Counterfeit Detection: 1884-O Morgan Dollar

NGC - An off-center error features a phony composition and weak strike.

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In 1884 the New Orleans Mint produced more than 9.7 million silver dollars. Of course, when striking so many coins, a few mistakes are bound to occur. Sometimes, blanks do not enter the coining chamber completely before the dies impact the surface, thus creating a valuable error known as an off-center strike. However, thanks to the coins' large size, most mistakes were filtered out at the mint by both mechanical and manual means.

Recently, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) received what appeared to be a 15-percent off-center 1884-O Morgan dollar for grading. If real, a specimen like this would be worth thousands of dollars. However, a cursory inspection of the coin's elements revealed that it is not a genuine error.



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