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Valued Member
United States
62 Posts |
Hi -- I am new to collecting and I have been somewhat paniced by all the things I read on counterfeiters and fakes! But I figure rather than get discouraged I'll use the opportunity to learn more about coins by learning to detect genuine vs non-genuine! So I may post some questions from time to time here as I try to learn and would appreciate any and all advice and info! My first thoughts/questions... To start with I bought a scale (0.01g). I want to get some inexpensive Morgan silver dollars and I was thinking while I don't yet have experience to tell by the look I could weigh and size the coins. Would that be sufficient to suggest authenticity? I am only getting inexpensive coins (for example, I got some Morgan 1921 at a coin show earlier this month for $14 each). Also I wish there was a good book on this. "The Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, Edition #2" may be the one but does it have a good section to learn Counterfeit Detection or is it more for professional graders? Thank you for your ideas! Loads of fun :) Edited by mbird
07/23/2010 11:10 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1534 Posts |
Most common, inexpensive coins such as the 1921 Morgan dollar you purchased will not be counterfeit. Counterfeiters like to focus on expensive and rare coins, so if you're purchasing common date and relatively cheap coins, you don't really have much to worry about. The scale is useful, but just read as much as you can on the forum, and learn all you can. Telling a genuine coin from a fake will slowly come to you. One thing to look out for are grainy, porous surfaces, which usually indicates a counterfeit.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Luxembourg
588 Posts |
Quote:Most common, inexpensive coins such as the 1921 Morgan dollar you purchased will not be counterfeit. Counterfeiters like to focus on expensive and rare coins, so if you're purchasing common date and relatively cheap coins, you don't really have much to worry about. Unfortunately that is not completely true. In countries with very low salaries, it is already interesting to gain 1$ or 2$ on a single counterfeit. You may find lots of fake silver coins that are simply not made of silver. But there a good scale and a magnet may already be a precious help. |
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Valued Member
United States
71 Posts |
$14 is a great price ... who is the dealer?
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Pillar of the Community
Philippines
1156 Posts |
Fakes are easy to detect once you get to know the real thing. Get 4 Morgans which you are quite certain are genuines, study the feel, weight and sound it makes when dropped an inch from various surfaces, you can even spin, roll, flip or twirl it around just to see and feel
when you get to know a real Morgan by heart, you'll sense a fake one by heart too
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The scale is good and it can be useful, but believe it or not the best thing for learning to spot fakes is to examine as many REAL coins as possible. Most fakes are initially caught because they simply don't look right. Sometimes we can't even say why it doesn't look right but once you have really looked at enough coins a fake will just start making alarms go off in your head when you see it.
A though knowledge of exactly how coins, both real and fake, are made is also a must, both real and fakes. Was the coin your looking at struck by hand, by a muscle powered press, or a mechanical press? Each type has its own distinctive look. Were the dies engraved, hand punched, hubbed, or a combination of these techniques? If you are looking at coins that are supposed to made from hubbed dies then EVERY coin should look the same and any difference in the design would be cause for suspicion. If they are supposed to be from hand produced dies then you need to know about the die varieties for that series. (Many times I have seen someone declare a coin is a fake because "It doesn't match this one that I know is real." and they are comparing two different die varieties. Sometimes it can also be handy to know when in a series the hubs were redone or touched up. When ever possible know the diagnostic die markers/features that are known for the key date coins in your series.
As you can tell from this it takes one thing that you can't get quickly, experience.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
Also, PCGS's book "Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection" is a good read and deserves a spot in every serious U.S. numismatist's bookshelf. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
One of the best ways to recognise a fake is to examine coins that are known to be fakes. It may be a bit hard to arrange, but have a look at reference collections of fakes of experienced collectors and dealers. I will buy fake coins, PROVIDED they are traded as known fakes. If someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes with deception, I will let other people know what my opinion is of a particular coin and invite other people to form their own opinions also. If I think a coin is a fake, and I happen to be wrong, I may be blackening the reputation of the seller. That is why I encourage other people to corroborate my opinion or not, especially at coin shows. Also, read Conder101's reply in this thread again.
Edited by sel_69l
07/29/2010 03:57 am
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,812 |
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Posted 07/23/2010 2:11 pm
