Check out this Trade Dollar.

[jsu]

I helped one of my friends move some stuff around in a old house he just bought. He said that he found these two silver dollars in a old desk and wanted to know if I wanted them (he knows I`m into coins). I offered him $30 for them and he said that sounded fair because the 1877S silver dollar was cut and turned into a locket of some sorts and probably was not worth much. So after I got them I checked it out closer and the trade dollar looks real as far as I can tell and it opens up with a woman's picture inside. Does anyone know what something like this is worth? Is it worth less than the value of the actual coin? I do not see copy anywhere on the coin and it looks like worn silver. By the way the other coin is a 1922S peace dollar.

 

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[curbdiggercarl57]

What is this, since Obama has been elected, you have to bitch about something else? This piece is real. The piece is fake. Is the photo real? Is the photo fake? Jesus, he said he got it from a friend, didn't say he dug it, didn't try to sell it to anyone. To me it looks real, but who cares?! It's a item of beauty, just leave it at that. Oh, and I think that the Peace dollar might not be real either. Let's argue about about that one.

 

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[Slabman]

PBK comes through again!!! Really... who cares if it's real or not.
It appears to be a wanted item as it is, and no doubt will surpass
the actual coin value as a collector piece. It's a GREAT piece!!

Slab

 

[GAdirtfishin]

JOHN_DOE, dude, calm down - be happy for someone instead of trying to find any negative point that you can -

On the reverse, between AMERICA and the wing, it looks like it probably said replica.

Oh you are back from Lenscrafters already. I checked those marks with my loupe and they are just marks. I think you are pulling at straws . I think it is time to give up

that is one of the funniest things i have heard in a long time!!!!!

 

[jsu]

I know, I know. Kind of childish, but it was fun! The batteries in my camera are depleted, so no more pictures

 

[BuckleBoy]

Sounds like it's time for Somebody to be BANNED


I will say that it is an interesting piece and you got it for a bargain.


I am a little troubled by the fact that all of the other ones posted here in external links are constructed in the same way...


I think the fact that it has a photo inside yours helps its case for if not being real, at least being a contemporary counterfeit. Who CARES if it's real or not? It has been Cut in Half!

I would think that if a company were making these and selling them in the late 1800s, we'd have some record of them... So several of them turning up, crafted exactly the same way smells a little fishy--especially with so many contemporary fakes circulating from China currently...


But either way, with that type of price it's fetching on eBay, you won't have ANY trouble making back your initial investment several times over.

Nice Find!


-Buckleboy

 

[BuckleBoy]

I count six points on all of the stars.  

Then you'd better count again after having your eyes checked. 

This was Uncalled For.     When a person looking at a PHOTO tells the person HOLDING THE FIND IN THEIR HAND something like that. 

 

[SoreKneesDayton]

Great find and I used programs to blow the coin/locket up to check it against a real coin and it looks real in all respects. Unlikely that someone would make a fake coin in that period then turn it into a locket. Where is the company name them? Probably real!

Yours may be the most unusual find ever for a coin/coinish thing.

SKD
TerryLee

 

[blklab]

Gee Whiz!! I don't understand all the issues here. "jsu" just shared with all of
us members something that he purchased, that he's proud of and was just
looking for an opinion. I don't think he was looking to start a "T-Net" feud.

Were all suppost to be folks with a common interest. Lets all be friends and
keep it that way.

You got a real neat piece there "jsu", very unique. I would be very proud to
own that and you should be too. Congratulations. Doug (blklab)

 

[GL]

I would totally take the other guys wife OUT of it and put MY wifes picture in it. Then it goes in my pocket. Awesome and cool thing.

 

[romeo-1]

That is a great piece...lots of coins were turned into lockets of this type in the day!

 

[Bumpstick]

I love the find and the dated pic gives it the personal charter.
I have an old cigarette case fashioned and engraved by a POW while interred in WW II
I got it from my dad and he brought it back from the war and told the story behind it.
It is made out of a piece of aircraft skin; it is hinged and locks. Would not part with it ever.

Great Piece !

 

[jsu]

I would think that if a company were making these and selling them in the late 1800s, we'd have some record of them... So several of them turning up, crafted exactly the same way smells a little fishy--especially with so many contemporary fakes circulating from China currently...

You know I was thinking the same thing. It might just be that with the trade dollars being only used through the banks and not available to the general public. Some artisan or company probably got a few of them after the fact (I`m thinking early 1900`s) and made them into lockets. Not too many people back then had probably seen a trade dollar and they were only worth a dollar. If you look at the pictures the back is worn more than the front. The guy probably had that picture sitting on his desk or something. Oh yeah, I am definitely putting my wife`s picture in it, that picture looks like it was taken in 1891 BM (before makeup)

 

[oldcoyote]

That looks like a Way Cool item to me, and well crafted by a watch maker or jeweler with time on his hands as an addition to his supply of novelty 'love tokens' etc. Don't see how you could make one without essentially destroying two separate coins unless the halves are original stampings. Nice find.

 

[Leon]

Very neat item, real coin or not...
I don't think you got hurt any giving $15 for it no matter what it's actually worth... Heck, I'll give ya $20...

P.S.> I don't think I'd let the original photo get too far away either. That might just make it worth more than it would be without it...

 

[l.cutler]

These hinged Trade dollar boxes or lockets are fairly common, have been for years. There is no reason to think it is fake. Trade dollars were demonetized while still in production so became a common target for this sort of thing in the 19th century. It would have been more expensive to make fake ones for this purpose than to use real ones. I have seen lots of them made from genuine coins, never one from a fake. Value is hard to say, numismatic value is gone but jewelry or antique value may be more than what the coin was worth.

 

[N.J.THer]

P.S.> I don't think I'd let the original photo get too far away either. That might just make it worth more than it would be without it...

I agree...I would not pull the old photo out. I think it is more interesting with that history still intact. It is a great find and conversation piece. Well worth the money spent for it.

NJ

 

[starwarsblazer]

That is too cool. I would keep it regardless of how much it is worth. That photo really hits home and brings some personal meaning to it. Nice catch!

 

[jsu]

I found this link that shines some light on where these lockets might have come from. http://www.jkerncoins.com/inventory-archive/details.php?item=am0003

 

[Pentico]

To me it is about holding a piece of history in your hand.
Think about it?
It is not about the cost, what is worth, fake or not fake, handmade or stamped, cut in half, paid to much or to little, etc.
I understand it is nice to know but, it is a piece of history, a piece of someones past!
That is the real treasure.
I think you got something special!
Just my 2 cents.
God Speed!

Denver Nugget

 

[Curious The George]

I found this link that shines some light on where these lockets might have come from. http://www.jkerncoins.com/inventory-archive/details.php?item=am0003

Note that they have the thing priced at $727.00. Not bad for half of a $20 investment.