✅ SOLVED 1801 Toasted Copper -- Any Ideas Based on Size, Weight, Font?

[Erik in NJ]

Had the pleasure of meeting NJLargeCent a week ago for a hunt in his area and we found a nice area that was yielding colonial artifacts. I have yet to post most of mine, but found some interesting items.

One of the find is a copper that is literally toasted--I think it unfortunately ended up in a fire. Ironically, the only thing really visible is the date which is 1801. There might be a line over the date (I'm not sure) which would preclude it from being a Draped Bust cent.

It rang up on my SE Pro lower than where a large copper normally would, but perhaps this is from being in the fire. The obverse really looks like I started to melt, but I'm not sure how hot a fire needs to be to melt copper. Could it be some sort of counterfeit?

Anyway, here are some preliminary pics. I measure the diameter to be 28.6mm with my digital calipers and I get a weight of approx. 7.1 grams. [editted by Erik in NJ, changed weight]

Any ideas on this one?​

 

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[bigfoot1]

71 grams seems heavy for copper.should be about 13 grams

 

[Erik in NJ]

Maybe it was 7.1 grams ....it rang up on my SE Pro kind of oddly.....not like a copper would have. Thanks for the head's up on the weight, I just changed the original post.

 

[Mackaydon]

Silver turns a dark color with exposure. I'm thinking it may be a 2 reales coin. Approx. standard specs would be 6.75 grams and 28 mm in diameter. The 'overweight' could be explained by the 'glob' which appears as attached to the coin.
Don....

 

[DCMatt]

Except that it is a few grams light, I'm thinking US large cent.





I also belive I see an 'S' on the reverse that would be correct for the 1801 LC, but I could simply be going cross-eyed after staring at the image for so long.

DCMatt

 

[Erik in NJ]

Except that it is a few grams light, I'm thinking US large cent.


I also belive I see an 'S' on the reverse that would be correct for the 1801 LC, but I could simply be going cross-eyed after staring at the image for so long.

DCMatt

Hi Matt,

I believe you are right...in seeing the coins side by side it would seem that the typeface used for the dates are the same. The back of the coin has a distinctive wave to it which appears that it started to melt in a fire. I did find remains of burned wood in one of my holes nearby. The only thing is that copper seems to have a pretty high melting point @ 1983 degrees Farenheight -- I remember when I dug the coin it registered on my SE pro lower than a large copper coin normally would and I was surprised it was a coin. Could the fire have changed it's "conductive" value on the Explorer? I will double check where it falls on my Explorer tonight and report here. I wonder if it's a counterfeit. It seems to have some sort of crust on it which I am hesitant to try and break off at this point.

Mackaydon: thanks for your post! I have dug 2 1/2 reals that were almost black, but nothing with this sort of crust. If it was a 2 real it must have been counterfeit, but does the date appear to you like the date on a Spanish real? Their numbers were a lot more "wavy" to me. It does very closely resemble the pic that DCMatt posted.

Thank you again to both of you guys for your kind help!!

 

[Mackaydon]

​

Offered up for comparison.
Don.....

 

[Erik in NJ]

Offered up for comparison.
Don.....

Hmmmm...thanks for posting the pic. I would rather have it be a 2R as I've never found one before. Seems that this would have read high in the silver range where silver quarters hit and my coin was oddly below where large coppers hit. Could it be a counterfeit 2R? The few details that DCMAtt circled do make a compelling case for it being a draped bust, but I will re-scan it with my X-1 to see where it hits now. May also try some further cleaning. Any suggestions?

Thanks Don for your sage input and for posting the pics!!

 

[Frankyg]

Here's a good website for identifying coins from their diameters and weight.
The Coin Database

I'm thinking British George 3rd or George 2nd halfpenny

 

[DCMatt]

Here is the back.





I confident about the 'S' at 12 o'clock. The one at 10 o'clock is anybody's guess. I thought I could see a zero in the 1/100 at the bottom but in the end it was only wishful thinking. (And I couldn't figure out how to take the circle off.)

My first thought on this coin was a George III half penny but it is too heavy.

DCMatt

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks DCMatt for some fantastic detective work on this! The color shift really brings out details that are hard to see in the original scan. I'll take a look at the S under a jeweler's loupe as I haven't spent much time on the reverse due to the heavy melt damage on that side. In the mean time I'll mark this one as solved. Thanks again!!