My Xmas 1856-O half with a hole, AND a surprise!!

[thecrazyone]

I got this coin at Xmas, and although it has a hole, I still thought it was neat bc I read right here at realcent that ppl collect specifically holed coins too!

The surprise on this one was when I magnified it: you can see above the eagle that someone etched "T.Arnold" into it! I never even saw it before magnifying it!! It appears to be on the front as well.

[coppernickel]

This is an amazing trio of coins.

[thecrazyone]

I knew ppl here would appreciate them!

I am a third gen collector. My grandfather did it for investment purposes, but my father is the one who truly "loved" the history tied into these coins.

The coins he has given me this year have been in a lockbox for almost 40 years. If I have seen any of these coins at all in my lifetime, it's been maybe once. That's why I'm having a really hard time believing that either of the CC coins could be fakes.

[Recyclersteve]

Roseanne Barr's ex-husband, Tom Arnold, wants his coin back!

I collect holed coins and know of a couple local dealers who do as well.

[NiBullionCu]

That's why I'm having a really hard time believing that either of the CC coins could be fakes.

I hate to be a killjoy during the holidays, but.

Coins have been minted for about 3,000 years.

You know how long they have been counterfeited? About 3,000 years.


Anyway, your 1887 CC fake may actually be of good silver. I'll try to find the article regarding China producing 'quality' fakes of proper specifications back in the 1950's of the major western powers (like USA Morgan dollars and British gold sovereigns) because they needed hard currencies and were a pariah nation that couldn't sell it's bullion. So they made bullion 'coins' so they could export them as genuine.

I'm guessing your 1887 CC may be one of those.

[thecrazyone]

Thanks for the info! Yeah, the 1887 debacle is definitely an interesting one.

[thecrazyone]

Is this the article?

https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/ ... -deceptive

[NiBullionCu]

No, but it does note that the USA had sent China former minting presses used for US coins:

The presses in this factory were originally used in a U.S. Mint facility, then transferred to China in the early 1900s for their coinage production needs. Later, in the mid 1950s, the Chinese government scrapped the presses and sold them to private buyers.

The article I saw also addressed China counterfeiting British gold sovereigns as well. At the time in the 50's, they were produced to pass as 'good bullion' to be accepted without much scrutiny, not as numismatic to fool collectors.

I see the makings of some interesting research.

In the same vein, the USA gave the Shah of Iran the same type of press used by the BEP for paper currency. When the Shah fell and the Ayatollah took over, that press was used to produce the first 'super forgeries' of US currency because they could use the same press and paper the BEP did.

[thecrazyone]

Well, here's another interesting read, with pics:

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/chinese ... ng-4071202