Not the Smartest Counterfeiter in the Bunch

curbdiggercarl57 · Nov 10, 2008

Found this a few weeks ago, just getting around to post it. Found at a site that may be the oldest that I've found in Denver, at least by the bottles being dug there. It's a counterfeit Morgan Dollar, made from two pieces of lead that were then heated together. whoever made this took a real Morgan, and beat an impression onto both of the sides. Can you see any problem with that method? Wish I could read the date, I think I can read 188? I scan everything, so it's impossible to show the seam running along the side of the coin. It's the coolest paperweight that I now own.

Indianhead Jones · Nov 10, 2008

Hey, Carl....Fascinating, isn't it? I LOVE the counterfeits when I find them...a small moment in someone's not-so-honest life! I found a counterfeit seated half dollar a few years ago....love it! Great conversation pieces! Congrats on a neat find! :thumbsup:

Larry

49er · Nov 11, 2008

Usual coin to say the least. Hope you post photographs of scan to see date clearly. Great digs... :thumbsup:

Leon · Nov 11, 2008

Very neat,,, to say the least... Congrats!
I was thinking maybe they melted the lead over a real Morgan to get a good impression but, that would be kinda hard to do on both sides?
They may have gotten the surfaces hot and then made the impression too... Either way, it gave me a good idea of what to do with some of my spare bullets laying around...

Continued Good luck, & Happy hunting~

tymcmurray · Nov 11, 2008

That is a VERY cool find and a nice piece for any
collection.

Colonial Copper Zeus · Nov 11, 2008

Nice find Carl. I found 2 counterfeits this year. An 1803 Draped bust dollar and a 1798 draped large cent. They are very interesting. You can imagine the desperate people who would take a big chance to make these coins. :icon_pirat:

Chris

DougF · Nov 11, 2008

Very interesting find - The eagle is facing the wrong way - The impressions must be mirror images because of the way they made it. I wonder how many people that would fool?

fistfulladirt · Nov 11, 2008

Dug a V-nickel like that this spring. Very good detail on it only everything was reversed.

allen · Nov 11, 2008

pretty cool piece...

starwarsblazer · Nov 11, 2008

That counterfeit is nice, still waiting on my first one!

silverfreak · Nov 11, 2008

That's a cool find Carl. :thumbsup:

trixster · Nov 11, 2008

maybe they knew a dyslexic store owner ? :icon_scratch:

woody50 · Nov 12, 2008

DougF said:
Very interesting find - The eagle is facing the wrong way - The impressions must be mirror images because of the way they made it. I wonder how many people that would fool?

That would only fool people who took the money and were busy with other things, such as in a dark bar or someplace like that. The negative of the coin would otherwise be easy to see. I would imagine if someone paid for something with 4 good coins and one counterfeit it would not be noticed at all in such a place.