1796 Draped Bust Dollar - is it real or fake?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by amaru27, Aug 27, 2011.

  1. amaru27

    amaru27 New Member

    Hi all!

    I am new here,i have a little problem,an I whas hopping you guys can help me.
    I am collectig coins since I was 5 years.
    I have 3 coins wich a think are 1796 draped bust bollars ,don't now if they are real or fake.
    First let me tell how I got them.
    I had a unckle(mother's brother) who moved from Romania to US in 1981( he had some problems with the Ceausescu regim),I whas not even born!
    Anywhay he made himself some good financial situation,and he married there(he lived in Boston) and he was a huge coin collector.
    I send him romanian coins and he sent me american and canadian coins.
    But in February he died of cancer.He left me by will 3 silver coins.


    I have pictures with one of them.

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us


    and

    [​IMG]

    I also serched the web an found this

    http://www.silver-coins.org/1796_draped_bust_dollar.html


    So i belive the coins are real not fake.

    I also found them on ebay but the price is just......wow!



    http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1796+Draped+Bust+Dollar&_sacat=253&_dmpt=Coins_US_Individual&_odkw=1796+silver+coin&_osacat=253&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313


    I also whent with one of the coins at a jewler tot test it and he told me it's silver (90% silver 10% copper).

    I was wondering how can I get a certificate of authenticity for them?


    I was thinkig of selling 2 of them and keep one for myself,but I whant to be sure what I am selling.However I don't think my uncle whould have left me 3 fake coins.

    So whant do you guys think?
    What should I do?
    Are they real?

     
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  3. Lon Chaney

    Lon Chaney Well-Known Member

    I'm not the guy to ask, so others with more early dollar knowledge will likely chime in. However, it would be helpful if you could post the diameter (in mm) of the coins, as well as the weight (in grams, to the tenth of a gram at least). Also, if your uncle was a "huge coin collector," it makes me nervous that he never got these slabbed.
    And that's how you'll get your "certificate of authenticity," if they are real. You'll need to send them in to PCGS or NGC.
     
  4. jloring

    jloring Senior Citizen

    Unfortunately, your pictures are too small to make a definitive evaluation. However, since this particular coin is heavily counterfeited (and has been for many, many years), the chances of you having three genuine examples is very low, probably less than 1%. If you post larger photos we could give you a better idea of what you have. The following link will give you a brief education on counterfeit draped bust dollars... and elcome to CT.

    http://home.comcast.net/~reidgold/draped_busts/page_7.html

    And for more info:

    http://www.silver-coins.org/1796_draped_bust_dollar.html
     
  5. valente151

    valente151 Mr. AU64, Jr.

    Hate to disappoint but.... I believe the coins are unmarked copies. Compared to certified examples, the font used on the dies for the real coins was much different and spaced differently. Here is a pic of a certified one.

    [​IMG]

    Also, I looked at Jlorings link and found this:

    "Draped Bust dollars were struck without a restraining collar, which wasn't introduced by the U.S. Mint until around 1830. (This accounts for the fact that diameters of coins before this date, including Bust dollars, can vary slightly.) With coins struck without a restraining collar, the denticles extend all the way to the edge of the coin."

    Your coin have a wide rim, proving it's counterfeit status.
     
  6. Collector1966

    Collector1966 Senior Member

    The coin you have pictured is in all likelihood a fake. For one thing, the bottom stars (left and right) are too far away from Miss Liberty. Second, authentic dollars of that type have the appearance of being somewhat crudely struck, especially the rim. The rim on your coin does not match with the rims used on the 1796 Small eagle dollar.
     
  7. LostDutchman

    LostDutchman Under Staffed & Overly Motivated Supporter

    This coin is a counterfeit. The shape of the stars is incorrect on the obverse. The edge of the coin is not correct. It also does not match up to any of the known die pairings.
     
  8. Eduard

    Eduard Supporter**

  9. LostDutchman

    LostDutchman Under Staffed & Overly Motivated Supporter

    That is a better fake then the one shown for sure. Notice the gap on the first piece from the end of the denticles to the end of the coin...
     
  10. rev1774

    rev1774 Well-Known Member

    Wow, that is a very nice looking fake~~
     
  11. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Not really, they are clearly fake if you are familiar with what the early dollars look like. Sorry to bear bad news but it is true. I also don't think too much of your jewler because I would be very surprised if they are actually silver.
     
  12. LindeDad

    LindeDad His Walker.

    Looks about as good as a $3.00 dollar bill to me.
     
  13. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Sorry but it is a fake.
     
  14. kookoox10

    kookoox10 ANA #3168546

    Buying this coin certified by pcgs or ngc would be an absolute must. I don't trust myself to buy a raw sample of such a highly sought after coin. You will pay a little more but its well worth it.
     
  15. vdbpenny1995

    vdbpenny1995 Well-Known Member

    The worst thing IMO would be to take it to a jeweler to see if it's actually silver because they will most likely do the acid test which will jurassically bring down the value. But ya it's a fake sadly, but if it was real, it would be in amazing condition and worth a boat load of cash!
     
  16. jloring

    jloring Senior Citizen

    Of course... I was just trying to be nice to the OP. I doubt we'll see him again though; bad news is never good news.
     
  17. Marshall

    Marshall Junior Member

  18. Jack D. Young

    Jack D. Young Well-Known Member

    Images from the OP indicate they were deleted, so no "opinion" to offer:D...
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2021
  19. Marshall

    Marshall Junior Member

  20. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    I arrived at the party too late. All of the photos have been deleted. Here is the coin that is in my one a year set. NGC graded this one AU-50 about 20 years ago.

    1796 Dollar All.jpg

    I gather that the fake, which is shown in the links, is related to the deleted pieces in the OP. That one is an obvious fake because the bust in off-center to the left. The feature is only known on a 1795 dated variety.

    It is also known as "the vampire variety" because there are two pits on Ms. Liberty's neck that on the coin the counterfeiters used to make their copy. The same marks show up again and again. I saw this fake at a coin club meeting for the first time many years ago.

    The guy who showed this piece to me got PO'd at me when I told him it was no good. He had paid $200 for it on the Internet and really thought that he a bargain.
     
    Jack D. Young likes this.
  21. Marshall

    Marshall Junior Member

    It looks like a B-3, BB-62. Only 2 coins described at Heritage as B-3 and one has already had the photos deleted. No rarity information. But it is definitely worth investigating.

    https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1796-1-b-3-bb-62-sm-dt-lt/39997/15

    Looks like a great one.
     
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