Remarkably to me, in April the 4th previously undocumented hand-made, die struck counterfeit CBH was identified this year and sold on eBay. The seller’s photos were not great, dark and somewhat fuzzy/blurry. The piece itself was low grade but of high-quality die work closely mimicking a genuine CBH. I saw what I thought were unusual die and device elements, but I still tried to attribute it to a genuine Overton variety. These included potentially 1 or more repunched stars and a reverse I couldn’t quite attribute to a genuine CBH Overton variety (adding to this, the lower-grade of the coin didn’t help my attribution attempt). I ultimately threw in a reasonably strong bid and won the piece with little competition.
When the coin arrived a few days later I quickly confirmed that it was indeed a counterfeit CBH, a new die marriage, previously unidentified obverse and reverse dies, it has an unmatched edge die marriage, and that this piece is a singleton (not attributed to a larger family – at least for now). This 1833 die marriage is the 43rd documented hand-made die struck counterfeit CBH variety using this date, and has been given the attribution code of Z40-IF.
The question needs to be continuously asked – when will the next new die struck counterfeit CBH variety turn up? This month? Next month? Later this year?
As of this blog post, I’ve so far documented approximately 952 die-struck circulating contemporary counterfeit U.S. coins ranging from large cents to double eagles. I say ‘approximately’ because there are a handful (~10) of varieties in my list which are still questionable with regards to their attribution, authenticity, age, and manufacture method.
*I have a few more blog posts being drafted for sharing over these next few weeks so please stay tuned. Feel free to post your own topics and/or send me topics to write about.
**I’ve recently listed a handful more counterfeit varieties for sale on this website, and I’ll be listing a few more in the near future as I purchased another small group. I also have more pieces in a couple boxes which I have not had time to photograph and list, so if there’s anything you’re looking for please inquire.
Best,
Winston
