To celebrate the nation’s Semiquincentennial–250 years–the US Mint produced 250,000 Declaration of Independence Quarters featuring a special “July 4th” privy mark. These quarters were sent with regular business strikes to banks and now has become a desirable variety, typically selling raw for $100 and several hundreds more if slabbed in high mint state.
In introducing the coin, Mint Director Paul Hollis said, “We hope Americans enjoy the search for these iconic quarters as they’re meant to be shared, saved, and remembered as part of this historic anniversary.”
No Washington Quarter has such a low mintage. The key dates 1932-D had a mintage of 436,800 and 1932-S, 408,000.
Let’s show where you can find the privy mark and display it next to a regular issue.
As you can see, the obverse side displays a profile of Thomas Jefferson and the reverse features the Liberty Bell. The privy mark reads “July 4th. Unlike other business strikes, these rare quarters bear no mint mark, making the privy mark the primary indicator of its rarity.
You can find raw and holdered examples on eBay and other online venues.
If you know how to grade and have an exceptional high mint state example, like this one below, then consider holdering it.
Among the highest graded examples have been MS67, as above. Gem Grades (MS65 to MS66+) have been found in rolls and also go for hundreds of dollars.
As you can imagine, counterfeits, replicas and altered coins are making the rounds. The Better Business Bureau has put out an alert about this.
Scammers have done the following:
Altered Mint Marks: Criminals use standard 2026 Philadelphia or Denver quarters, grind off the “P” or “D” mint mark, and engrave or stamp a fake “July 4” text onto the field.
Misplaced Privy Designs: Some fakes feature poorly defined text or put the mark in the wrong spot.
Forgotten Mintmark: Scammers put a fake July 4th privy mark but forget to shave off the mintmark.
The best place to find these rare privy marked quarters, apart from pocket change, is securing or buying bank rolls … and hoping you’ll get lucky.
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USA Today published a comprehensive article on the hype about the 1982-D Small Date bronze cent variety, noting its rarity–only two found–and odds of finding the third, along with eBay sellers out to scam others by selling ordinary cents from that year. (In 1982, the US Mint made 16,729,361,847 cents in Denver and Philadelphia.)
Proxiblog and its founder, Michael Bugeja, figure prominently in the 8/17/26 USA Today piece.
“I’m happy to see the widespread distribution of this article by Mike Snider,” Bugeja said. USA Today has an estimated weekday print circulation of roughly 89,200 to 103,600 copies, alongside over 2 million digital subscribers, making it one of the most widely read daily newspapers in the United States. “Perhaps this will enlighten all those new collectors believing they will find the rarity in pocket change.
“There are better ways to spend hobby time.”
Excerpts:
The USA Today article quotes Bugeja and Proxiblog extensively along with these other experts: John Brush, president of rare coin trading and auctioning company DLRC; Donn Pearlman, a spokesman for the Professional Numismatists Guild; and Mary Sauvain, executive director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
Every 1922 cent should carry the “D” mintmark from Denver, which was the only facility to produce cents in 1922. But accidents happen, and a mint employee over polished a working die, erasing the “D.”
The Denver Mint struck a total of 7,160,000 Lincoln cents that year. Due to a shortage of coin dies, Denver workers polished and reused damaged, clogged dies. That is how the mistake happened.
Coin collectors know that the Philadelphia Mint typically does not use a mintmark for coinage. So the missing mintmark has the appearance of being struck at Philly.
Only about 15,000 examples exist of the missing mintmark cent, a key date for collectors and a rarity, worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars, depending on the die pairs.
That’s why identifying the rarity is important. We’ll explore that here.
