This coin was the subject of a forum post here some years ago by its previous owner and was tentatively identified as genuine. Some while ago it came into my possession and now I have the same concern. It's time for some new pairs of eyes to take a look at this potential beauty.
It passes the ping test, is non magnetic and the specs are within a tolerable limit. Weight 10.9g (11.13g), diameter 31mm (32mm).
There are three areas which concern me.
A} The obverse text runs into the tail of the portrait.
B} There is a lance or spear between the two flags.
C} The end of the scroll is made up of several spirals instead of spokes.
Having looked at several examples it's very clear that several die pairings were used but I haven't been able to find a genuine image with these three elements present.
As always, any help from those more familiar with these type of coins would be greatly appreciated.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
That's the one! For the life of me I couldn't remember who very kindly gave it to me, thanks.
One of our local coin shops has a most impressive machine which can tell the silver content of a coin within 5%. Until very recently these started at $10,000 for the most basic model but now they can be bought for "only" $2,500. I really hope that someday we will see a $99 model, imagine how much easier it would make our lives? I'll be taking along this coin and a couple of others on my next visit but that won't be for some time.
It passes the tissue test and the ice cube test and it has the right "waxy" feel that a silver coin of that age should have and it has the right shade for a .750 coin. I'd be very surprised to find it was not silver but of course that doesn't make it genuine. If it were a $20 coin I would have no hesitation in assuming it was legit but even with the off centre strike this could have a significant value.
The off centre strike btw is the next step in the investigation should the coin prove genuine. There's enough detail to be sure it's 1764 but unfortunately for me there were issues with both an E and an F mintmark that year. I'm hoping that there are die varieties specific to each mint which would increase the value quite a lot. Or maybe the font has a distinct upper horizontal for each.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Hello,
Go to MA Shops, there you find a 1/2 Taler 1764 E, Koenigeberg for 430.20 US$
The areas what concern you shows on this coin
A the same as your coin
B the same as your coin
C looks the same as your coin.
I hope it helps.
The look of your coin gives me also a good feeling.
Did you try the ping test?
Very easy and it gives a good result on silver.
I did not think about the 1764E because your post says 1764F
Yours is indeed the E http://wag-muenzshop.de/archiv/a51/m655.html
Nice coin and good find!!!!
Non est totum quod splendet ut aurum
Rijkdom bestaat niet uit het hebben van veel bezittingen, maar in het hebben van weinig behoeften
I'm tone deaf so I defer my pinging to my wife who is a very talented saxophone player and former radio DJ. Music is very much in her blood and she can detect differences which are lost on me.
It's not clipped Oggy, the edge has an early form of milling which is intact. It's an off centre strike, depressingly common in coins predating the industrial age. It can reduce the value considerably, especially if the date is off flan. Such a coin only has value to type collectors. I guess it's another indication that it's legit - it would be a very sorry counterfeiter who reduced the value of his product by introducing a problem eh? Fortunately the date can be read but I was expecting some difficulty identifying the mint.
I opted for the F, Madgeburg(?) mint as it was used for more than one year and thus the more likely option, however it is undoubtedly from the E, Konigsberg mint as this particular die seems to be specific to that mint. Absent the mint mark it would be far less attractive to potential buyers and happily for me there's a price difference of around $100 between the former and the latter.
Unless there's any dissenting opinion I reckon I'll proceed on the assumption that it's real. There's two coin shops within walking distance who have very credible numismatists on their staff so I'll be running a few higher end coins (UK, German States and Provincial Spanish) by them on my next visit. Then it's off to Heritage Auctions they go and fingers crossed. I'd offer them via the Numista forum first but I really don't need to be dealing with any more juvenile disruptions. Hope y'all understand.
Thanks VERY much for the invaluable help gentlemen. I love solving numismatic puzzles like this and couldn't have done it without your assistance.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
