Counterfeit Morgan

[NZ49er]

Hello all,

Just dug this at the park this evening. I wasn't expecting a silver dollar, it was a jumpy mid 20s-30 signal on the Nox so when I reached into the hole at about 6 inches and pulled this coin out, I was a bit flummoxed. At first I was thinking a foreign coin or a token, but as I wiped it off, I saw the Morgan design. The coin is lead and was cast from a 1891 dollar. I don't see a mint mark.

I found it in Billings Montana, which is an old railroad/cowboy town. Best I can figure is some railroad worker or cowboy got fooled and once they realized it, they chucked the counterfeit. I'm sure other stories could be devised.

Has anyone else found any of these? I've seen some earlier counterfeits posted, but this seems kind of late for that sort of thing.

Thanks for looking,
-NZ49er

 

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[Underwonder]

Lead? I don’t know..but that is an interesting “coin” then!

 

[EccentricInTexas]

NEAT FIND!!! I have seen some Counterfeit Morgans that were cast from silver with extra copper added. The one I saw was pretty crude details. Slightly greenish tint and if you looked on the edge you could see the sprue mark!!!

 

[Truth]

I like counterfeits I have a period 1875 Seated Dime made from a cast example using antimony. Antimony is quite brittle and these piece easily cracked.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

That’s cool

 

[Hawks88]

Interesting find. Congrats

 

[Silvermonkey]

The fact that it's a counterfeit, makes it more interesting in my book. Well done.

 

[Reanm8er]

Nice work NZ!

 

[neodetectorist]

To find a counterfeit coin would be for me more exciting than the real thing due to its story. nice

 

[dirtlooter]

way cool, teeth marks? LOL

 

[Inspector]

Very cool find, congratulations

 

[NZ49er]

No teeth marks

 

[Trezurehunter]

I have found 3 real Morgan Dollars, and would give anything to dig a counterfeit ! There is such a mystique behind a counterfeit coin. They just make you wonder a little bit more about who made it, and why.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Being a counterfeit coin makes it a very interesting find. I sure hope it cleans up for display!

 

[terpfan]

Would love to one day dig a contemporary counterfeit coin. Congrats.

 

[BLK HOLE]

Now that is very cool

 

[mattgaudian]

In the lake in my town I have found 17 or so counterfeit Morgan dollars all 1879. They look similar to what you found. I would love to know the story behind them.

 

[NZ49er]

In the lake in my town I have found 17 or so counterfeit Morgan dollars all 1879. They look similar to what you found. I would love to know the story behind them.View attachment 1718962

Those are Awesome! And yes, they look very close to the one I dug. Do you think you were at a counterfeiting site? Or maybe just a disposal area?

 

[mattgaudian]

Those are Awesome! And yes, they look very close to the one I dug. Do you think you were at a counterfeiting site? Or maybe just a disposal area?

I'm not sure, probably disposed of because they were found pretty far from the nearest house. The place I found them had a lot of activity in the late 1800's

 

[Finder Bear]

Those are Awesome! And yes, they look very close to the one I dug. Do you think you were at a counterfeiting site? Or maybe just a disposal area?

These are some awesome finds. Maybe they were seized from people trying to gamble with them and instead of destroying them they tossed them in the lake when they go ahold of them