weird looking coin

[allen]

about two weeks ago i was in kane, pennsylvania visiting some kin folks when me and my cousin decided to go metal detecting. we had been searching for over 4 hours just finding a few clad and some silver. he got a good hit reading about silver dollar size and starts digging. about 4 and a half inches down he uncovered this weird looking coin. one side says continental currency with a 177? date. the other side has 13 circles on it all interlooped. is this some kind of trade token or foreign coin, please let us know, allen

[allen]

if its a replica or fake, why would someone bury it out in the woods?.....and how can we tell if its real or not?...im now back in kentucky and he has the coin in pennsylvania, but id still like to know....ty

[coinshooter]

Take it to a coin dealer. Ask him what he'd give you for it. If he offers you $500+ for it you will know it is most likely real without spending the $ on a grading service. BTW, don't sell it to the coin dealer as they usually will way lowball you. If he offers you a decent amount, say your going to keep it and then go out and have it graded using a grading service. If it was found at 4" it probably is real. Most coins this old would be at least this deep if not slightly deeper. BTW, It's a chain cent also known as a fugio cent. It should say "Mind your own business" in the center somewhere. If you look in the redbook of coins, it is listed under some of the first currency ever made in the U.S. and could be quite valuable. Also as stated in other places on this forum, if it is fake as opposed to real it could even be worth twice as much as a real one. SO, it's definitely worth looking into. Have your friend send you a pic of the front and back, then post it on here and we'll certainly give you our thoughts on it.
CS 8)

[coinshooter]

Shows how much I know about early U.S. Currency. I guess that tells you, don't ask a westerner about eastern coinage. But, just the same, in any sense of the word, these coins will all still be worth a bunch. 8)

[allen]

great news about my cousins " weird" coin....most definetly real and so glad to say its a continental dollar , graded f-12...he called me late friday night with the great news....thank you all for the help...allen

[nedigger]

I was just reading the history of the continental dollar at http://www.oldcoinshop.com/coinhistory/01-1776.htm and was wondering: is his brass, silver or pewter and which spelling does it have for currency. Would like to see a pic if you can. Great find! HH.