1776 Continental Curency 1 1

[JennyleeB]

Can anyone tell me if this is a replica?

[JKK]

Yes. it is.

[JennyleeB]

Thanks, can you tell me how you can tell?

[JKK]

On 3/21/2024 at 2:23 PM, JennyleeB said:

Thanks, can you tell me how you can tell?

Yes. Three reasons.

• It was posted here by a new poster. We get them all the time and they are all fake. We understand why people post them, but the answer's always the same.
• It doesn't look like the real ones. If you look up images of real ones, none of them have this muddy look. Doesn't stop the thieves on BedwEtsy from selling them to the unsuspecting.
• There are very few real ones and literally millions of replicas. Thus, asking if one were real would be like asking if an unseen lottery ticket was a jackpot winner. One could safely say "no" and lose no sleep.

If you're wanting more specifics, we don't (or at least we shouldn't; the offenders know who they are) give close feedback on counterfeits. Even if the person asking is not a counterfeiter, such types do watch these boards for useful feedback to make the problem worse, so we should not do so. But take it for gospel this one's a real ugly replica.

[Coinbuf]

100% replica, these were/are sold as souvenirs at lots of places.

[RWB]

Yep. Everyone here can tell it's a fake...just tourist trap stuff.

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   The rough surfaces and weak details identify these pieces as crude replicas (fakes) of the sort sold in souvenir shops for decades. See Continental Dollars | Coin Explorer | NGC (ngccoin.com) for photos of rare, genuine pieces.  

[powermad5000]

This is a poor example of a counterfeit. The surfaces are terrible. I am not sure if that is from a poor casting process or if it was sandblasted to try to make it look "old". Also the details are very poor and uneven. The circular details on the reverse are not even and are misshapen. They are also quite mushy. Even a genuine strike with significant wear on it would not look like this.

Hopefully that answers your question as to how one could tell it is fake.

[J P M]

I bought one from a US Federal Park store, just to show others what a new replica looks like. 

[JennyleeB]

Thank you everyone for your comments. It's been very insightful. I do not know anything about coins and I will not pretend to know. This coin has been in my husband's family for generations. It was passed down to him when his mother passed away. They all lived in Massachusetts.  There is patina on it, so maybe that the appearance of looking old. It does have lead in it as I recently had it tested and was told by a local coin dealer it was real. We just became skeptical after doing some research on the coin itself and wanted to know more. So again, thank you everyone.

[J P M]

On 3/22/2024 at 11:05 AM, JennyleeB said:

Thank you everyone for your comments. It's been very insightful. I do not know anything about coins and I will not pretend to know. This coin has been in my husband's family for generations. It was passed down to him when his mother passed away. They all lived in Massachusetts.  There is patina on it, so maybe that the appearance of looking old. It does have lead in it as I recently had it tested and was told by a local coin dealer it was real. We just became skeptical after doing some research on the coin itself and wanted to know more. So again, thank you everyone.

If you look at the coin I posted it says COPY. These coins have been copied for many years and the originals were made from pewter. We have not seen the coin in hand, but the photo looks more like my fake than the real deal. 

 1776 $1 Continental Currency Pewter (Regular Strike) Proposed National Issues - PCGS CoinFacts

Edited March 22 by J P M

[Henri Charriere]

FWIW:  The ones produced by the Intaglio Mint rendered in pure silver, on double-thick 2-ounce planchets were superior "tributes."  (I gifted my example; I no longer have photos of it.)

[Coinbuf]

On 3/22/2024 at 8:05 AM, JennyleeB said:

Thank you everyone for your comments. It's been very insightful. I do not know anything about coins and I will not pretend to know. This coin has been in my husband's family for generations. It was passed down to him when his mother passed away. They all lived in Massachusetts.  There is patina on it, so maybe that the appearance of looking old. It does have lead in it as I recently had it tested and was told by a local coin dealer it was real. We just became skeptical after doing some research on the coin itself and wanted to know more. So again, thank you everyone.

While I feel very confident that your coin is a replica if you have had it examined in hand and that dealer felt it was the real deal I suggest that you see if there is another dealer in your area to confirm or refute that dealer's finding.   NGC has a list of NGC authorized dealers that you can access here Link, not all coin dealers are expert enough to know and we can only go by your photos.   Given the value of a real coin it would be prudent to follow up with another in hand evaluation just to be sure.

[Halbrook Family]

This coin again??? 

[Halbrook Family]

On 3/22/2024 at 8:05 AM, JennyleeB said:

Thank you everyone for your comments. It's been very insightful. I do not know anything about coins and I will not pretend to know. This coin has been in my husband's family for generations. It was passed down to him when his mother passed away. They all lived in Massachusetts.  There is patina on it, so maybe that the appearance of looking old. It does have lead in it as I recently had it tested and was told by a local coin dealer it was real. We just became skeptical after doing some research on the coin itself and wanted to know more. So again, thank you everyone.

I believe this came out with the bicentennial. It is a real replica. And it also came with a $20 bill. It's probably 40 or 50 years old. I guess that could be generations. But it's still a replica.