Lot 175
1846 Contemporary Counterfeit F12. Glossy light steel brown and olive with hints of reddish brown toning in protected areas on the reverse. The surfaces are smooth and free of any notable marks. This is a struck counterfeit made from transfer dies. The legends and devices are present but their margins are not well defined (as always), which is a function of the dies used, not post-striking wear or damage. Struck on a thin planchet that is of a slightly smaller diameter than normal for mature head cents (26.0 millimeters versus the usual 27.5 weighing only 126.6 grains versus the usual 165 or so). The reverse is rotated 130 degrees CCW. Only 10 examples are known with certainty, but a couple more may exist. While the more-famous 1848 "Small Date" counterfeit cents were struck using handmade dies, these 1846 cents appear to have been struck using dies made from a genuine 1846 cent. The transfer process was not especially effective leaving the details rather mushy. Attempts to identify the die variety of 1846 cent used for the transfer have been unsuccessful due to the lack of fine detail. There is also the possibility that these were struck using heavily burnished scrap dies employed in the Mickley tradition (1804 and 1823 "restrike" cents). Regardless, they are quite rare and are becoming very popular. See page 72 of the 2001 edition of the Grellman late date cent book for a brief discussion of these counterfeits. DWH #3423.
Estimated Value $200-UP.
Ex Rick DeSanctis, 2002 EAC Sale, McCawley & Grellman Auctions 4/20/02:587-John Kraljevich, Jr., 2007 EAC Sale, McCawley & Grellman Auctions 4/28/07:480.
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| Realized $575 |
