View Full Version : 1788 One cent
pennies4pennies
07-30-2010, 03:58 PM
Found this coin in my yard. Please keep in mind that my house was built in 1800. I was playing around with my metal detector and found this coin. A 1988 Massachusetts one cent peace. It says in the book that Early American coins were produced from hand made dies,which are often individually distinctive. The great number of die varieties that can be found and identified are of interest to collectors who value each according to individual rarity. Giving this the coin looks a little off from the picture in the book. Plus the 88 has some kind of mark like the bottom of the eights on the die was maybe re graved in the die but the bottom of the eight is to long. Also notice the MO in common maybe re punched or Maybe this could be a old counterfeit. The weight is 5.10 grams. Can any one help me with this?
mustbebob
07-30-2010, 04:09 PM
I don't know too much about Post Colonials, but growing up in Massachusetts myself, I have seen a few of these. There are two varieties (one with a period after Massachusetts, one without) All of you info you have seems accurate, and from what I can see, it looks genuine. I have no idea what theanomaly is on the last 8. It almost looks like it was a 6. Hmmm...
RpmHunter
07-30-2010, 04:28 PM
Many of these were reproduced and there are quite a few fakes out there. I have one that looks eerily similar that is a counterfeit. If I can locate it this weekend, I'll post a photo.
Scott
pennies4pennies
07-30-2010, 04:54 PM
This one has no dot. I took another shot of the date and it looks like maybe a repunched 8. What do you think Fake/Real ?
jfines69
07-30-2010, 08:05 PM
That's awesome... It looks to be a "3", "6" and "8"!!!
RpmHunter
07-31-2010, 09:55 AM
I haven't had time to compare the two but here are scans of the counterfeit coin:
http://images.fotopic.net/134wvb.jpg
http://images.fotopic.net/134wv9.jpg
http://images.fotopic.net/134wzr.jpg
trails
07-31-2010, 11:35 AM
Your best bet is to take it to the next coin show where either PCGS, ICG or NGC has a table and let them look at it. If they say it is real, jump on the chance and have it encapsulated. This way, there will be no question of its authenticity.
BJ Neff