Common US Coin Counterfeit Types?

No Not Buy Coins From China...Period

You will find fakes for almost every type of high dollar coins out there. There are several experts on counterfeit coins on this Forum. So before you buy if you aren't sure of somethings authenticity post some pics and we can try and help ya out.

Is there a good list of the most commonly counterfeited coins?

As noted almost any valuable coin has been counterfeited. However, the more popular the coin, the more they are counterfeited. For example the 16D Merc, 09S VDB Cent, 22 Lincoln plain, 55 Lincoln Double Die, Buffalo/Indian Nickel 37 three legged buffalo and naturally the 14D Lincoln. Then there is the famous 43 Copper Lincoln Cent, 13Liberty Head Nickel. These types of coins are the most counterfeited due to their popularity and it is well known they are easily sold to the millions of unsuspecting collectors. There are numerous Silver Dollars faked but the market to sell them is limited so although done many times, just not as much as the lower denominatioins. Think of it as with 300,000,000 people in the USA and possibly 20% collect coins, that makes about 6,000,000 coin collectors. Now many are just YN's or people starting out so they are easily fooled and tend to purchase from ebay or other web sites not realizing the amount of fakes out there or as asked here, what coins are faked. Note many coins have to actually be made to be counterfeited but with some cents such as the 14D they can be easily made by erasing part of the 4 in 1944. Buffalo nickels can have part of a leg erased and sold as the famous three legged variety. Similar with the 22Cent with no D. Therefore the more you want a coin or anything for that matter, there are people out there that will make fonies for you. It is done with cameras, watches, telescopes and just about anything else. The ones I like are the batteries that say "Dinocell, Denocell, Duracall" and many, many others and all look like the real thing. I like the ORIGINAL BLACK FOREST hunting knives from Japan or the daggers with the Geman Swastica on it from China. A freind just showed me some Hitler Postage stamps made in China. So when do you all think the Mint will outsource our coin production to India?

As I said the more popular a coin the more of a chance it will be counterfeited. Gold is a great one for that since almost everyone wants at least one Gold coin.
Odd subject about counterfeiting though. This morning on the news there was a report on just that. The story stated that about 81% of all counterfeit items were from China. They then listed and showed some of these and there was Coldgate Toothpaste, Crest Toothpaste, Head and shoulders Shampoo, and there was those long, blue cardboard boxes of 2x2's with coins in them. Only warning was to check the lables for mispelled words.

Sad to say but no matter how much you read or do research on the coin you are buying it can happen. That is why it is so important to find a dealer you can trust with a good return policy. A good dealer wants your return business it's good for him and it's good for you.

Bruce.

This isn't a full list of all the coins that are faked, just the ones I believe are the most commonly encountered ones.
Half Cents
1793, 1831, 1836 - 1849 except the 1849 large date
Large cents
1793 all types, 1799, 1804, 1815 (all are fake),
Small cents
1856, 1872, 1877, 1908-S 1909-S, 1909-SVDB, 1914-D, 1922-"P", 1931-S, 1943 copper, 1955 DDO, 1972 DDO
Two Cent
1872 and these are not common.
Three Cent Silver
1858, 1861, 1862 (all of these are crude contemporary fakes)
Three Cent Nickel
None that I know of.
Nickels
1875 (contemporary fake), 1878, 1880, 1881, 1885, 1912-S, 1913-S Type II, 1918/7-D, 1926-S, 1937-D Three legged
Half Dimes
1795, 1802, 1846, 1853 No Arrow, 1853-O no arrow, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868
Dimes
1796, 1822, 1844, 1846, 1853 no arrow, 1860-O, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866 1867, 1871-CC, 1872-CC, 1873-CC, 1874-CC, 1916-D, 1942/1, 1942/1-D
Twenty Cent
1876-CC
Quarters (I don't know these well)
1870-CC, 1871-CC, 1873-CC, 1896-S, 1901-S, 1913-S, 1916 SLQ, 1918/7-S, 1923, 1932-D, 1932-S
Half dollars
1794, 1796, 1797, 1806, many of the dates 1818 - 1836 these are contemporary fakes and are often worth more than the real ones, 1870-CC, 1878-S, 1914, 1915, 1921, 21-D, 21-S
Silver dollars
1795, 1796, 1799, 1804, All Seated dollars, All Trade dollars, 1889-CC, 1893-S, 1894, 1895, 1895-O, 1895-S, 1928, 1934-S
Gold coins
I don't know much about the pre-1934 coins. All of the post 1834 coins are at risk especially the Type II gold dollars and the three dollar gold. With the type II dollars and three dollar gold pieces there are probably many more fakes than there are real ones. When ANACS began back in 1972 more than 90% of all of the type II gold dollars and three dollar coins submitted were fake.

Conder101: I have a counterfeit 1860 3CS on its way to me! I just bought it so I can have it for my collection. I paid more for that coin (VF) than what a real one would cost!

No matter how carefull you are there is still a chance you'll end up with a counterfeit eventually. If this coin collecting boom that has exploded recently continues almost any coin worth more than a dollar will be counterfeited. If you want to see examples of what is comingk, just go to any flea market. Lately I've seen tennis balls, golf balls, toothpaste, garden shovels and just about anything possible being made in China.
One dealer at a coin show recently told me he too hasa been fooled a few times lately. Some of the counterfeits are really good. If htis continues it will be the end of coin collecting as we know it today.