EagleRJO

Which 5 are you missing?

Yea, that is "toned". For that one I got a BU grade slabbed by NGC as a "Stage Coach" Morgan, even though I was looking for a raw one. I am just missing the CC mint for that year, which I have been shopping around for as it's a little pricey in my target minimum VF/XF grade.

I just checked Great Collections and Heritage Auctions. I had thought the tokens were not valuable enough to auction them, but there are dozens of these tokens coming up for auction between the two, even though my preference would be raw tokens of which HA does have a few raw ones.

@Redline68thanks for the info. I like the Knickerbocker token as there is a lot of NY City history related to that name including a well known beer and an NBA team (shortened to NY Nicks).

Nice pick-up at a good price. I also noticed that the same coin with FS would be $12,500. Could that be right?

I see a lot of prohibition & civil war tokens dated mid to late 1800's being offered for sale that are not that much, and I was thinking about getting a few that I like and relate to my home state. I was curious if any collect these tokens, and where they may be available besides eBay. Also, my LCS doesn't carry them, and there aren't any coin shows in my area until later in Jan 2023. https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states/tokens-and-medals/civil-war-patriotic-tokens/

A counterfeit, or copy of a legal tender coin actually produced by the US mint, as well as a fantasy overstrike or token would not be a "variety" or "error" as originally posted. I also got sucked into commenting on the coin without asking for both sides to be posted. And how many of the fantasy overstrike tokens actually ended up in circulation? I think it would be like a rainbow unicorn to find one in circulation due to the cost of those tokens. And don't we have bigger fish to fry dealing with Chinese counterfeits that actually regularly deceive and harm collectors?

Attached is an example of a "peg leg" 1971 Ike. Notice how short and stubby the leg of the 'R" is compared to a regular Ike, and hence the name "peg leg". Also attached is a comparison of the "R" on your Kennedy vs the "R" on a Peg Leg Ike so the difference is more apparent.

Would the "average collector", who would be expected to at least have a copy of the Red Book, not know that a 1975 Kennedy Bicentennial half dollar was never struck by the US mint, and not do any checking of if that token was really a rare piece?

Attached is an example 1892 (P) VAM-5 which shows the attributes of that variety would not be readily visible if one were just holding the coin in-hand at "arms-length" which makes it a less desirable VAM among collectors. https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/vam/3

Posting complete in-focus pics of both sides may help explain why.

As Sandon noted, the original question was asking what the "variety" or "error" was, with only the reverse of the coin posted. Posting the obverse made it clear that the coin was neither a variety or error, nor a counterfeit, as the US mint never struck a 1975 Kennedy Bicentennial half dollar. So, it is simply a fantasy overstrike of token, and very misleading to post it as a "variety" or "error".

Interesting. I had heard of the Wampum beads being used to make necklaces as an art form as well as trade, and woven belts for ceremonial purposes, but I didn't know they were also used in trade as a colonial equivalent of modern day crypto.

The ANA has an excellent guide on counterfeit detection that I haven't seen linked here recently, so I thought posting links to the guide (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) would be useful for members. https://www.money.org/uploads/Counterfeit Detection Vol.1.pdf https://www.money.org/uploads/Counterfeit Detection Vol.2.pdf

I knew about the pelts and beans, but not shells. Any examples?

There are specs with tolerances for the weight and specific gravity for an 1887 silver dollar in the Coin World Almanac, but I don't have access to my copy atm. Perhaps someone else, maybe @Sandoncould look that up for you.

@Moneyywere you able to return the coin and get a refund for the $350 paid for the coin?

I have trouble telling the difference between an AU-50 (8.0) and an AU-53 (8.3). Forget about being able to tell the difference between an 8.8 and 8.9.

"That, detective is the right question ... program terminated"

And add a decimal point. ... e.g. 60 = 9.0 and 69 = 9.9 For circulated grades it would be 1.0 to 8.9, but just like the current grading system not all of the possible numbers would be used (e.g. only 8.0, 8.3, 8.5 & 8.8 would be used for AU coins).

From a discussion about the red book ...

For that kind of money I wouldn't bid on anything that wasn't already slabbed by a TPG. And that is coming from someone who's hands-down preference is raw coins.

Maybe combined with being run through a dryer given the mushy appearance.

In terms of available errors, yup.

As well as some slightly different fonts, the tower is different (missing a window, ribs, supports, etc.), and the tower shield and roof parapet are missing ribs. In addition, some of the inscriptions (i.e. "States of America") are closer to the rim. However, it doesn't appear to be an off-center strike on the reverse as other inscription letters seem to be correctly spaced from the rim. I assume this is a new variety as it's not identified at NGC VarietyPlus, Variety Vista, etc.