Surprise Gold from eBay

[tractorman]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me.

[tractorman]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me.

As an example, I weighed a SLICK Barber half and got 11.3g out of a theoretical 12.5g. That's still 90% of original weight.

[Engineer]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me.

Half seems way too high to me...I'd guess it's a quarter or less.

I can put together a roll of nearly slick dimes that's almost 1/2" short of the normal roll length, and it would still weigh around 110g (vs 125g original weight). Taking the details off makes a huge difference to the eye, but the vast majority of the coin's mass is in the core.

[Diggin4copper]

I think it maybe a Jetton, or gambling token.. They made many that looked like coins.. I have seen smaller ones that looked like 5 dollar gold pieces.. Needs to be tested.Good luck!

[tedandcam]

take marketharmony up on his offer. that was very generous of him to offer his time, expertise and equiptment.

[mtalbot_ca]

take marketharmony up on his offer. that was very generous of him to offer his time, expertise and equiptment.

+1 and keep us posted.

[Rodebaugh]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me.

As an example, I weighed a SLICK Barber half and got 11.3g out of a theoretical 12.5g. That's still 90% of original weight.

Good obsevation.

Looked at the coin again......starting to think it may not be brass at all.....it could be bronze.

[bman]

It doesn't have the look of gold to me, I'm thinking it is a contemporary counterfeit & was probably gold plated at one time.

[uthminsta]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me. As an example, I weighed a SLICK Barber half and got 11.3g out of a theoretical 12.5g. That's still 90% of original weight.

It's sounding like people are moving toward the "it might not be gold" side now. But let's just assume for a few more seconds that it might be. Gold is much softer than silver. (Right? Someone can do the science on that one.) So it's possible that a higher percentage of the total weight of a gold coin to be worn away over time. Just sayin.

[Diggin4copper]

On a different note, do you guys think the wear could really drop it under half weight? That seems excessive to me. As an example, I weighed a SLICK Barber half and got 11.3g out of a theoretical 12.5g. That's still 90% of original weight.

It's sounding like people are moving toward the "it might not be gold" side now. But let's just assume for a few more seconds that it might be. Gold is much softer than silver. (Right? Someone can do the science on that one.) So it's possible that a higher percentage of the total weight of a gold coin to be worn away over time. Just sayin.

I agree with your thought on wear, but Ive never seen a large gold piece that worn.. has anyone else?

[agmoose]

It is certainly worth taking MH up on his offer. In any case - no matter how this turns out, this is one thread certainly worth following until the final results!

[NiBullionCu]

I'm leaning toward jeton/game counter.

It looks way too porous for gold.

see this example:



from http://www.exonumia.com/sale11/pic/9921.JPG

(I still hope it is gold though )

[uthminsta]

I suggest also that you take Market Harmony up on his offer. In addition, I say we start an auction immediately, with the end being a certain number of days after MH makes the results known. If you do, I will start it off at $1. No matter what his conclusion is.

[68Camaro]

Hoping for the best for you, but the bronze counter now seems like the answer.

[Oakair]

This is a penny....Large cent...copper

Just my 2cents



(although the dimensions don't add up)

[cesariojpn]

I think it maybe a Jetton, or gambling token.. They made many that looked like coins.. I have seen smaller ones that looked like 5 dollar gold pieces.. Needs to be tested.Good luck!

You mean Kettle Tokens?

[68Camaro]

The cent is close, but when you put the token next to the "gold" coin, they are identical - at least in the remaining features. Not so for the cent.

[VWBEAMER]

Wow, well it's certainly neat, it's worth 50 for mystery.

I going with a cast counterfeit coin, that at one time was gold plated.

20 bucks back then probably had the buying power of 400 or 500 now days, certainly worth the effort.

[DuckTales253]

This is a penny....Large cent...copper

Just my 2cents

(although the dimensions don't add up)

First of all, it is definitely NOT a large cent. The coins diameter is much larger than any of the large cent holes in my Dansco U.S. Type Coins album (this was stated in my original post). Plus, the shape of Lady Liberty's neck on the bottom does not match. I went through every copper and silver coin in Photograde, and only the gold coin matched the shape of her neckline.

Second, even though it may not come across in the scans, you can see the general shape of the "Heraldic Eagle" on the reverse of my coin. Mostly the element above the words "IN GOD WE TRUST". See below:

Reverse
Heraldic eagle with spread out wings and holding arrows and olive branch in its talons. The body of the eagle is covered by unfurling banners. Above the eagle are stars and sun rays.

A good friend of my owns a jewelry store. I called him today and explained the situation. I had helped him with buying scrap gold (jewelry only, no coins) in the past, and knew he had equipment to test between 24K and 18K, etc. But he said he can also test for .900 gold. It will apparently involve a scratch test, which I would have done on the reverse. He also has gold cleaner, which is always a scary word for coins, but in this case I may be willing to do it, since in even the best case scenario the coin is only worth melt, and it may restore the look of gold to the eye. Comments?

[natsb88]

Comments?

Send it to Market Harmony. He has offered to test it for free, all you have to do is pay the postage both ways. His testing is more accurate and does not require scratching.

[beauanderos]

I wanted to see what the other side looked like (if this is the same jeton)

[beauanderos]

There are thirteen stars on the perimeter of the obverse of the Double Eagle. Yours only has ten, as does the jeton illustrated.

[PMLurker]

If you have a digital scale, dental floss and a glass of water you can do a specific gravity test that will give you an idea of the base metal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYdSEAm-7uI

[CardsNCoins]

Here they are all side by side, and unfortunately it looks like you have the jeton token.

It is very easily seen at 2 points in her hair. First is the "intestine like" look at the bottom back of her hair whereas the gold coin flows further downward toward the date. Second, on your coin the hair above her crown starts over the B in liberty just like the jeton token, whereas the hair above her crown on the gold coin starts between the L and I in liberty. I wish it would have been the gold coin for you.

[Tourney64]

You can scratch it on the edge of the coin to see if the color changes more to gold vs. it's current copper color. You really don't have to worry about grading anyway, as it is already cull.