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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,540 |
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Valued Member
Greece
425 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
900 fine is in fact 21.6 carats fine.
Actually, the stamp looks a Chinese banker's mark to me.
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Valued Member
United States
111 Posts |
That's pretty neat! I'm sure it adds collector value. Most likely, if it's Chinese, it was added to test the purity of the coin. Not too many eagles have "chop marks", as they are called. I'd take it to your local coin dealer and have him check it out, too.
**Edited to change "quarter eagles" to "eagles"**
Edited by 3_Cent_Silver
05/22/2012 5:15 pm
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Valued Member
United States
100 Posts |
I am getting the idea it is an asain fake! The imprint looks like it was added when minted, idk, maybe it is just me. I know the S mint wouldnt add that!
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
The countermark is most certainly post mint, irrespective of who put it there.
Unless I had the opportunity to examine the coin in hand, I cannot pass judgement that it is a fake.
From the pictures it looks quite OK to me. I have no reason to doubt the authenticity so far.
epop: If you are a bit concerned. there are three very basic tests:
1.) A ring tone comparison with a known genuine coin.
2.) Weigh it.
3.) Close and careful inspection and comparison with known genuine coin, using 10 x loupe.
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Valued Member
 Greece
425 Posts |
Edited by epop
05/23/2012 09:01 am
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Valued Member
Australia
243 Posts |
This is a really tricky fake to spot, considering that its general appearance in the image looks quite good. However, when you look closer there are some things that feel off. First, the stars on the obverse are poorly defined and much thicker then an authentic example. Also, the tip of the eagles left wing also isn't as well defined as it should be considering the overall high grade of this coin. I must admit I really thought this was genuine on first glance - just goes to show how good these fakes can be. Nonetheless, epop, it appears that the coin is probably still gold so it is still worth good money. However, as a collector I would encourage you to sell this to someone who will melt it down - this needs to be put out of its misery before it fools an unsuspecting collector.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
652 Posts |
from the NGC article, "the NGC Coin Price Guide reports values of $4,840 in MS 63 and $7,900 in MS 64."
Not a bad price for a forgery. There are collectors that collect these things - maybe you can get a good bit of money out of it.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Those are the values for a genuine coin, the forgery would most likely only be worth its gold content.
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Valued Member
Greece
425 Posts |
In 70's there was a lack of money in Lebanon.The government needed money for the war.Also there was an embargo to exports.So an easy way to get weapons for gold was to mint sovereigns and other gold coins for the trade.The state involved in these minting process and all the sovereigns I came along are pure 21 karats with the Arabic numbers punched in the coins.That was the first time I come along an American coin.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Even if one is unfamiliar with the intricacies of the design, there still two generic indicators according to NGC which point to this coin being a counterfeit:
1.)There are several small die gouges in the die which show up as raised lines on the coin.I have seen this feature in coin authentication before, and they can be indicative of Lebanese counterfeits.
2.) General softness of the details. When a coin is copied and that information is tramsmitted to a die, some sharpness of detail is ALWAYS lost, irrespective of the method of copying. The best way to pick this loss of detail is to comapre with a known genuine coin of the same type, using a 10x loupe, preferably with both coins for immediate comparison.
It is well worth committing both of these considerations to memory, to be used when examining a coin in the hand.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,540 |
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Posted 05/22/2012 5:14 pm