The 1922 Cent is categorized as follows:
Standard 1922-D (Normal mint mark)
1922 “Weak D” (Faint, blurry, or partially filled mint mark)
1922 “No D” / Plain (Mint mark completely missing)
In addition, value is assessed by die pairs:
Die Pair #1 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). Mushy or missing lines on wheat stalks. Die Pair #2 (“No D” Strong Reverse). Clear lines on wheat stalks. Die Pair #3 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). The final “2” in the date is notably weaker than the first “2”. Die Pair #4 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse): Very similar to pair 3 but typically even mushier.
Scammers find it easy to erase the “D” on a well-defined 1922-D normal mintmark coin. They do so by tooling or filling the area where the mintmark should be. Here’s a suspicioius example:
This is one occasion to use a coin microscope. Any deviation on the surface is suspect.
Also keep in mind that China mass produces replicas that dishonest sellers offer as authentic. Example:
As always, if you cannot distinguish die pairs, or are unsure, do not bid on or buy any unholdered coin.
As you might anticipate, die pair #2 values are expensive.
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In 2017, I won in an online auction a roll of Morgan dollars supposedly from a Carson City, Nev., bank. The date 1879 was on one end of the roll and the CC Mint mark of the Carson City Mint on the reverse. I paid $2,400 for the roll and reported the results for Coin World.
If the roll was actually from Carson City, with 1879-CCs therein, it would have been a magnificent score, worth tens of thousands. I knew that would not be the case. This was research for an article. As it turned out, there was one 1883-CC low mint state (the coin whose reverse showed on one end of the roll). The rest were sliders with a few uncirculated common date Morgans. A few, though, were toned, so I did recoup some of the investment. In the end, I lost more than $1,300.
That was a baited roll. In other words, someone had access to a Carson City bank paper roll and filled it so that one end had a CC, fooling optimists (fools) that other coins therein had the same rare mintmark.
This article cautions against buying these rolls on eBay, HiBid or other auction venues. Not only because almost all of these have searched already; but because the specter of counterfeits in those rolls is increasing
For instance, Jack D. Young wrote an article titled “Bad Coin Rolls,” about a seller offering two mixed rolls of small cents with an apparent 1857 Flying Eagle counterfeit cent.
Here’s a clearly opened roll from HiBid. Note how loose the ends of the roll are, even though the seller states “SEALED. (For newbies, “sealed” does NOT mean “unopened.”)
Learn what an opened roll looks like, with loose ends that the owner could not get back into original form. Example:
Proxiblog has written about photos of rolls, important before you bid or buy. You should see both ends in any offering to identify if they show evidence of being opened. Here’s a legitimate offering of Peace Dollars with one side (left) tight and original and the other (reverse side, right), opened.
Veteran hobbyists know that you should never bid on these rolls, even if both sides look tight and unopened. A good scammer can use an Exacto knife to open and reseal a roll so that it looks original. (I won’t share how to do that; I learned from my local coin dealer, decades ago, who showed me all the scammer tricks, pre Internet.)
But now, with the onslaught of Chinese fake Morgan dollars, the risk has increased. Many hobbyists cannot identify counterfeit coins. Consider this Etsy copy (right) if inserted into a Morgan roll. Would you be able to tell the difference?
In the past, scammers had to shell out for at least one uncirculated Carson City 1882-1884 Morgan dollars. Now, counterfeits are in play. This, in itself, is a good reason NOT to purchase these rolls.
Recommendations:
If you want to stack silver or buy Morgan and Peace rolls, purchase from reputable online sellers using their own plastic rolls, like APMEX:
2. Do not bid or buy any roll on eBay or other online venues if one end of the roll looks opened or if the seller doesn’t show both ends of that roll. Classic bad example with no ends of roll depicted:
3. Do not fall for baited Carson City bank rolls. Those are almost always opened. Below is a 10-coin roll from eBay. (Note for newbies: Morgan and Peace dollars are routinely offered in 10-coin and 20-coin rolls. Do not assume all rolls have 20 coins.)
Finally, learn about Etsy replicas. Proxiblog has documented these in several articles. CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLES.
