By Jack D. Young
In my previous Proxiblog article “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover: 2 TPG Certified ‘Coins,’” I reported that we no longer can rely on the “sacred cow” of trusting the slab, as there not only are many counterfeit coins in counterfeit holders, but on occasion a counterfeit in a genuine TPG holder.
“This is what keeps me up at night,” I wrote.
Well, disclosures in this article add to the insomnia.
Since my 2017 Coin Week article on the deceptive 1807 draped bust dime counterfeits, I have documented 2 more TPG certified examples. Of the now 8 appearances I have boiled down the “known” examples to five, as one example is only known by the on-line cert (no TPG images) and 2 pairs match for toning and other unique marks. And as in my previous articles on these deceptive counterfeits I start with a timeline of imaged examples like this:
The known five start with the damaged source example from a 2013 eBay listing.
2013 eBay holed genuine “source” coin
The resulting repairs do not match a genuine example in the following areas but do match the next 4 following distinct examples along with other common marks!
Images from my previous Coin Week article
The “famous four”:
NGC “Plugged XF Details slabbed example sold Dec 2015 eBay
NGC “Plugged XF Details 2nd image
And the updated cert:
NGC 2657329-011 “QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY” from initial bad submission of known sellers including several early coppers (Fall of 2015)- high res images courtesy NGC:
NGC “Questionable Authenticity; not slabbed
This one from the known bad sellers in Texas; sold Dec 2016 on the Bay raw.
The next one surfaced from a friend after my article was published; it was returned in 2017 to the TPG on their guarantee and as far as I know is still there.
PCGS certified and returned back for review
Owner’s images as listed on eBay of the same example
The next one just surfaced; a gentleman from a major auction house received it as a consignment for an upcoming auction and was concerned when he reviewed it. He cited my CW article and sent me a message about his concerns.
TPG certified example circa 2015, submitted as an auction consignment
Note from the auction house:
I did make a bid to purchase this latest example, but it appears PCGS wants it back more.
And the example PCGS bought back originally? I found my archives and it appears they determined it to be the genuine example:
I would expect the genuine one to have the correct edge!
So, that means at least 3 of the 4 are very deceptive counterfeits!
The link for the Coin Week article can be found here for reference: update-struck-counterfeits-damaged-source-coins-1807-early-dime
If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.
Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.
You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.
