Increasingly on Facebook coin groups, members are posting fake Chinese counterfeits of rare U.S. coins, asking for a value. This post gives you strategies to identify such fakes.
We will start with the heavily faked 1800 silver dollar above, and show you the steps to take to find counterfeits. The process is the same for any date and mint mark.
Some quick tips before methods: Don’t buy coins from Etsy (too many fakes sold there). If prices are too good to be true, they are. Also, stop believing hyped videos like this:
With that out of the way, go to PCGS CoinFacts and look up the weight, diameter and metal composition.
If your coin is lighter or heavier than the 27 grams, or if the diameter is wrong, you have a counterfeit. Use a magnet to test if the coin is a base metal or silver. If the coin sticks to the magnet, it is fake.
Compare the devices of your coin to an authentic one at CoinFacts. I am doing so here with a Facebook photo asking an identifications group for a grade.
Let’s compare:
- Space between date and rim is wrong along with the font size/type/spacing of the date. (Also note how the 1 in the date almost touches the hair curl, but doesn’t in the fake.)
- Spacing again is too great in the fake coin, and the metal texture isn’t smooth. It’s grainy.
- Stars are different.
- Space between star and “L” of “Liberty” differs.
- Hair is different, too, and spaced awkwardly on the fake. Also, again, font is wrong size/type.
- Rim is different. The fake also has a poorly minted collar.
- Face, especially the nose, is different and awkward.
- Spacing between last 0 and date is off as well as the bust and rim.
There are other red flags in the devices, but we’ll leave it at that.
Also, many Chinese fakes are poured into a mold as opposed to being struck at the mint.
When you ask a Facebook group member to authenticate your coin, or grade it for you, and you are told the truth about it, don’t become angry at the comments. Be angry at the person or site that sold you the fake. Demand your money back.
Read and then cite the U.S. Hobby Act, especially this clause: “An imitation numismatic item which is manufactured in the United States, or imported into the United States for introduction into or distribution in commerce, shall be plainly and permanently marked ‘COPY.'”
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