Odd eBay item

This box showed up on eBay a few days ago. It does not feel authentic because of the date or even the use of the date. I could be wrong. Any second opinions?

Mitchell, I saw that item yesterday and I also questioned the authenticity. Maybe Rusty could shed some light on this subject. If it is real the price would go to the stars. ( my opinion ). What do you think Mitchell? I agree with you regarding the use of a date. I have a mint bag from the Mint on Carson Street that I acquired from our friend in Louisiana ( GSA sale ) and the bag though holding many silver dollars is not dated.

Loosechange

Mitchell,

Someone manufactured these boxes in the later decades of the 20th century. I have one in my office. At least five people over the years have offered me one of these boxes.

I wish the boxes came from the Carson City Mint, but they didn't.

Rusty

I think it's bogus and I wouldn't spend a wooden nickel on it.
Ok, I'll be nice: it's probably a fantasy item.

The red herrings:
1. 1887: the mint was shut down in 1886-1888. This shutdown period meant that no minting of any denomination occurred and is well documented.

2. Morgan dollars came off the presses and MAY have been put into wooden boxes for short term storage, but the photographic documentary evidence says that long term storage option for morgan dollars (and other denominations) was cloth sacks. One thousand Morgan dollars were stored in these bags and shipped around the country. The cloth sacks were never date stamped because (in my opinion) it didn't make sense to have to throw away an expensive sack just because the date might not have matched the contents. No one has ever seen a genuine mint-sealed cloth sack with a date stamp.

3. Likewise, the date stamp on the box is another red herring. Why on earth would any date be put on a box that could be re-used over a period of several years or for any other denomination coming off the presses.

Mitchell

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationAnyone interested in an odd counterfeit CC coin?



I know there are some odd items collectors like...and this one sure fits that category!

Mary Elise

I was especially interested in the discussion of this storage or shipping box. I personally examined this very item pictured in my furniture repair and restoration shop. Having worked with most all woods, metals and other materials for 50+ years, specializing in Victorian and earlier pieces, I found that this wooden "crate" or what-ever it is called, is 100% authentic although minor modifications were made at a later date. The owner, who I did not know, brought it in simply to learn if it was old. Perhaps I'm not the first person to have seen this SAME box. I did notice early attempts to repair weak areas where boiled hoof glue was used,tack nails added to keep the original tightness of the box joints and other minor modifications in an attempt to maintain structural integrity. I did a fiber test on the hemp rope also which has lost 75% or more of it's original strength. To say it was made in 1887 is impossible but the box was made within a few years either side of that date. He did not offer to sell it nor would I have been interested in purchasing it. Unless a person can personally examine this particular box and have the knowledge to make a informed decision with experience to back it up, I would not be so hasty in your comments. If that piece was a fake, reproduction or facsimile the the creator was a master of deception.