The more you learn about coins, the less chance of your being snookered.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
For the veterans looking for specific classes of doubled dies, here are nine with illustrations. While it is important to know these, beginners are discouraged from trying to learn these via memorization. They should access the three main types of doubling. That said, they might still want to see the visuals to grasp all the types of hub doubling creating varieties in coin collecting.
Values of the above depend on rarity and condition. Check PCGS CoinFacts for particulars.
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True doubled dies are becoming difficult to find ever since the US Mint installed new machinery (sing-squeeze hubbing) in 1997, virtually eliminating true doubled dies. But they still occur because the machinery requires several presses per working die, and if that is improperly align, viola!: Doubled Dies.
Also, because of the power now of the coining machines, pressure can cause a slight slip and even result in a ghost image.
One of the first examples in the Lincoln Memorial Cent category is the 2004 DDR (also known as 2004 DDR FS-801).
Like the 2006 DDO cent, the misalignment of the 2004 DDR cannot always be easily spotted with a naked eye. You’ll need a loupe or, if you prefer, microscope.
You will be looking for distorted, thick, somewhat bulb-like lettering in “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Let’s review the markers.
Here are the main pickup points on “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
After that, check the word “States” for thickness and doubling, as shown here:
Also look for any deformed dots, as here:
To help you visualize differences, compare thickness and doubling next to a regular 2004 reverse.
Based on condition, PCGS Values range from $30 to $500+ in red uncirculated condition. Red-brown examples are exceedingly lower in worth.
Because the markers may need magnification, we do not recommend buying raw examples from eBay and online auctions. Photos just cannot identify the above markers unless crisp and large. Never pay hundreds of dollars for any coin, especially a purported doubled die, unless holdered.
Here’s an example. No way to verify if this is a DDR.
Mintage of the 2004 cent in Philly was 3,379,600,000; so thousands of these doubled dies should be in bags, rolls and circulation. Coin shops and eBay often sell unopened mint bags like this one, identified by date. My local coin dealer years ago had a $50 bag of 1995 DDO cents! Several years ago I bought an unopened 1982-D cent bag. Great grades but, you guessed it, no 1982-D Small Date 3.1 grams.
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I have known Ian Russell for a quarter century when he worked for Teletrade, an early pioneer in the certified coin market. He served as president of Teletrade from 2005-2010. He then founded GreatCollections Coin Auctions, which I whole-heartedly recommend. Good buyer and seller rates. I have used the site for years.
If you don’t known Russell, you can read his biography by clicking here.
Russell is treasurer of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation, which raises awareness about counterfeit coins and bullion and works with authorities to track down sources of fake lots and sales.
I asked Russell to comment on what Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and I have been documenting on eBay and other online venues, i.e., counterfeit coins in fake PCGS holders whose certification numbers open to a Chinese site.
The Elements: The scam consists of three parts: a cheap base-metal counterfeit coin, a slab designed to mimic an authentic PCGS holder, and a fake URL/QR code.
The Fake Website: Scanning the QR code on the slab directs victims to a mirror website that falsely “verifies” the fake certification number as legitimate.
Prevalence: Investigated by numismatists on Proxiblog Coin News and Views, these scams heavily flood online marketplaces like eBay.
Proxiblog recommended these actions if encountering the sale of fake coins:
Verify Directly: Never use the QR code or URL printed on a suspicious slab’s label. Manually search the certification number on the Official PCGS Verification Portal.
Compare Markers: Scrutinize the coin’s die markers and weight, as counterfeiters often use stolen images of genuine coins for their listings.
Report Fakes: You can read investigative articles by numismatists at the Proxiblog Counterfeit Archive to stay up-to-date on current fakes.
