Counterfeit Detection: 1901 Morgan Dollar With Removed Mintmark

NGC - This coin wants you to think it's a Philadelphia native, but tooling points to a different origin.

As Morgan dollar collectors know, mintmarks can mean the difference between an unremarkable coin worth a little more than melt value and one that's worth thousands of dollars — or more! For example, the 1901 Morgans have either an 'S' or 'O' mintmark (representing San Francisco or New Orleans), or no mintmark at all (signifying Philadelphia).

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Genuine 1901 Morgan dollar graded NGC MS 63

At 2.284 million, the 1901-S has the lowest mintage of the three, less than a third of Philadelphia's output and less than a sixth of New Orleans' total. But it's the Philadelphia issues that carry the biggest numismatic premiums: several hundred dollars over its peers in About Uncirculated. Go higher up the NGC Grading Scale to MS 63, and you'll find the 1901-O is worth a little more than $100, and a 1901-S is worth about $1,000. But the Philadelphia 1901 Morgan checks in at more than $10,000!


Altered 1901 Morgan Dollar

NGC recently received a submission of a purported 1901 Morgan dollar. With the small amount of metal in the mintmark having such a major impact on the coin's apparent value, anyone examining one should pay special attention to the mintmark area. It is located above the DO in the word DOLLAR near the bottom of the reverse.


Close-up of mintmark area on altered 1901 Morgan dollar (left) and genuine coin

With the aid of a loupe, the tooling in the mintmark area on the purported 1901 Morgan dollar becomes clear. After removing the mintmark, the counterfeiter extended the area of disturbed metal (including to the left and right of the letter D) in an attempt to make it blend in with the rest of the coin. It's not particularly convincing to a trained eye, because the toolmarks rapidly change direction, which is in stark contrast to the smooth and consistent die flow lines on a genuine example.

Because a 1901-S in this condition would have cost hundreds of dollars more, it's a fairly safe bet that the counterfeiter began with a 1901-O. Removing a mintmark is one of the easiest ways to alter a coin, requiring considerably less effort than adding a mintmark or changing a digit in the date.

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