Just A Little Paranoid... (Slabbed Gold)

I moved your post to the appropriate section for the proper attention.


Wait for other opinions, but the coins and slabs look okay to me.

Both look okay to me, and Great Collections is a respectable seller though there's no guarantee that they weren't also fooled. It would have to be a good fake to get past them IMO -- there are far worse fakes out there.

Everything looks fine to me with both slabs. Is something in particular concerning you?

Since you shelled out the bucks for PCGS 70 graded coins, I'm guessing that you want PCGS 70 graded coins. If so, then I'll have to disagree with folks who are saying to buy directly from the Mint.

Purchasing and submitting a single coin for grading and getting a 70 grade on it is not a high probability. The pop report for the 09 high relief coin shows 10,593 graded as 70 out of 21,683 submitted (48.85%) and the 08 proof has 616 out of 15,749 (.54%). You can check other dates and see similar statistics.

OTOH if your pockets are deep enough to purchase and submit several (5-10?) for grading then direct purchase may be an option. Hopefully at least one would come back as a 70 and if more than one grades as 70, then you'll probably be able to recoup your purchase and grading costs without any issue.

As far as the slab itself goes, I would look at least at:
- Does the cert verify for the coin?
- Does the bar code match the cert?
- Is the generation of the slab used appropriate for the coin?
- Does the slab stack?
- Does the color of the slab look correct?
- Are the fonts used in the cert sharp and correct for the slab generation?
- Is the hologram sharp and correct for the slab generation?

Other folks may chime in with other things to check as well

I suggested a direct Mint purchase as the ONLY way to absolutely guarantee that the coin is genuine without resubmitting it yourself.

It did not have to do with potentially grading the coins just the question of authenticity of a purchase.

I would also assume that Great Collections would do their due diligence on the coins before putting them on the auction block.

Ok, let me try my original reply again...

BadDog: Haha, if my pockets were that deep, that'd be a 1907 high relief! Nothing in particular is concerning me, it's just that post purchase I kept reading more and more about counterfeit slabs, and how readily available they are from Chinese sites. This was a big purchase for me, and not something I plan to make a habit of. I don't have much in the way gold (just two common date Saints), and I really wanted an example of high relief and DCAM gold (DCAM Franklins are my wheelhouse). I figured if these two were going to be my representative pieces, I might as well swing for the fences.

BadDog/FoxWoods: Let's say you're both right. Yes, my presumption is if the slab is good the coin is good, but sometimes an easier way to detect a fake slab is via the coin inside it.

All that said, as a kid who stared at the black and white pictures of the 1907 high relief in his Dad's 1955 Red Book, that 2009 is pretty sweet.

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the insights. Much appreciated!

Chinese counterfeits always tend to have a certain ugliness to them, whether a counterfeit Morgan dollar or a gold coin... they're not good enough yet to make flawless counterfeits in my opinion.

Both slabs look okay to me.