The sheer number of “Not PCGS” counterfeits has reached epidemic proportions. See this video for examples:
Proxiblog recently contacted PCGS President Stephanie Sabin, who provided this statement:
“Since founding PCGS in 1986, our mission has been to protect collectors through leading authentication, grading, and the most secure holders in the industry. However, a powerful brand inevitably attracts counterfeiters, and we treat combating these fraudulent holders as an aggressive, ongoing priority. True security requires staying multiple steps ahead, which is why we continually invest in advanced overt and covert security features across all our product lines. We applaud the dedicated individuals and organizations within our community who work tirelessly to educate collectors on the dangers of counterfeit holders; their vigilance to eliminate altered and fraudulent collectibles is essential to protecting consumers and preserving the integrity of the numismatic marketplace.”
After that article ran, Proxiblog began getting emails and messages about whether their actual PCGS-holdered coins were legitimate. That shows the damage being done to the main reason that holdering companies exist: authentication. Proxiblog viewers also wanted to know what the big auction houses are doing to ensure that coins holdered by PCGS, NGC and other companies contain genuine coins.
So we contacted Russell to find out.
“The rise in counterfeit coins housed in fake PCGS holders has become one of the most serious threats facing the numismatic marketplace today,” Russell says. “At GreatCollections, every coin is carefully reviewed before it is offered for sale, and our team is highly experienced at identifying counterfeit holders, altered labels, and fraudulent verification schemes. Protecting bidders and maintaining confidence in third-party grading are top priorities.”
When questionable material is identified, GreatCollections removes it from consideration regardless of its source. While most consignors are acting in good faith and are often unaware they possess a counterfeit item, Russell says, “we will not offer any coin whose authenticity cannot be fully verified. The integrity of the marketplace depends on strict authentication standards and consistent enforcement.”
Russell is concerned about the growing sophistication of counterfeit holders. This has understandably caused some collectors to question genuine certified coins. “That is why auction houses, grading services, dealers and collectors must remain vigilant and work together to identify and remove counterfeit material whenever it appears. Confidence in certified coins is built on trust, and that trust must be protected.”
Jack D. Young also was among the first to report counterfeit coins in fake PCGS holders with GreatCollection labels. The label on the left side below is fake. Compare it to the real label, right.
Russell says, “We’ve also encountered counterfeit PCGS holders that use fake GreatCollections labels. Ironically, the counterfeiters often print a GreatCollections inventory label inside the sealed PCGS holder, as though it were inserted during the grading process. It’s almost comical, but it also illustrates how far these operations are willing to go to create a false sense of authenticity.”
As counterfeiters continue to refine their methods, Russell recommends reading Proxiblog and other numismatic publications, paying attention to careful examination and buying from reputable sources.
For an inventory of Proxiblog counterfeit articles, click here.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
The 2006 Lincoln Cent DDO FS-101 is one of the few true doubled dies since 1996 when the US Mint upgraded their machinery with what is called a “Single-Squeeze” hubbing process. The intent was to eliminate doubled dies altogether, but still we can see the method is not entirely fool proof.
The variety has its own PCGS number, meaning if you use it in the submission process you do not have request a special error variety label costing more money.
The key markers are a ghost image of an earlobe:
There is doubling on the date, thicker than regular strike, with noticeable spreading on the “6.”
It’s difficult to see, but there is also some doubling on the lower portion of Lincoln’s beard.
“Liberty” is a main marker, too, exhibiting extra thickness. Note the notch on the “T”:
The error happened when the working die was placed slightly out of alignment. Thousands are out there in rolls and pocket change.
There also is an FS-102 variety, lacking a clear ghost image of the earlobe. Markers are similar.
As you can see, PCGS shows significant values, based on condition, from about $30 in low mint state red to hundreds in super gem.
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A condition rarity is not associated with mintage but with other factors. Sometimes people neglected to save uncirculated examples, as in the 1884-S Morgan Dollar. The 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle had a good mintage of 180,000; but almost all were melted. The 1953-S Franklin half dollar had a mintage of 4,148,000 but suffers from poor strikes due to worn working dies. As such, it is extremely rare to find one with full bell lines. There just wasn’t enough pressure to create the unbroken lines on the liberty bell.
