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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,232 |
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Valued Member
United States
100 Posts |
I've learned my lessson. SO, if you're at a flea market, and you see a a Morgan dollor for sale, how do you know if it's real? Obviously, it can't stick to a magnet, The size should help, and I could even take my pocket scale I ordered from a jewelers shop. What else would I look for?
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
24898 Posts |
MajorPat, you could bring an authentic Morgan dollar with you to compare with any for sale. Side-by-side comparison should reveal any major design element flaws or deviations in the coin under consideration. Also, avoid rare / scarce ones, especially if the price is too good to be true. And buy the coin, not the holder or the seller's story. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10029 Posts |
Some of this also comes from experience and handling a lot of them so the design issues of the fakes stand out automatically to you. The Chinese have flooded our country with fakes and as time goes on they get better and better at it. One thing that really helps is a magnetic slide, but it would be a bit cumbersome to carry with you. My suggestion is that if you are trying to find a bargain price by shopping flea markets etc., then you likely are not going to get a real bargain b/c of the amount of fakes out there. Not all sellers even know they are selling fakes. Fakes are cheap online. But the more you learn from handling legit coins, the more you increase your chances of not being taken. If you are just shopping for Morgans b/c you like Morgans, go to a coin shop or buy from a trusted suorce like APMEX. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
If you do the magnet test and weight test, bring a genuine example to compare as noted by Hondo, and learn the design changes it will keep you out of trouble on most counterfeit coins. On Morgan's learn the following design changes: years the straight arrow feather, rounded breast feathers, flat breast feathers, larger stars, and larger space between the eagle's left wing edge and eagle's neck was used.
If you pick up a copy of "Morgan & Peace Silver Dollars" by Leroy Van Allen it will provide all the Morgan's design changes.
Counterfeiters have trouble with dates and mint marks as they often have one die and keep reusing or changing the date and mint marks. After confirming the design is correct for year, the date and mint mark is a good place to start your due diligence.
If you get involved with key dates of 89CC, 93S, or 94 learn the die markers and date position.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
Most coins at an estate sale, garage sale, flea market you should assume they may be fake. Most of what I've seen are also circulated. If a seller lets you, one test method is called a Pocket Pinger which will not damage a circulated coin. Morgan and Peace silver dollars have a certain frequency sound to them when tapped on the edge, most fakes sound different because the metal content is not the same. I have a Pocket Pinger, it works pretty well IMO. There's some YouTube videos demonstrating them if you you want to watch.
Edited by livingwater
07/26/2023 4:32 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
My sense from a previous thread of yours is that you're looking to quickly score monetarily from coins and my feeling is that it's a difficult and long road. Coin collecting to me is a hobby suited to disposable income. Flea markets are filled with stuff selling cheap that sellers obtained even cheaper, and I don't see it as a venue to even consider obtaining quality coins. Exceptions exist of course.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1648 Posts |
Flea Markets, garage sales, antique shops, salvation army type stores are all great places to find interesting items for resale or bargains for collecting. Most of these can be identified as real although you should always stay away from high value branded items due to those VERO problems. Im in agreement with Earle and livingwater but also kbbpll here in that I would generally avoid buying coins such as silver and gold (other than perhaps things like US proof/mint sets, recent packaged coins from the mint that arent normally copied, US normal silver coins like old dimes and quarters if the price were low) etc as the morgan/peace are so frequently counterfeited you are going to get burned much more likely than finding some good deals to profit off. Yes over time you can learn some of the things to differentiate https://www.jmbullion.com/morgan-si...r-fake-tips/I would suggest also to buy only graded examples until you are far more experienced. Yes they can be counterfeit also but much less likely than the fake coins unslabbed. You can certainly buy from trusted sources as Earle mentioned also otherwise, at least its less likely you are going to pay for something worthless or worse resell it to someone and end up liable for selling fakes. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4415 Posts |
@ MajorPatW .... The problem really isn't the venue, as suggested by your topic title question. It all boils down to knowing a dealer is trustworthy, knowing the terms of the sale and, more importantly, knowing your coins. As you seem focused on buying dollar coins, you likely have a reasonably sized wallet. I get the impression that you're eager to buy; perhaps, a bit too eager? I humbly suggest that you avoid putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. Your participation on the CCF is a giant step. If you've not already done so, I also suggest that you join a local coin club to enjoy networking with other collector and dealer members. Attend local shows and club auctions to develop an eye for evaluating coins. You'll find that club members will welcome you, and you'll likely make some fast and trustworthy friends. Many collectors and dealers have a so-called "black cabinet" or mini collection of fake/altered coins. Seek these folks out to examine and learn from them. Share your sad experience with them, so they'll better understand your needs and help you avoid the pitfalls of this great hobby .... a hobby that I've enjoyed for going-on seventy years now.  Edited by ExoGuy
07/27/2023 08:11 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19112 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
517 Posts |
Run from these  ...  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5392 Posts |
You can't make a blanket statement like that .
Many legitimate coin dealers sell at markets
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
24898 Posts |
The good estate sales in this area are run by professionals, and they outsource the coins to our LCS. I used to attend them weekly, and there were never coins for sale.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,232 |
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Posted 07/26/2023 1:51 pm
