Posted 05/10/2006 6:26 pm
The 1900 Lafayette Dollar has been counterfeited numerous times. It has been made by casting and by striking. Many different dies and molds are involved. The copies seem to originate primarily in North Africa, the Middle-East, China and the US. Some of the coins are exceptionally high quality while others are very easy to diagnose. The problem here is that there are some VERY high quality fakes that are capable of fooling most dealers. That is because so few dealers have handled many originals. This coin really should be certified by someone like ANACS to be sure. ANACS has a very good file of counterfeit die markers to look for. These files are not fully published for obvious reasons. In the mid 1970s, I had the opportunity to personally examine one of the better forgeries made up to that time. All I can say is that I WOULD NEVER presume to believe I could be certain from photographic evidence alone.
