Counterfeit Seated Quarter

[Iron Buzz]

I posted this to the What Is It forum last night, but I suspect there are a lot of you who just come to this section, so figured I'd cross-post here for my Deus buddies.

It has been a terrible spring here, weather-wise. In fact, we're supposed to be getting a foot of snow tonight! But I did manage to get out for a couple of hours yesterday, and dug an old bronze cow tag, and then something round, that at first I thought was a large cent. After cleaning it a bit in the field, I began to have my doubts, and those doubts increased after I got it home and had a better look.

I thought that it was aluminum (it isn't) and could make out a bit of an eagle wing, so Googled that, and was crestfallen when I saw a Reader's Digest Sweepstakes token that kind of resembled it.

Deciding that it was probably just a modern aluminum piece 'o junk, I broke out the old Dremel tool and a buffing wheel and went to work trying to get some of the crust and scale off. That's when I realized that what I had was anything but a modern aluminum piece 'o junk!

Pretty sure what I have is a pewter counterfeit Seated Liberty quarter!

Anyway... here's the What Is It posting: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/w...unterfeit-seated-liberty-quarter-perhaps.html

 

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[Jeff H]

Very nice find ! Not sure I've seen a seated quarter posted before. Counterfeits are just really interesting. I have a few counterfeit coppers.

 

[Iron Buzz]

Coppers?! Wow... I had no idea that coppers were ever worth enough to counterfeit! What were they made out of?

 

[Calabash Digger]

cool find!

 

[DeepDigs]

Sorry for your weather issues - I’m in NE Wisconsin and am dealing with the same thing! Depressing! I’ve got the worse case of cabin fever - the likes of which no detectorist should ever have to endure!

 

[Iron Buzz]

Sorry for your weather issues - I’m in NE Wisconsin and am dealing with the same thing! Depressing! I’ve got the worse case of cabin fever - the likes of which no detectorist should ever have to endure!

Thanks. Yeah, just when it was starting to look like we might finally be able to get out... another blizzard, followed by a week with lows below freezing, and highs not much above.

Are you up around Superior, then? Or not that far north?

 

[digging440yrs]

Wow, looks like it was in a fire

 

[DiamondDan]

I just moved to the Twin Cities a couple months ago. Been chomping at the bit to do some detecting, but man, just can't catch a break. Glad you were able to get out!

 

[Iron Buzz]

I just moved to the Twin Cities a couple months ago. Been chomping at the bit to do some detecting, but man, just can't catch a break. Glad you were able to get out!

The Gopher State Treasure Hunters meeting is this coming Tuesday. I'll be the one with the counterfeit Seated on the Finds table.

 

[Iron Buzz]

From "Civil War Artifacts" by Howard R. Crouch

 

[dirtlooter]

very cool, an article to back up the find. pretty awesome find, makes you wonder how many were made.

 

[Iron Buzz]

very cool, an article to back up the find. pretty awesome find, makes you wonder how many were made.

I was wondering if maybe the Confederates were counterfeiting Union money? That would make sense (there's a pun there, but I'm not gonna be the one to do it!)

 

[dirtlooter]

I was wondering if maybe the Confederates were counterfeiting Union money? That would make sense (there's a pun there, but I'm not gonna be the one to do it!)

oh I don't know, counterfeiters come from all walks of life

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Interesting coin, thank you for sharing!

 

[Iron Buzz]

oh I don't know, counterfeiters come from all walks of life

Yes, they do. I was being a bit lazy in typing my thoughts, though... I was wondering if it was encouraged to help the Confederate economy and at the same time, hurting the Union's. Pretty tiny impact though, I guess, come to think of it. Especially at one coin per mould. Haha!

 

[Iron Buzz]

Interesting coin, thank you for sharing!

Thanks! Last year (my 2nd season of MDing) I found a copper culture spear point early in the season. This year, a counterfeit Seated quarter. I'm starting to like these season openers!

 

[Rookster]

Bummer. I have a Fiji dollar coin that looks in that shape.

 

[Jeff H]

Coppers?! Wow... I had no idea that coppers were ever worth enough to counterfeit! What were they made out of?

Iron Buzz, counterfeit coppers could be constructed of many types of metals and combinations of metals. A few of the counterfeit coppers I dug have VDIs quite a bit lower than the genuine article. Many King George II half pennies were counterfeited as were Connecticut coppers. I guess if you counterfeited enough of them you could make a nice profit. I have a CT copper and a KG farthing counterfeit that were very crudely cast (most fakes are cast) and easy to see they are counterfeits, but a couple of other coppers are harder to tell that they are fakes. But counterfeiting coppers in the colonial era was a big business.

 

[vferrari]

Definitely looks like pewter. Interesting find!

 

[Iron Buzz]

It was just pointed out to me that what I have is a half dollar, not a quarter. For what that's worth. Its still counterfeit. Not sure if a counterfeit half is worth more than a counterfeit quarter, but either way, I'm thrilled with it.