Tag Archives: PCGS CoinFacts

Fake Oval O on 1897-O Morgan

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By Jack Riley

In Numismatics, authenticity generally serves as the foundation in which all other qualities–such as grade, variety, and historical importance–are evaluated. Without certainty of authenticity, a coin’s value is nullified. This article was prompted by a recent eBay listing for an 1897-O Morgan Dollar offered at $250, which upon review, was determined to be counterfeit. For ethical reasons, the seller’s identity will remain undisclosed. After being contacted, the seller acted responsibly by immediately removing the listing and clarifying that they had been unaware of the coin’s illegitimacy. Their swift response and willingness to prevent the sale of a counterfeit merits recognition.

Here is a closer view of the coin in question. Immediately noticing the “Oval O” reverse which is not seen on 1897 dated coins, one can see something is wrong!

Image from an 1880-O courtesy of my friend Dave Jordan that shares a common reverse to the 1897-O listed on eBay.

A side by side comparison shows common markers related to this “Family.” Noteworthy markers include:

  • Oval O set left
  • Indent above the 2 berries below the right wing
  • Depression mark in the eagles left wing (viewers right) just above the tip of the wreath
  • Minor depression mark of the “I” in America

It is worth mentioning this reverse has been seen on 1895-O dated coins with an additional crack through the “T” of United. These are better quality counterfeits than many you may come across.

By understanding how die markers are used and by carefully examining coins for inconsistencies, coin collectors can increase their ability to identify counterfeit coins. 

If you like posts like this, please go to our counterfeit archive with reports from Jack Riley, Jack D. Young and Michael Bugeja. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and 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 commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking 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.

Family of Fake Half Cents

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By Jack Riley

The saga continues of “new” counterfeits popping up on the market. In my downtime I enjoy browsing online sites and forums. In my search I stumbled across this 1857 half cent listed by what I would consider an average seller. Plenty of listings, with a number of them being genuine coins.

With only one die marriage being the C-1 for circulation issues, this should be a simple coin to attribute. Bay listing (Top) compared to a PCGS certified example (bottom). Clearly the date doesn’t attribute!

Following this, I set out to find more of the “family.” It didn’t take long to stumbled upon this 1854 example that shares a common reverse!

Both coins share this reverse with a large depression in the “N” and a line through the H of “Half.”

Fellow Proxiblog contributor Jack Young sent an eBay link of a spurious seller, and within the listings, it yielded another date sharing this reverse!

There seems to always be a “new one” weekly!

Because of that, I urge collectors to attribute a coin if they intend to buy it or at minimal ask a second opinion.

Attribution of a coin can be done by anyone, even without books! PCGS CoinFacts app as well as NGC’s variety plus are great tools that show images of many die marriages for most series. Compare your coin to the known varieties and determine if it matches. Many things play a factor such as date position relative to the denticles, star orientation, reverse lettering spacing.

Recognizing these differences will prepare you to attribute tougher varieties!

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, 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 commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking 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.

GSA Dollars with Flaws

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If you have one, it may not be uncirculated or even authentic

Just because your GSA dollar is in its original US Mint holder doesn’t mean you have an uncirculated gem. Moreover, some are counterfeit and others so damaged that the government gave buyers a warning–see below–often missing when the coin is being sold online or in estate auctions:

The type of holder also indicates a potentially flawed Carson City dollar:

Here’s how the Mint categorized Carson City dollars in GSA holders:

  • Uncirculated Coins: Carson City silver dollars deemed to be in uncirculated condition were encapsulated in special hard plastic holders with “Carson City Uncirculated Silver Dollar” printed on them. These were accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity and presented in a black box with a velvet lining.
  • Other Condition Coins: Some coins showed wear or unsightly toning and were therefore not classified as uncirculated. These coins were also encapsulated in the hard plastic holders but without the “uncirculated” designation. They were still accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, however, these COAs were blank, rather than numbered. 

Proxiblog recently notified a member of Facebook’s Morgan Dollar Group about a problematic GSA dollar.

This was Proxiblog’s answer:

“The coin has issues on the cheek. You need to take photo of the holder. I think this coin came in a GSA holder that didn’t state ‘Uncirculated.’ I suspect it came in a holder like this below.

Here’s a closeup of the obverse, showing scuff marks:

Over the years GSA dollars have been manipulated by hobbyists. Sometimes sellers did it intentionally. Other times, they just didn’t know how to distinguish a flawed coin from an uncirculated one, based on the Mint’s paperwork and designations.

Here is a prime example.

The seller includes this COA:

Several problems here:

  • He is selling a 1884-CC with a certificate that begins with the numbers “83,” indicating that this COA came from an “Uncirculated” holder in an 1883-CC box. (See Proxiblog’s article, “Wrong GSA COA and Counterfeit Holders.”)
  • He isn’t showing or never received the U.S. Mint “Important” notice about the coin having flaws.
  • He is selling the flawed coin for near $600 when it should go no higher than $275 with these scuff marks on the key area of the cheek:

This is why you still need to know how to grade if buying a GSA Morgan. You can waste money on a coin like this paying MS65 prices.

