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Does Anyone Have Experience With Counterfeit TPG Slabs?

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 Posted 05/06/2026  06:28 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add Sharkman to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I recently spent $50 to purchase what was represented as a PCGS MS65+ CAC 1912-S Liberty nickel. I knew I was buying a Chinese fake, but I was interested in seeing how the counterfeiters would do with the slab and the CAC sticker. The answer is that they didn't. The "coin" came in a little tin box such as one containing breath mints. There was no attempt at either a PCGS slab or a CAC Sticker. Just the coin loose in the tin box.
The coin itself looked like the real deal. It looked like it was struck on a quality coin press with no seems or questionable aspects to its overall appearance. I didn't try to grade it, but it looked reasonable to be a MS65+. Knowing it to be fake, I didn't try to learn and apply the diagnostics.
My question is whether realistic phony TPG slabs are a meaningful problem in the marketplace. I have read of fake coins in fake slabs, and the 1912-S nickel seems valuable enough to justify the effort of creating phony slabs. Does anyone have any information on whether persuasive phony slabs are really out there and how much a risk they are to coin buyers? I collect seated and capped bust coins where many coins that are better date but not semi key can sell for four figure prices. These seem like the coins most likely to catch a collector off guard.
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 Posted 05/13/2026  6:15 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add BStrauss3 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
There are definitely counterfeit PCGS slabs. So far, there are some clear tells. PCGS is easier to counterfeit because they do not have images of every coin on their pages.




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bobby131313's Avatar
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 Posted 05/13/2026  6:17 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add bobby131313 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
There are tons of fake slabs, more than most think there are. There are also tons, and I mean tons, of fake PSA slabs.
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 Posted 05/16/2026  5:43 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Slider23 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Fake slabs can be found on common dates, better dates and key dates. Fake slabs can also hold a genuine or counterfeit coin. Do your due diligence on the coin to determine if the example is genuine and properly graded. The first place to start is to verify the TPG cert numbers. Your best protection is comparing the coin in the holder to a photo by the TPG. If no photo is available, the next best is to run the barcode in a barcode generator and compare the generated barcode numbers to the cert numbers. There are some good fake slabs that have the barcode correct. On fake slabs there are often issues with the label, font, plastic, TPG logos, and holograms. On expensive coins it is best to purchase from main stream auction houses and coin dealers.
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 Posted 05/16/2026  7:11 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Buffalo soldat to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'd be keen to see a photo of a good counterfeit Liberty nickel for educational purposes.
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thecoinguy1964's Avatar
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 Posted 05/17/2026  08:23 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add thecoinguy1964 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
This post definitely needed photos, hopefully coming soon.
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 Posted 05/17/2026  11:17 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add livingwater to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
There's numerous Youtube videos showing fake coins and fake slabs and online articles about them. There's some shown here on CCF in prior topics. I wish there was a database showing pics of many fake slabs but I don't know of one.

Here are pics of fake coins/slabs according to the dealer that showed them on Youtube a few years ago but I can't remember the channel or dealer name.

Does-Anyone-Have-Experience-With-Counterfeit-TPG-Slabs?
Edited by livingwater
05/17/2026 1:15 pm
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Sap's Avatar
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 Posted 05/17/2026  6:56 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Just as with fake coins, there is a spectrum of realism with fake slabs. There are fake slabs that are laughably obvious (such as having "barcodes" that are just a row of numeral 1). And there are fake slabs that are so good the only way you'd pick them is by comparing the coin inside to the coin inside the genuine article.

The quality of the slab is independent of the quality of the fake, as they tend to be made by different companies. You can, in theory, have a very realistic-looking coin inside a ludicrous slab, and a very ludicrous-looking coin inside a very realistic-looking slab.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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 Posted 05/17/2026  10:04 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sharkman to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Livingwater
Thanks for all the pics. I am surprised at the number of details coins in your fake slabs. Intuitively, I would think that going to the trouble of making a fake slab would also lead to encapsulation of a fake straight graded coin. You have shown that one can't be too careful.
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