Counterfeit Detection: 1799 Draped Bust Dollar

I also wrote an article on a certified example: https://coinweek.com/from-the-dark-...bust-dollar/

I purchased one of these in the early 1980's when they first appeared. It was sold by a reputable dealer that had been in the coin business for years. I paid $ 530.00 for it, which was my first major coin purchase. I had never paid over $ 100.00 for a coin before that. I really liked the coin.

A few months later I was at a coin show where a grading and Counterfeit Detection expert (from ANACS I'm pretty sure) had a table and was checking coins for free. I decided to bring my "best coin" to have it checked out. He looked at it for about 30 seconds and said "I'm sorry to tell you, but this coin is not genuine." I was stunned, but he proceeded to show me the mark on the R and explain how these had been recently appearing on the market.

I'm glad to say that the story has a happy ending, at least for me. The dealer I bought the coin from was at the same show and immediately refunded my money when I informed him that it was counterfeit. I learned a lot from that experience and began educating myself more about the coins I liked.

To this day I have never owned a genuine 1799 dollar, nor have I ever paid that much again for a coin. I got more interested in copper coins, because they fit my budget better. I bought my first Draped Bust Half Cent from the same dealer. It was an 1804 spiked chin variety VF which I paid $ 43.00 for. That one turned out to be a C-7 variety.

Coin collecting can be both risky and exciting!

Here's a quick link to all of Jack's articles.
https://coinweek.com/author/jack-d-young/

Absolutely Bobby- thanks for asking!