By Jack D. Young and the Dark Side Group ……
The 1836 Gobrecht Dollar is a favorite counterfeit of mine. I have written one article published in the Liberty Seated Collectors Club’s (LSCC) Gobrecht Journal and two articles on this deceptive fake for CoinWeek. I also included it in my Top 5 Counterfeit article here, as well as in my recent Live Coin Q & A podcast on the same subject (below).
The day after the podcast aired, I received a message from a friend attending the Georgia Numismatic Association’s (GNA) Coin Show who had seen a raw example in a dealer’s inventory listed for $12.5K. This example appears to be a dead ringer for mine, with many (red) circled common marks. The black-circled mark is a good identifier for this example.
Not mentioning the dealer’s name, I did see he is listed as having a table at the 2025 Central States Convention in Chicago, so I had planned to see this one “in-hand” and take some pictures up close.
The back story of this counterfeit is interesting. My friend actually owned the genuine repaired source coin and contacted me after seeing my initial article on them. He is drawn to Gobrechts and, like me, is on a budget, so the best examples are typically out of reach. Nevertheless, this one fit the bill for him initially. But he’s always on the lookout for another and spotted one at a coin show back in 2021. Comparing it to his example and images from my article, he explained to the dealer that it was one of the bad ones. He was invited to the dealer’s shop after the show where they could perform a better review in that setting.
He shared the following cool images, having the source example next to a clone at the same time!
As in images from my articles, you can clearly see the discolored/repaired area above the head of his NGC-certified example. Interestingly, you can also see the dark identifier mark on the subject example as I showed to start this article.
The NGC certification label states: “FINE DETAILS PLUGGED”.
Here is a reverse image comparison. Notice another unique marker on the subject example, a large reverse scratch:
And a combination image of the subject example:
I am calling both the first set of images from one dealer and the second from another THE subject example. They not only share the common details of the struck clone counterfeits but they also have the two unique identifiers, as noted.
Examining the Counterfeit Gobrecht at Central States
Back to the “back story”, the dealer in the 2021 discussion stated that he intended to get his money back from the dealer he purchased it from, roughly $10K.
So, with both dealers listed at tables at this year’s Central States, a show I’ve always planned to attend for the past three years or so, I decided to wait for that opportunity. I wanted to see both dealer’s there, but especially the one likely to currently own it. But going to his table on the first day was disappointing, as he just had coin boxes in his display cases and nothing to actually view.
Then I went to the dealer who reportedly had it in 2021. When he was free to talk I showed him my example, which currently is in a TPG holder as genuine.
My example is a virtual marked twin for the subject. But after studying it a bit, this dealer stated he had never seen an example with so many marks.
Walking past the other dealer’s table resulted in nothing, as he still had nothing on display, so the first day ended without spotting the counterfeit. I decided I would go to his table the next morning and if he still had nothing displayed, I would ask about the coin.
Back to the dealer in the morning and nothing new with his case, so I introduced myself and said I understood he may have an 1836 Gobrecht. He said he did and dug it out of a box. Listed for $12.5K, it is the same coin my friend saw in Georgia a couple of weeks ago. In hand, I asked if I could take some images of it for better viewing and he said OK. Taking my pictures, I thanked him and went to an open area to review the images, my example, and images from my CoinWeek article all together.
No mistaking it, the dealer’s coin was one of the counterfeit clone Gobrechts. Now how to tell him…
I created the collage of the major counterfeit attribution marks and his coin for this article:
I loaded my article on my phone and went back to his table waiting for it to be clear of any customers. I then told him I didn’t want to be a pain, but wondered if anyone had ever suggested the Gobrecht is counterfeit. He said no, “especially with where it came from.” I then showed him the images I took, my coin, and the clear repeating attribution marks of the fakes. He then stated who he bought it from and that he knew from whom that dealer had purchased it.
We shook hands and he put the coin away as I left.
So, these deceptive counterfeits keep surfacing, sometimes where you may least expect them. They are the gift that just keeps on giving.
I sent an email to the first dealer from 2021 on this one, but no response so far – stay tuned!
Best, as Always,
—Jack
MORE Articles on Counterfeit Coins by Jack D. Young
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