By Jack D. Young, Early American Coppers (EAC) ……
Another of the holed and repaired fakes, the 1836 Gobrecht Dollar is one of the most expensive “varieties” of the deceptive struck counterfeit series. It is also one of the most TPG-authenticated of the group, with eight certified examples documented and several having sold in major auction venues (as well as other internet selling sites).
Per usual, I will start with a certified “Dark Corner” example AND the holed genuine example.
The damage was minor for this one, and a good choice; just minor re-engraving of details was required (“OF”) but still enough to help attribute these.
In my detailed research article on these, I included the “attribution marks” as follows, including the tooling at the top and back of “OF”:
Images below show the progression into one of the struck counterfeits (repaired source middle):
The counterfeit 1836 Gobrecht Dollar on the right is the last one known/documented. It actually shipped through China via the Netherlands by a now-unlisted seller. It is the eighth known “certified genuine” example, but we continue to be on the lookout for others.
The clones match so well that the indication of “repairs” was noted on the label of this counterfeit! Label states: “1836 $ PROOF J-30 RESTRIKE REPAIRED – CLEANED PF 20 DETAILS”
Additional detailed information on these and the research involved can be found in my CoinWeek article linked above. Also, reference my Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) article in the Gobrecht Journal #137, 2021.
And again, should you see another one “out there”, report it! There are several unaccounted for.
Best as always,
–Jack
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