2)

And that’s the way it was.

Half-Hound

 

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[AGCoinHunter]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Got any better pics of it? Try using the macro setting on your camera. Need to see the edges and devices to verify authenticity . Your pics are way to blurry.

I would say that 99.99999% sure its a counterfit. Dates look off, area around the breast look off, the area just to the right of the shield and a few other things jump out at me. Besides the fact that less than 20 of these exist. Still a cool find for $1.

If you get good pics, post them here as well as over on the coin community forum. There are many experts that can verify it for you with the right pics.

Below is the real silver "commercial" version.

 

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[STDevil]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Hey Half-Hound -

Whatever the "end of the story" looks like with regards to your old coin (and you better tell us the end of the story!), it is a heck f a story nonetheless. Even if the coin is a Chineese Fake, just think of how it ended up in circulation! If it's not a fake, well, then, you better shower that tell with some good will and tasty treats!

Let us know what happens; here's hoping for the best!!!

 

[Rakattack]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Sorry sir, but the Chinese will counterfeit anything ranging from a 1958D Wheatie to an 1804 Dollar. Yes, there are probably more counterfeit patterns than there are real ones on the market on any given day.

90% silver doesn't mean it's real. Counterfeiters coin 90% fakes to make them more convincing.

Chinese counterfeits are NOT a recent "phenomena". They've been making fakes of coins like Trade Dollars since the time they were circulating. So, they've had more than 120 years of experience faking coins.

Well, Rakattack, I think it is interesting that you can condemn this coin as a fake without examining it: "So, I'm almost 100% sure that yours is fake." Myself and others have advised Half-Hound to have it examined by a competent professional numismatist. I did not say it was real, I said I thought it could be real. It is true that the Chinese were counterfeiting the trade dollar when it was current. They are also counterfeiting it now. However, this is not a Trade Dollar, it is either a genuine or counterfeit pattern. I have not seen an example of a counterfeit US pattern. The modern Chinese fakes are typically base metal, not silver.


-Arkham House

I don't see why you had to make your response so sarcastic. I was being serious and realistic whereas you are being unnecessarily optimistic. I examined the coin through the pictures Half-Hound provided.

Some of the devices are more weakly struck than others, which is very uncharacteristic of pattern and proof coins.

You want to see counterfeit US Patterns? You got it

http://cgi.ebay.com/Replica-U-S-Pat...92?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item3f03e0d5cc

That's one that's the same pattern as Half-Hound's

http://cgi.ebay.com/Replica-U-S-Pat...52?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item3f0328fb3c

Yes, Chinese replicas are both made out of base metals, copper, silver and gold.

Please, do some of your own research before calling others out.

 

[Darth Walker]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

My coin knowledge does not get that far.
I can not give my opinon related this coin but I hope it is real.
Send it to PCGS. What ever comes back let us know. Real or Fake still a great find.

Darth Walker

 

[SFBayArea]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Odds are not in your favor but I would hope that at least it's a silver counterfeit. Then it's worth it.. if it's some other crap metal.. it was a rip off. The Chinese have not only made counterfeits of everything but have made counterfeit PCGS slabs to put their counterfeit crap in. Send it to PCGS for grading. PCGS is the best grading service in my opinion not based on grading but retail of the slabs vs NGS or ANACS. Examine the coin closely.. if it's a crappy counterfeit, it will have small die cracks on the surface of the coin due to inaccurracies in their counterfeit minting process.

My friend's roommate said he got 3 Peace Dollars at a flea market for $3 each a while back. I said he got a great deal but then when I examined them, they looked like weak strikes and upon handling them they were extremely light. I told him they were most likely counterfeit.

Here's a link for pics on a Chinese counterfeit factory.
http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/

 

[Darth Walker]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

http://www.uspatterns.com/

Here you can check about this coin

DW

 

[EastKyMiner]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Good score Half-Hound, I hope that everything works out and you have hit the real thing
HH...Miner

 

[Rakattack]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

My friend's roommate said he got 3 Peace Dollars at a flea market for $3 each a while back. I said he got a great deal but then when I examined them, they looked like weak strikes and upon handling them they were extremely light. I told him they were most likely counterfeit.

SFBay, Peace dollars are known for EXTREMELY weak strikes. However, you mentioned that they were very light and weight is always a dead giveaway.

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Does it stick to a magnet?

 

[DigginThePast]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Congrats on the silver and the Peace Dollar, the 24-S is a great date to get at face.

The Pattern - I'll agree with the others, send it to PCGS and let us know. Worst case, the value of the Peace Dollar pays for sending it in.

 

[apush]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Half-Hound,
I am crossing my fingers for you!

apush

 

[Darth Walker]

Re: Half-Hound Found: 1872 Trade Dollar

Any News about this coin?

DW

 

[Half-Hound]

Yes DW, there is an update now.

Half-Hound

 

[mountainman 2]

I'm sorry to hear that Half-Hound. What features determined that it was a counterfeit?

 

[Historyhound]

Nice score. Although the chances are very high that it is counterfit, I would still take a gamble and send it off to ANACS. I wouldn't take anyones opinion based on just looking at a picture. Nice!

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Nice score. Although the chances are very high that it is counterfit, I would still take a gamble and send it off to ANACS. I wouldn't take anyones opinion based on just looking at a picture. Nice!

No offense but I wouldnt waste the money doing this.

 

[Syrys]

Aw that stinks. Did she know to look for a pattern and not a regular trade dollar? What was her reasoning for determining it was fake so fast? Sounds iffy to me.

 

[festiva_ford]

It was still worth the dollar!

 

[SFBayArea]

If it's still made of silver.. no complaints.. you still made out good.

 

[maine_Jim]

Still kinda cool. I got a fake english crown and a few chinese dollars once in a collection I bought. Keep it and enjoy the CRH story you will have for years to come from it.

Maine_Jim