1885 Silver Trade Dollar
The trade dollar from 1885 was designed by William Barber and there are only five proofs made of this year, so a very rare coin and maybe the rarest on this planet. In January 2006 an authentic 1885 Trade Dollar which was previously owned by the legendary “King of Coins” banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. was sold for $3.3 Million at an auction in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Some 1885 Trade Dollar coin facts.
- Mintage: Circulation strikes: 0 / Proofs: 5.
- Designer: William Barber.
- Diameter: 38.1 mm.
- Composition: Silver (90%) and Copper (10%).
- Weight: 27.2 grams.
- Edge: Reeded.
- Mintmark: Above the D from Dollar. (None for Philadelphia)
Here below are the images from an 1885 trade dollar and an 1885 trade dollar counterfeit coin from Chinese origin. What can be noticed when comparing these coins is the slick surface from the counterfeit coin.
Authentic 1885 Silver Trade Dollar – Obverse
Counterfeit 1885 Silver Trade Dollar – Obverse
When comparing both trade dollars from the year 1885 the following differences are easy to see on the counterfeit coin and not on the authentic coin.
- The numbers are not exactly the same, but hard to notice.
- The stars are not detailed even the coin itself is. (too flat and not sharp)
- In general like most forgeries soft details and slick surfaces.
Authentic 1885 Silver Trade Dollar – Reverse
Counterfeit 1885 Silver Trade Dollar – Reverse
The reverse side of the counterfeit 1885 trade dollar we used for this example was having a very slick surface and soft details. What can be noticed also when comparing the details from the reverse side to the obverse side is that these do not match in quality and with authentic coins this mostly does.
