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 Replies: 26 / Views: 4,586 |
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Moderator
 United States
54282 Posts |
The seller says he got it from his grandfather in 1972 and it has never been out of a drawer (until now, 44 years later). That seems reasonable, since the photos are of a raw coin. The seller wants $1,900 for it. Real or Fake? Show your financial support of the Coin Community Family (click here)See my topic on Mexican Numismatic Medals (click here) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1499 Posts |
My instant instinct would be to pass on this out of hand.
Many warning signs are here. The pictures are blurry, which is a sure fire way to hide problems. One picture is at a 90 degree angle which is done to disorient you. The more blurry picture of the reverse looks like a counterfeit coin to me. The "UNITED" does not look right. Even if it is genuine, which I doubt, there is big scratch down the center of the obverse. Finally I've heard many of these "rooster and bull" stories about how it was "grand pappy's coin." Unless their "grand pappy" is from China, don't believe it.
If you want a picture of a genuine 1798 large eagle dollar, I'll post it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
03/15/2016 4:26 pm
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Valued Member
United States
256 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
256 Posts |
Well that post didnt work.....fake.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Pass. Fake or not, it's cleaned and damaged.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
I would pass because of the scratches and damage. It looks like it could be genuine. Those that are saying "fake" are jumping the gun way too quickly, as is usual for this forum when something is given the possibility to be fake. One cannot tell authenticity from those photos. Quote:
The fields look too clean, with no striation lines near the dentils. Compare this real one. That is a different variety and a later die state. I have seen lower-grade bust dollars with cleaner fields, though the blurriness of the photos could be hiding knicks and scratches. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
@typecoin you may be right but for me everything about it says fake. I don't like the dentils lying flat on the surface, billjones doesn't like UNITED, and all the seller is offering is a big story with bad photos. This is caveat emptor for a number of reasons and believing it's a fake takes it off the table completely. The only potential customer should be the person who can authenticate it as an obscure variety.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
03/15/2016 6:41 pm
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Moderator
 United States
54282 Posts |
I would have bet it was counterfeit. So it appears the coin is genuine, but not so sure about the "story". 252291178471 Show your financial support of the Coin Community Family (click here)See my topic on Mexican Numismatic Medals (click here)Edited by nss-52
03/15/2016 6:57 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
The rounded cavities at the bottom rim of the obverse suggest a casting to me. The toning is odd to my eye. The stars are rather irregular in configuration. What's the weight? The specific gravity? What's the edge look like? Nothing about the circumstances in this instance reassures me.
Colligo ergo sum
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Edited by BH1964
03/15/2016 7:43 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
Glad I called it right, according to PCGS. If someone hints that the coin could be counterfeit, then EVERYBODY tries to find that ONE little thing that unsettles them a little bit, because they have the mindset that it HAS to be counterfeit, and then they scream FAKE, FAKE, FAKE. It is really annoying, but I can understand that everyone is staying overly cautious. I feel like I am the only one that gives these questionable coins the benefit of the doubt.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
The recent rash of counterfeit coins in PCGS and NGC slabs does not exactly mean that just because a coin is in a real PCGS/NGC holder that it is a real coin.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
I've owned questionable coins. I still own questionable coins. I don't give them the benefit of the doubt anymore. The worst was a plugged and overplated 1872-S dollar. It looked unusually shiny, like it had been polished, with soft details. The plating came off in a frying pan. The coin wasn't a fake but if I had believed it was I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. [And after a number of bad experiences I also avoid pinscratched coins like the plague.] Looking at the ebay listing above, I'm guessing that the coin is now in the holder and that the blurry pictures are what it looked like raw when it came out of the drawer. Grandpa might have bought it out of a junk coin bin back in the day. This fits the story. $900 would be closer to market price. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
03/16/2016 08:38 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1499 Posts |
I'm not sorry I strongly questioned this coin's authenticity. When you see poorly focused pictures like this that are turned at a 90 degree angle, it's very prudent to assume that the seller is up to something. All of these photographic shenanigans are methods that those who market counterfeits use to disorient the viewer. I have photos of a phony 1921-D dime that was sold on ebay. The obverse photo was turned at a slight angle. When I rotated it to the normal position, it became obvious that the "21" in the date was higher than the "19." In the oddly rotated photo, this was not obvious. I gave a counterfeit presentation to my local club last night. One of the members commented to me that he saw the same thing when I pointed it out to the group. There is one more question. Why did this seller take the coin out of the PCGS holder? If it is still in the holder why is he hiding the fact that it has been declared genuine by a reputable grading service? There is something that's not right here, and potential buyers would do well to steer clear of this offering. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
827 Posts |
I agree with billjones. Better to be safe than sorry.
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Replies: 26 / Views: 4,586 |
Posted 03/15/2016 4:21 pm
