Counterfeit Seated Half Dollar???

[vadigger89]

I need help from you coin guys out there. Ok I found this coin today it is in pretty rough shape cant make out to much on it. I think its 1841 I know it is 184? not real sure about the last number. The edges are really corroded which seems a bit strange to me, because it should be 90% silver and 10% copper. You can see more detail actually looking at it than in the pictures. There are also a few more strange things about this coin it does not shine like silver and it only weighs 8.7 grams it should weigh 13.36 grams.

 

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[vwayne1]

Time to clean the lens. Nice find.

 

[NHBandit]

For sure a counterfeit. But if it's a period piece it's still a very cool find.

 

[Jason in Enid]

It's definitely counterfeit, but it's an old one which makes it very cool in it's own right.

 

[Evolution]

I agree. Looks like a pewter counterfeit. Very interesting find. I found a counterfeit seated half (1843) last year... had a couple holes in it and I thought it was a washer because it rang up so low on the VDI scale on my detector. A silver half would be 90+..... the counterfeit rang up as a 50... Congrats to you.

 

[vadigger89]

I think its awesome that its a counterfeit. I would imagine the counterfeits are much more rare than the genuine ones? Does it increase value or decrease?

 

[BuckleBoy]

Yes, counterfeits are rarer than the genuine ones. I'd coat the edges with Elmer's glue so that it doesn't flake away to nothing!

-Buck

 

[Plumbata]

It could be made out of pure Tin, and the decay may be due to "Tin Pest", an autocatalytic transformation of the metallic beta allotrope into the grey, nonmetallic alpha allotrope. I have encountered this and your piece demonstrates similarities. More from wikipedia:

At 13.2 degrees Celsius (about 56 degrees Fahrenheit) and below, pure tin transforms from the silvery, ductile metallic allotrope of β-form white tin to brittle, nonmetallic, α-form grey tin with a diamond structure. The transformation is slow to initiate due to a high activation energy but the presence of germanium (or crystal structures of similar form and size) or very low temperatures ~−30 degrees Celsius aids the initiation. There is also a large volume increase of about 27% associated with the phase change. Eventually the α-form decomposes into powder, hence the name tin pest.[3]

The decomposition will catalyze itself, which is why the reaction speeds up once it starts; the mere presence of tin pest leads to more tin pest. Tin objects at low temperatures will simply disintegrate.

BTW, nice find!

 

[jewelerguy]

I'd love to find one real or fake. if it's a period counterfeit, it would be even more cool

 

[SilverDreams]

Still a cool piece!

 

[Sobo]

Very cool, I found a barber quarter that was counterfeit not too long ago and I was bummed about it...but then realized...how often do you see these old counterfeits dug? Very cool, should be a special part of your collection , I'm sure you'll dig a real one soon! Thanks for sharing and HH

 

[Bass]

Neat find, congratulations

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