Either My Friend Is Rich Or Got Taken

What bothers me about a sad story as this is that we knowledgeable collectors are not asked BEFORE the purchase! It is always after the fact. That happened to me years ago.
A co-worker had bought some 'investment grade' silver dollars and asked me for an opinion. I was put in the spot to telling him in the nicest way possible that the coins were, uh,
somewhat over graded. [They were lousy!]
So, in the future offer to go with a friend to examine a potential purchase.
That is, if there is a next time.

Here are the remaining fakes.

***Some of the scans I tried to upload were refused as being too big. Not sure why some were ok and others not, as I scanned them all the same way****














I guess I didn't crop the 'too-large' scans close enough.

I'm sure there are plenty of people on this forum who could tell at a glance that those are fakes. I'm not one of them. I'm guessing the average person wouldn't know, either. Give me an internet connection, scale, and a magnet and I'm gold; but otherwise, picking out fake coins without certain specialized tools at my disposal is above my pay grade.

I have seen these bad fakes before... reading "LIBFRTY" on the Walkers.

@traevin:
Look at the dull color. A die with a mirror finish, satin finish, etc, will leave the same finish onto the coin. Therefore, these coins are cast. The dullness tells me that there was absolutely no pressure used to imprint the image onto the coin. They didn't even try to polish it so that it would maintain an antique look. IF, however, they had used a die, then consider the fact that a coin wears down and material is therefore removed and the coin will weigh less than its weight upon issuance. In order to make a die for this sort of a fake one must ADD material to the die to mimic wear (removal of material). So the die will give the details on the coin a "fat" look and doesn't look the same as a real coin right off the bat. This type of a fake, though, is more labor-intensive and only the proudest counterfeiter would spend the time to fool connoisseurs. The first time I saw these coins in hand they were being sold by a Chinese vendor (I know this because their booth said they sold items made in China, I know, what a draw, eh?). They came in sealed plastic sheets and I'm sure you can see a sheet of fakes on those stupid storage shows. I told the vendor they were fake coins and she said no they are not. I called her ignorant and left it at that. They're placed into sheets so that they cannot be tested but a simple magnet will do the trick.

Looking at the rims of ANY coin will give it away fast. Rims are probably the best indicator of authenticity and it's very easily overlooked because apparently a coin has two sides but people forget that a cylinder has three.

Look at the dates. If they're keydates or dates that shouldn't exist, call the coin police. The type fonts are important, too, so look at the slogans and numerals in both design and size. If the vendor sells the coins as antiques or as silver, then the transaction is a fraud. If they sell them as imitations there's no harm. But then again fakes should either be framed forever (to learn) or destroyed by the thought police.

If more than one coin has the same pattern of wear, run away. If your coin looks old and worn but is shiny, run away. If your coin is vastly underweight, run away. If a vendor hands you a sealed plastic sheet of coins, run away. If your magnet sticks to any "silver" coins, run away. If you find two of the same key dates, run away. This is why I can never let any of my friends or family buy me coins.

I can't believe people try to pass this garbage off as real!

"I told him to put one of each in a shadowbox and hang it on his wall."

I like this idea. A decoy. Hide the good stuff and display the junk.