What Did I Find? Counterfeit Seated Liberty Quarter, Perhaps?

[Iron Buzz]

I found this today in a field that has previously turned up Civil War buttons. It is really, really toasted. I thought it was an aluminum token, so took a Dremel tool and buffing wheel to it. It wasn't until I did that that I noticed first the eagle, and then Liberty. I can't imagine it is silver, looking like that, but its too heavy (8 grams) to be aluminum. Anybody know what I found?

I feel bad for hitting it with the buffing wheel, but there was no way to ID it before that anyway, so I guess I didn't hurt anything. I tried more gentle ways of cleaning it first.

 

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[Iron Buzz]

Wow... 88 views, and not one comment or idea? Tough crowd!

 

[smokeythecat]

Looks like a contemporary counterfeit made out of pewter. It's a very nice find, probably worth more than the original.

 

[Iron Buzz]

Looks like a contemporary counterfeit made out of pewter. It's a very nice find, probably worth more than the original.

Thanks for the reply, SmokeyCat. By "contemporary", what sort of date would you say? The area it was found in had a house shown on an 1879 map, and since that house has been gone, it has been nothing but pasture and corn/soybean fields since.

 

[Iron Buzz]

I just found a thread with another! https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=212873

 

[b3y0nd3r]

remember, aluminum didn't exist in quantities available to the common person back in the 1800's.

 

[CRUSADER]

Yeap nice pewter fake.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Wow... 88 views, and not one comment or idea? Tough crowd!

Looking at those pictures, I don't think anyone has any suggestions! Maybe an ultrasonic cleaner? I have one, but don't think I could do anything with that coin.

 

[Iron Buzz]

remember, aluminum didn't exist in quantities available to the common person back in the 1800's.

It is too heavy to be aluminum, anyway. (based on my simple digital kitchen scale, for what that's worth).

Looking at it closer today, I noticed a couple of peculiarities. I may try to get some good closeup pictures to demonstrate, but looking at the edges, it almost appears to be clad. The inner part is etched away more than a very thin layer at each surface. Also, the metal seems to be tiny little dots of silvery material, kind of, but not exactly, like glitter!

 

[Iron Buzz]

It is too heavy to be aluminum, anyway. (based on my simple digital kitchen scale, for what that's worth).

Looking at it closer today, I noticed a couple of peculiarities. I may try to get some good closeup pictures to demonstrate, but looking at the edges, it almost appears to be clad. The inner part is etched away more than a very thin layer at each surface. Also, the metal seems to be tiny little dots of silvery material, kind of, but not exactly, like glitter!

OK, I managed to get a couple of close-ups that do a pretty good job of showing what I said above. They may be clearer if you click to enlarge.

1) Notice the grainy or "pebbly" look to the metal


2) This shows how the core seems to be etched more than the surfaces

 

[Shiloh]

Found a1922 Sliver Dollar just like that years ago... it was a counterfeit

 

[Beshires1]

Looks like a seated half dollar to me...
composition 90% silver 10% copper/ Diameter 30.6mm /weight 13.36 grams/1839 - 1853
I'd say that being lost buried in a eventual soybean field subject to fertilizer eating away at the copper composition fer 165 plus years would probably make it look like that.

 

[sutphin]

NEET PEWTER FIND