Proxiblog contacted the seller:

The seller stated that he accidently switched the COAs with his other stock. And to his credit, he ended the sale.

The sale was ended because of grading knowledge. Otherwise someone else would have received this lot.

So if selling, viewing or showcasing a GSA dollar, especially on Facebook, be aware of the factors mentioned in this article.

  1. Check the holder for the word “Uncirculated.”
  2. Look for the GSA note (not a numbered COA) if the holder lacks the word “uncirculated,” noting the coin has flaws or unsightly toning.
  3. Remember that the first two numbers of the COA on an uncirculated GSA dollar should match the last two numbers of the coin’s date.

Finally, be aware of Chinese counterfeit GSA dollars housed in a smooth rather than textured holder:

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups,YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

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.

Buying Coins: “How’d I do?”

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Increasingly on social media, coin buyers display their recent purchases and ask, “How did I do?” If you ask this question, you probably should not be buying expensive coins. Then again, you can learn how you did by reading this article, which takes you step by step in the buying and bidding process.

For starters, if the coin is in a top-tier slab (PCGS, NGC, ANACS, CAC, ICG), you don’t need to ask that question. Just go to the cert of the holdering company, and you will see retail, wholesale and auction prices. See this article for details.

In the past, new collectors used to learn about coin value from brick-and-mortar shop owners who also belonged to the Professional Numismatist Guild. Now the number of coin shops have declined steadily due to high overhead (rent, security, insurance, inventory) and risk of robbery. Meanwhile coin magazine subscriptions plummeted. For instance, Coin World‘s readership declined from 33.4 million in 2015 to 21.5 million in 2019. Now the magazine measures its audience digitally, with some 65,000 collectors on its social media platforms and 40,000 on its marketplace page.

As a result, collectors prefer the convenience of buying online but often are misinformed by clickbait social media.

In the past, people had buyer’s remorse when they were hoodwinked. Now many collectors do not even realize they have been scammed.

Given these risks, how should they go about buying coins?

  1. Learn how to grade if buying raw or unholdered coins.
  2. Buy from reputable third-party graders, especially if you don’t know how to grade.
  3. Identify counterfeit coins masquerading in fake holders.
  4. Know common flaws that buyers often miss.
  5. Visit PCGS Photograde and compare your coin to grades listed there.
  6. Before you bid on or purchase a coin, visit PCGS CoinFacts to see both retail, wholesale and auction values.
  7. Only patronize online sellers who accept returns.

Let’s go through the above list with a coin being sold on eBay at this writing. Great Southern Coins is a reputable seller that also accepts returns:

This seller states that the coin is semi-prooflike and gem brilliant uncirculated. If you know how to grade, you might have a different opinion. It looks almost uncirculated or low mint state with flaws (scrapes, bag marks, rim dings and a pin scratch):

Now let’s go to Photograde and see what condition may match the raw coin above:

So we’re looking at an MS61 1879 Morgan. Now let’s consult PCGS CoinFacts for possible value:

Here we read about mintage and specifications:

Time to see retail and auction prices. An 1879 without flaws retails for $90 with 516 graded by PCGS at that level selling roughly at auction for about $70-100 with values seemingly rising over the years from about $50 in 2014.

But this 1879 from Great Southern Coins has flaws. What does one in a similar condition go for? CoinFacts again supplies the answer: $65.

Great Southern Coins ships inexpensively for $3.25 so I don’t have to worry about additional buyer’s fees and mailing. A good maximum bid for this coin would be $50.

If this coin were featured on HiBid or Live Auctioneers you would place a different maximum bid because sellers on those platforms often charge 15-25 percent buyer fees and $10-15 mailing. So if bidding here, your maximum would be $30 ($6 buyer fee at 20% and $14 mailing).

Here’s an example from a seller who already knows the value of the coin based on his starting $35 bid. But here you also pay $15 for shipping in addition to 15% buyer’s fee. So if you won the coin with a $35 bid, you would pay $5.25 plus $15 for a total: $55.25.

Now that you know the process, practice on eBay or HiBid/Live Auctioneers–not by bidding–but by following bidding and final sale and see if your estimate would have lost or won the coin. Do this repeatedly until you are confident in your purchasing skills.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on buying, selling and collecting at Proxiblog.org. Also, 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 commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking 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.

Native American Dollar Varieties

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Known by its distinctive golden surface and edge lettering, the Native American dollar, introduced in 2009, is a continuation of the Sacagawea dollar series, featuring her on the obverse and a different reverse design each year. There are several major varieties, featured here, and several weak/partial/missing edge and position varieties.

Let’s cover the latter first:

  • Position A: The edge lettering is upside down when the obverse (Sacagawea’s portrait side) is facing up.
  • Position B: The edge lettering is right-side up when the obverse is facing up. 

Here’s an illustration:

Edge lettering is applied after the coin is struck with both positions considered normal, typically without any rarity or substantial value. However, weak/partial, missing and double edge lettering are highly desirable.