But can strive to find an example with at least some of the lines on the reverse.
Let’s define FBL. The designation requires fully separated, uninterrupted lines at the bottom of the Liberty Bell on the reverse. The lower sets of horizontal lines on the bell must be complete and distinct. To qualify, coins must grade MS-60 or higher, with no major disruptions to the lines, which also must be free from major cuts, heavy marks, or disturbances.
The horizontal lines must be clear and readable. Let’s take a close look this FBL example:
You can find many uncirculated Franklin halves with full bell lines. But the 1953-S is the key date. The dozens of 1953-S halves that earned FBL were struck early in the production run before the dies deteriorated.
While you may not find the ultra rare 1953-S FBL, you might have luck with other San Francisco business strike half dollars, as these also bring premiums.
The San Francisco Mint made half dollars in these years: 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954. Each one apart from the rare 1953-S brings a nice premium with FBL.
YEAR
1949-S
1951-S
1952-S
1953-S
1954-S
MS65
$130
$70
$125
$125
$50
MS65FBL
$475
$375
$1,050
$32,500
$225
The San Francisco Mint stopped making half dollars in 1954 so that its machinery could be updated. But you can still assemble a set of 1949-54 halves for a reasonable price. The goal is to get the FBL on 1949-52 and 1954 and a 1953-S half with at least some of the full bell lines.
This PCGS slabbed MS65 1953-S Sold for $100 at Stack’s Bowers. I consider this a score because so many of the lines are evident, apart from the middle.
You can find some with some distinguishable lines on eBay, but they often are overpriced, as this example. I drew the red circle showing this is NOT Full Bell Lines.
You also want to watch what 1953-S half dollars sell for on major auction houses, including GreatCollections, which sold this gem in 2019.
Assembling a set of Franklin halves is easily doable. Try for as many full bell lines as your budget allows.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
Clash marks are valuable, but people often try to mimic them with a vise, pressing two coins together. Other times, for one reason or another, glue creates an impression of one coin on another. Do not bid on any of these until you can tell them apart. As you might imagine, eBay and online auctions often label vise and glue coins as clash marks.
Here are all three:
You can easily distinguish them by looking for specific tells under a loupe or magnifying glass. You want to check if the extra impression is raised or sunken, and whether the lettering is oriented normally or backwards. If backward, you’re looking at a vise or glue coin.
TYPE
CLASH MARKS
VISE COIN
GLUE COIN
RELIEF
Raised Devices
Sunken Devices
Flat Layered
ORIENTATION
Normal
Backward/Reversed
Backward/Reversed
THICKNESS
Normal
Flat/Distorted
Thick/Sticky
A die clash happens at the Mint when erroneously the obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a blank planchet between them. The so-called “ghost” image will be raised, not sunken or flatly layered.
Vise coins are created by pressing two coins together with a vise or hammering them to mimic the clashed die. Because of the method, the lettering will be backward, flattened, distorted or damaged, especially by the rims.
A glue coin happens any number of ways when two coins are bonded by an adhesive. When separated, the ghost image appears flat and layered on the other coin.
Often the tone of the coin will be altered with a dried or amber look, as you might anticipate with glue. True, flat and layered can be confused with raised of a die clash. To be sure, dip the coin in acetone and the ghost will dissolve.
Sometimes people use a vise to create weird patterns, thinking those unfamiliar with how coins are minted will consider this an error or variety.
You’ll find many more examples of vise and glue coins on Facebook because few people know how to tell these apart from clashed dies. They find them in rolls, typically, because someone realized this wasn’t a mint error.
Sometimes glue takes strange shapes. Again, you need to know how coins are made to understand how this could never happen at the Mint.
Depending on the condition of the coin and the denomination, because clashed dies, vise jobs and glue coins happen across denominations, values vary from minor examples $30 to major ones in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.
