Counterfeit Detection: 1916 - 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollars

NGC - A fistful of what appeared to be vintage silver coins turned out to be fakes.

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NGC recently received a submission of 14 seemingly Gem Uncirculated Walking Liberty half dollars. While they have odd luster and surfaces, the coins are quite flashy. From a distance, they may even appear quite attractive.

However, a closer look reveals their true nature. Every single one of them is a modern counterfeit of the same origin.



As you can see from the two photos above, the counterfeit actually has stronger details than the genuine coin. This is most notable on the sun rays, which are much more pronounced on the fake. However, the fake has numerous other issues that may not be evident at first glance.

The whole obverse has odd surfaces and die polish that is just not seen on genuine examples. Also note the strange horizontal lines across the body of Liberty, as well as the diagonal lines in front of her rear foot. That is some sort of die damage that was not properly removed by the counterfeiter, and similar lines can be seen between the sun rays and the dress.

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