By Jack Riley
A recent 1875S Trade Dollar was shared by fellow collector Mike Printy, prompting a discussion about whether the coin was genuine or counterfeit. The coin (below) does attribute as a C-4 die marriage. Many well versed collectors note the chopmarks do not appear genuine and we’re likely done with a modern punch.
The photo courtesy of GreatCollections below shows a genuine 1875S C-4 counterstamped Trade Dollar.
Worth mentioning is that the coin in question was housed in a PCGS AU details holder but was cracked out by a previous owner.
NGC has done tremendous work on sharing information on newly discovered counterfeits. This article cited below was written in 2011, about the time the coin in question surfaced. Photos below Courtesy of NGC.
Diving into this article and coin tells the tale. Numerous repeating circulation marks are shared between the two coins. The obverse notes two minor depressions in the date along with four depression marks in the field around the first left star (highlighted in red). What isn’t mentioned in the NGC article is the horizontal scratch through the 8 and indent in the field between the 7 and 8.
The reverse of this coin may be more telling than the obverse! A scratch through “T” in “UNITED”, depression below “E” and a scratch in the field are very clear. One minor depression mark below S1, a couple below the motto, and a long horizontal scratch left of the mintmark.
I did take this to a local area facility to have it sigma tested, and it passes for 90% silver. What isn’t captured well in photos is this coin lacks luster and has an overall dull appearance across the entire surface.
In conclusion, this coin is a highly deceptive counterfeit that mimics a genuine die pairing. This likely stems from the same counterfeiters as the 1875CC C-17 counterfeits that I have previously talked about. One could assume if this had not been chopmarked in the manor that it was that it may have prolonged its time as a “genuine coin.”
If you are interested in learning about counterfeit coins, go to this tab on Proxiblog. Collectively, Jack Riley, Jack D. Young and Michael Bugeja have published some 21 articles about counterfeits.
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