Counterfeit large cents

[rsilva02667]

Me and my brother Cody (c1silva) have been pulling some amazing coins out of the beach lately! Mixed in though have been these lead disks... I posted about one I found a few weeks ago but it didn't have much detail on it. I saw what I thought was "50" on the bottom so I thought maybe a counterfeit half. Since then I have found a few more of these lead disks and I finally got one with some detail that caught my eye! Here's the reverse...

And the obverse...

It clearly says ONE CENT on the reverse and has a wreath around it! This has to be a counterfeit large cent!! I found a few of them this size but it's not the same as the first one I found... Why would there be so many counterfeit coins mixed in with the real ones?? Check out my display from this site... The counterfeits are on the bottom left, one has three holes drilled through it

Thanks for looking guys! Happy hunting everyone!


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[hiluxyota]

Wow , that's interesting. Never heard of or seen a fake large cent before. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Argentium]

It seems odd to me that a one cent denomination would be considered worth counterfeiting ! but this viewpoint is steeped in
modernity - I'm guessing the purchasing power of one cent in the 1830's was considerable - I actually would like to know what
such a large cent could have purchased .. Anybody ?

 

[Iron Patch]

It seems odd to me that a one cent denomination would be considered worth counterfeiting ! but this viewpoint is steeped in
modernity - I'm guessing the purchasing power of one cent in the 1830's was considerable - I actually would like to know what
such a large cent could have purchased .. Anybody ?

Being cast they were pretty easy to make, however there is plenty of struck counterfeit halfpennies so clearly it was worth the time engraving and punching a die. An early struck ctft American large cent would be quite an interesting find, and likely a rare one.

 

[rsilva02667]

Well I won't rule anything out, but I'm pretty sure that's what I have, and a couple of them at that, this is the nicest one though. It is the same exact size as a large cent and the design sure looks spot on too. And it's def made of lead


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[rsilva02667]

Could it have been a one cent lead token with roughly the same design? I can see the picture ok but I know what I'm looking for. Does everyone else see the ONE CENT and the wreath? I know the pic isn't the greatest but it's obvious in person!


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[pepperj]

Very interesting find(s), were they close to each other?

 

[rsilva02667]

Yup, all the finds in the case are from the same general area


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[Don in SJ]

I believe my son has at least two counterfeit Large Cents, not sure if I have one or not, but here is a photo of what I believe was his second Large Cent counterfeit he found, 1818 found at same site, I believe the date is 1822 on the counterfeit

 

[Bramblefind]

It seems odd to me that a one cent denomination would be considered worth counterfeiting ! but this viewpoint is steeped in
modernity - I'm guessing the purchasing power of one cent in the 1830's was considerable - I actually would like to know what
such a large cent could have purchased .. Anybody ?

I was interested in putting this into perspective too. Here is one thing I found. In 1834 the Steamboat Hotel in Washington DC was advertising various drinks "At 3 cents a glass, in all their purity".

I agree this could be a cast counterfeit 1 cent - neat find!

 

[Argentium]

Thank's for that Bramblefind ! Very cool to get a glimpse into a distant time .

 

[Evolution]

The cast counterfeits are out there. I found an attempt at one earlier this year. Not a very good job... everything on the coin is actually reversed.. and the bust is sunken into the coin as opposed to raised off of it.

 

[Iron Patch]

The cast counterfeits are out there. I found an attempt at one earlier this year. Not a very good job... everything on the coin is actually reversed.. and the bust is sunken into the coin as opposed to raised off of it.

That seems more like someone hammered a copper coin into softer metal and left the impression. Would be a pretty easy method but not the brightest!

 

[rsilva02667]

The cast counterfeits are out there. I found an attempt at one earlier this year. Not a very good job... everything on the coin is actually reversed.. and the bust is sunken into the coin as opposed to raised off of it.

View attachment 1215956 View attachment 1215957

That's a cool find. The disk looks similar but my coins it all facing the right way. Thanks for the pic! I'm curiouse to how many people found counterfeits like this


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[cjon455]

Awesome finds, counterfeit are cooler than the original sometimes!, awesome display case also!!

 

[basque-man]

Great looking shadow box! My buddy out this way I think has a counterfeit seated half. It doesn't "ring up" correctly on our machines and has more of a "thud" on the drop test! Still cool though!

 

[Evolution]

Excellent point. I'm sure that's the case here.

 

[perry2]

I have done considerable res. on inflation and found that here in NH a fair est. would be 1840-1990 about 100 times///
a farm selling at $120,000 in 1990 cost $1200 in 1845
a nice kitchen set with table and 4
chairs $ 4.00 in 1840-,$400 1990
(from an inventory in 1845 ) Perry

 

[rsilva02667]

Thanks guys!


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