Did I Just Buy A Fake 1923-S Mercury Dime?

@Carl .... I'd venture a guess that 9 out of 10 "coin collectors" and at least 1 in 10 "dealers" would fail to spot this fake. Such inability offers a huge market. Also, consider that this fake sold a hundred times the cost of its production.

The 1892 10c, besides looking utterly cheesy, has both obverse and reverse design types that did not exist prior to 1901. I informed the seller and they say they are taking it down. Says they got coins from a storage auction but they normally do stamps. They sounded remorseful. Edit - that one is gone already.

I really prefer to examine every coin in hand, before making a decision to buy.
For ebay, this makes a return policy a normal part of any and all on line transactions.

While I surely see some validity in this observation, I couldn't help but chuckle. I've acquired some of my best counterstamps from such sellers. Consider the flip-side. I download the images and enlarge them. A seller's ineptness can lead lead to great buys.

Earlier this year, my best ebay buy ever happened under just these circumstances. I purchased a "damaged" Bust Half for a two-figure sum. Four of these counterstamps have auction records of $3500-$8000. Apparently, a lot of buyers don't bother with poor pics, and that's worked to my benefit. I may eventually do a posting about this. Meanwhile, I'm agrinin' ....

@nss-52 .... That's a good sign.

I see threads saying "why is this hobby losing popularity?" or "Why aren't younger people collecting?" And as a beginner myself, this is a major part of the reason.

@just_carl, I don't have a lot of coins that I've spent money on yet but I question it all now. I'm going through it tomorrow in hopes of finding some peace of mind.

Coin collecting is one of the oldest hobbies there is. Fake coins have been around for many centuries. While we've seen more fakes in recent years than ever before, there are large numbers of serious collectors who remain undeterred. By serious collectors, I mean those who buy books, subscribe to periodicals, participate in clubs and forums, etc., seeking knowledge along with the pieces of metal we call coins.

I still own a fake gold piece (genuine gold though) that I impulsively bought at auction, thirty years ago. I own a number of replica colonials, dating to the 1960's and a number of Chinese counterfeits, too. I've long used pieces in this collection to enlighten others at club meetings and other gatherings. IMHO, any would-be collector who lacks confidence and interest in learning about numismatics should find another hobby. BTW, I own around 200 coin books and have yet to purchase a fake book!