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. Uploaded with ImageShack.us and 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?
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.
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
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. 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.
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.
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.
Here is another very useful site dealing with fake 1796 Dollars. http://www.civitasgalleries.com/counterfeits/1796silverdollar.html Some of these fakes are quite good. One needs to be very careful, specially when puchasing.
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...
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.
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.
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!
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.
I know this is am old thread, but I saw an example on eBay. According to this site, neither the obverse or reverse match known dies. I can clearly see the differences in the obverse, but the reverse looks like the B-1/B-2 Reverse to me. http://www.civitasgalleries.com/counterfeits/1796silverdollar.html
https://www.civitasgalleries.com/counterfeits/1796silverdollar.html I should have been more specific. I've seen multiple offerings of this Obverse including one labeled Large Cent. I'm getting an image at the above site. https://www.ebay.com/itm/284311344051?hash=item423246d3b3:g:-xcAAOSwH-hgsYP7 https://www.ebay.com/itm/284319083835?hash=item4232bced3b:g:b0gAAOSwKQVguN7X
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. 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.
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.