NGC -
Striations, dimples and a lump are clues that this coin isn't genuine.The coins issued in 2021 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the last
Morgan dollars have reignited interest in the beloved silver series. Additional attention has driven prices higher, and that creates an incentive for counterfeiters.
One of the Morgan key dates is the 1895-O, a conditional rarity. While these coins are relatively plentiful in lower grades, price guides indicate that the seldom-seen mint-state examples are easily worth five to six figures. Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) recently received a submission of a purported 1895-O that has several red flags.
A genuine 1895-O Morgan dollar (top) and its spurious counterpart (bottom).For starters, the digits in the date do not match those of a genuine coin. The fields contain numerous horizontal striations, which indicate the dies used are not 19th-century United States Mint products.
In addition, many of the devices have rather bizarre pimpling. Look closely at the N and E in ONE DOLLAR on the reverse. These defects were likely caused by the machine used in the die-creation process. A sizable lump appears above Liberty's forehead, under the first U in PLURIBUS, that a more careful counterfeiter would have tried to remove.
In addition to the wrong font on the date and striations in the field, two letters on the reverse have peculiar bubblingThis spurious coin weighs only 25.87g, nearly a gram less than expected. The metallurgical analysis shows that it is 58-percent copper, 37-percent zinc, 4-percent nickel and just 1-percent silver.
Perhaps to distract from its flaws, the counterfeiter also artificially toned and aged the coin. Collectors are well-advised to look past any toning when judging authenticity. Remember, whether it is a key-date
Morgan dollar or a more common coin, NGC backs its determinations of authenticity with the NGC Guarantee.
Read More: Counterfeit Detection Series
Check out 1895 O Morgan Dollars on ebay.
Posted 02/27/2022 12:45 pm
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