GSA Carson City dollars are among the most popular coins for collectors. But like anything else these days, you need to be on the lookout for switched out certificates of authenticity and counterfeit holders, often containing Chinese fake coins.
Here’s how to fact-check the COA. The first two numbers of the identification number need to match the last two of the date inside the holder.
If the first two numbers do not match the last two of the date, the COA has been tampered with. See below.
The eBay offering above states that the GSA Carson City dollar includes “original box & COA.” That’s wrong. The certificate of authenticity here is for an 1884-CC dollar, not an 1883-CC dollar.
That means at some point the original certificate was lost or put into the box of another GSA dollar.
In 1970, Congress authorized the General Services Administration to sort and box the hoard of Carson City silver dollars for sale to the public. While the wrong COA won’t diminish by much the worth of a GSA dollar, collectors do like to have the original paperwork.
Of greater concern are coins in counterfeit holders. But luckily, there’s a way to tell the difference.
The Chinese counterfeit holders use a blank black plastic insert. Genuine holders use a higher grade of plastic that on close examination show a textured surface.
Compare the fake holder (left) with the authentic one (right).
Here’s a closer look:
If purchasing a China fake GSA holder and coin, check the coin for counterfeit, using methods of this Proxiblog article. You might get a replica, a base metal fake or a real coin with problems.
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