How Do You All Recognize A Fake Morgans?

Weight. Magnetic test. Surface quality (Grainy is bad...) Compare letters / devices to
a genuine coin.

weight test first, diameter and thickness second and specific gravity third. Other quick options are the tissue test and the ice cube test. Naturally, grainy surfaces, mushy lettering and pimpled fields draw suspect too.

to the CCF, Greg!

Sometimes a fake coin just looks "wrong."

This isn't foolproof, of course - genuine coins can appear "strange," and fake ones can be so good as to look perfectly normal.

Also note that toning, wear, and improper cleaning can all make determining a coin's authenticity difficult. This is why quantitative testing, like weighing, is so important.

Pictures also make identifying fakes more difficult. Not everyone is skilled enough to produce images that show a coin exactly as it appears in hand.

For example, here is a topic I posted a few years back about an 1881 Morgan. One set of pictures made the date look highly suspect, but another image with different lighting made it appear normal. One forum member even asked if the second image was even of the same coin - my so-so photography skills made them appear that much different!

I definitely see the grain is very different than the real Morgan. And I will have to bring my scale down from the cabin where it's been weighing broadheads and bullets. thanks to all of you for the tips. And no worries about busting on me Spence. That's how I'm figuring out all this Morgan info.

Cast counterfeits generally have grainy surfaces, raised bumps, and weak detail. The reeding on the edge is a dead giveaway.

Transfer die counterfeits generally have weak details, especially in the protected areas of the design. The reeding is usually obviously wrong, but may be closer to correct on newer counterfeits.

Laser-cut die struck counterfeits are harder to detect by eye, but frequently have tooling marks. Counterfeits produced in this manner will share the same surface marks and flaws as the original coin. Tooling marks suggest an attempt to eliminate these flaws. Laser die counterfeits sometimes look too good to be true. The reeding is similar to the transfer die struck counterfeits.

On all of the counterfeits, watch put for coins that are artificially toned or aged, tossed in a rock tumbler to simulate circulation, or have a gray, lifeless, dull metallic appearance.

With one exception that I know about, the counterfeits do not match any known VAM. That's a first stop if the coin does not look obviously wrong.

Fake slabs are out there. Do not rely on a slab, by itself. Verify the certification number. Make sure the coin in the slab matches the picture on the TPG site, if one is available. If the TPG site does not have a picture, make sure the coin in the slab matches the grade and description of the one on the TPG site. Examine the coin closely. Avoid unknown basement slabbers or at least treat the coins as raw coins.

Avoid online auction sales from zero-feedback sellers, sellers who have other suspicious coins online, or sellers who do not accept returns. Blurry photos, listings that sound too good to be true, sellers who have only rare dates, sellers shipping from outside the country, and sellers who peddle garage sale junk plus a few very rare coins are all highly suspect.

The three easiest tests for metallic authenticity are weight, specific gravity, and eddy current slide. To date, I am not aware of any counterfeit that can pass all three.

I weigh, magnet test, measure thickness, and observe features.

I don't do the ping due to it adding contact marks to the coin and it may be defined as graffiti on a previously nice ms coin.