The 1894 Morgan is a key date coin with a scant mintage of 110,000. You can tell real from fake because of die markers. All circulation-strike 1894 dollars were struck using one single pair of dies (VAM-3), so every genuine coin shares the same markers.
Knowing those markers is essential because this date also is one of the most altered and counterfeited coins. Scammers remove the mintmarks from the more common 1894-O or 1894-S dollars. So again, knowledge of markers is key.
There are many important markers explained in Vamworld.com. But for simplicity’s sake, we will focus only on the date.
The tail of the “9” is fused to the body of that number:
If you don’t see that, you have a counterfeit or altered date.
Next count the denticles. The number “1” should appear between the 3rd and 4th.
If not, you have a fake or altered date.
Here’s an example that lacks those two key markers:
The “1” is above the wrong denticle and the “9” lacks the connector. Compare with genuine beneath.
Here is a cast fake that not only lacks the key markers but also has casting bubbles, indicative as counterfeit with base metal.
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