1879 One Dollar/Need Info

Thank you

Terrible fake.

Contrary to others I think it's a fairly decent fake.

So from a newbie's perspective, you know what would help 1,000 fold? a few more words what each observed to make the conclusion 'obvious fake', 'bad fake', etc.

What stood out?

Fred, In a case like this (and in a lot of cases of Counterfeit Detection), the easiest way to tell is by just comparing a known genuine example to this one. The stars and eagle are probably the easiest thing to point out, they look comically bad. Eventually, you can get a "feel" for counterfeit coins, where you can tell if a coin is genuine without even necessarily knowing what the original coin is supposed to look like. Things like inconsistently weak devices, grainy texture, or soft and undefined devices are all dead giveaways for a cast counterfeit or poor quality fake coin.

The coins that are difficult to spot as fakes are usually so good that it would be hard to tell from pictures alone. Things like weight, well captured close-ups of die markers, or XRF analyzers would be some of the only ways to clock a well made fake.

Thank you all... your input was NOT in vain as I will take the noted points and do some homework. Yes, I kind of guessed comparing to a known good specimen is part of the solution - what I will do now is make that comparison. I can only imagine how 'far off' is a gradient - from "even I can see it" to something that you all may see easily bit I will struggle with.

This helps a lot.