Why Are Counterfeits Listed As Varieties

The micro Os listed for 1880-O and 1899-O are for real. The ones listed for 1896-O, 1900-O and 1902-O are "privately made" and fakes, but the silver content is a tad better then the Mints, therefore they rang true on a ring test. It wasn't until 2000 when NGC finally made the call that they were fakes and stopped attributing them and later the other TPGs joined in. So it was years and years before they came to be known and no one knows just who exactly is responsible for making them or the time period they were made in. Lots of ideas but the coins aren't talking! LOL

thanks