1861 Confederate Half Dollar - I know it’s not an original

I know this coin is not an original, but how do I know if it’s a restrike or just junk? Thanks in advance.

Sherry

 

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start with "is it silver" if so you're ahead of the game... will it stick to a magnet? if so, it's junk, but still pretty junk

 

I agree.

 

It does not stick to a magnet and the weight is 12+ grams. My scale won’t give me fractions of a gram so its less than 12.5 grams.

 

To me, Liberty's face and hair detail just look wrong. But I know next to nothing about this rather obscure piece. Hopefully someone here does.

Edit: Color seems odd too. I do see that some were reportedly struck in "white metal".
Wonder if @johnmilton knows anything about these?

 

For some reason this just screams fake to me...

 

Chinese fake.

 

Hi Sherry. You do have a copy that is likely Chinese. The originals are exceedingly rare and command six figures. The restrikes are not cheap but were done using worn out dies. Yours is a copy and likely done using a base metal. It is interesting but really has no numismatic value.

 

Welcome to Coin Talk Sherry.
While members here try their best to give advice and opinions from photos, there is nothing like an "in-hand inspection" of the item.
I would recommend finding coin store that might have a knowledgeable staff member, and can test the contents of the metal (XRF equipment) for additional confirmation.

 

Most likely a Chinese fake. Still it’s a nice looking piece. Welcome to CT.

 

Ditto. Welcome!!

 

Okay, I’ll bite.

There are four original examples of this coin which are now all accounted for. The last one to be verified was owned by Jefferson Davis. It was taken from him when Federal troops captured him while he was fleeing south after the war.

The closest thing most collectors get to one of these pieces is the Scott restrikes. In the mid 1870s, B.F. Taylor, who was an official at the New Orleans Mint, revealed that he had the Confederate die and one of the coins. The Scott Stamp and Coin Company bought the two items.

The Scott Company came up with idea of using the die to make some pieces to sell. The die was in fragile condition. It never was a great die, and by this time, it has rusted. Scott was concerned that the die would break of it were to be pushed too far. Therefore they struck 500 pieces in white metal. The obverse gives an overview of the history and reverse is the Confederate die.



After the die survived this coinage, Scott went forward with their original plan. They purchased 500, 1861-O half dollars, planed off the reverses and overstruck the reverse with Confederate die.



The obverse on these pieces is always flatten from striking the Confederate reverse. As for the Confederate reverse, it has rust pits in the liberty cap, a big one to the right of the letters "ER" in "AMERICA" and smaller ones elsewhere. Here is a blow-up of it.



The short story for @LightYearsAway is that his piece is neither an original example nor a Scott restrike. It might be from China. It has that look.

Here is an example of one of the four original 1861 Confederate half dollars.



Here is the piece that Jefferson Davis had. It has some wear. It has an interesting story surrounding it. The piece popped up again at a New York City coin show in 1959. A dealer bought it as a Scott restrike, but later it was learned that it was the long lost Jefferson Davis original. That resulted in a protracted law suit.



As for prices, according to "The Red Book," one of the original pieces has sold at auction for $1,000,000. The Scott restrikes in nice condition (graded Ch AU to low end Unc.) sell for $12,000 to $14,000.