Here are illustrations:

Here are main years you want to search for along with values for gem MS65:

  • 2009-P Native American – Pos. B Partial, $200
  • 2009-P Native American – Pos. B Weak, $75
  • 2009 Native American Missing Edge Lettering, $35
  • 2010-P Native American Missing Edge Lettering, $75
  • 2011-P Dbld Edge Let., Overlap, Pos. A, $85
  • 2012-P Native American, Pos. A Weak Lettering, $90
  • 2012-P Native American, Pos. B Weak Lettering, $40
  • 2013-P Native American, Pos. B Dbld Edge Overlap, $350

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.

“NOT PCGS” Draped Bust $

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By Jack D. Young

During a normal internet dumpster dive for counterfeits I spotted this listing on AliExpress–an obvious “Red Book Counterfeit”–due to the off-center bust design only used on a 1795 dated variety.

A “Red Book Counterfeit” refers to a fake coin that resembles a genuine U.S. coin as illustrated in the reference guide, “A Guide Book of United States Coins.” The Red Book serves as a comprehensive, annually updated price guide that provides detailed information on genuine U.S. coins. But counterfeiters, especially in China, use the volume as a design guide in manufacturing fakes.

As you might expect, AliExpress is owned by the Chinese company Alibaba Group, a multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology (seemingly without a care about counterfeit coins).

Here is the AliExpress fake:

Past Ali listed 1796 PCGS draped bust dollar

Checking the PCGS cert number pulled this info up from their website:

PCGS on-line info for the labeled cert #

Not even close to the genuine one!

Comparison images to the genuine PCGS example for the cert #

So, considering a purchase I decided to message a question to the seller, “Lucy Coins Store,” which has been on Ali for several years. I was the first to report that this seller houses counterfeits in fake PCGS slabs!

And I sent the following note and received the following answer:

And another side note: I have purchased “coins” from the other sellers listed there and received refunds due to their being “not as described” and reported counterfeits.

I decided to purchase it and see what I would receive; and the fake did in fact look like the listed example.

Counterfeit received

Once in-hand, I started the return/ refund process through Ali; having talked with customer service there before they feign no tolerance for selling counterfeits on their venue. I was almost instantly informed my request was denied! So, I submitted another request:

A solution of “no refund” again. They called it “a new proposal.” So, I uploaded more in as much as they noted that I “rejected the solution of AliExpress”; well, yeah. …

And another rejection and so-called “solution”:

Actually, they do have a repeal process which I initiated and sent additional info:

In addition to the 2 side-by-side comparison images I sent this one trying to explain the issue!

Combination image of why this one is wrong!

And again, I was rejected; they did allow me to appeal again.

Appealed through their process

And rejected…

Best I can tell, they really didn’t care the coin is a counterfeit but that it was properly imaged in the listing.

Next step, take it to PayPal! There you can select that you received a counterfeit item and I sent all of the documents I had generated for the Ali report. Unfortunately, I received a pretty quick response that I hadn’t made my case adequately and had 3 days to add information or they would side with the seller.

So, I added some information about counterfeits, including how this bust design was only used for 1795 AND an image I had reported it through the Anti-Counterfeit Education Foundation.

And from there I waited, wondering if I would even get another response. And then:

And so, it ends with this one; it is interesting that when you click on the old sales link you get this, a similar but different counterfeit. But I am not willing to test me luck this time😎!

Latest Ali listing at same seller/ listing location as mine.

I realize that identifying this counterfeit took years of skill compounded by dogged persistence. Some collectors might not know how to identify fakes with die markers. But as Proxiblog’s Michael Bugeja often notes, the Chinese just can’t get the font right (nor understand how and when to use a hyphen [as in “off-center”].)

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, 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 commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking 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.

How to Sell Coins in 7 Steps

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You may have inherited a coin collection or decided to sell some or all of your coins. It is essential to know how to sell your coins; otherwise, you could be low-balled or scammed. Follow these 7 steps, and you reduce the odds of being taken advantage of. And be sure to visit Proxiblog.org, one of the top coin sites on the internet. Subscribe so you get our latest posts each week.

To view a comprehensive article about selling, see: https://proxiblog.org/2024/12/02/how-to-sell-coins/

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.

Walking Liberty Varieties and Doubled Die

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There are four varieties and one popular error in the Walking Liberty Half Dollar series with different mintmark placements for the 1917 Denver and San Francisco coins and one 1946 doubled die reverse.

We’ll begin with the mintmark placements. The 1917 Philadelphia half, of course, had no mintmark. But initially, the halves from the Denver and San Francisco mints had the same placements as 1916 D and S. Production began in January. In February, Mint Director F. J. H. von Engelken thought the mintmark under the motto looked like a die defect; so he ordered the mintmark moved to the reverse, thus creating four varieties.

Here is a visual of the four half dollars:

Because production was halted, we know the mintage of each variety: 1917-D Obverse, 765,400; 1917-D Reverse, 1,940,000; 1917-S Obverse, 952,000; and 1917-S Reverse, 5,554,000. Any of the four in uncirculated condition retails in the thousands. Typically, if you’re a bank roll hunter, you will find worn examples. Values for VF30 are 1917-D Obverse, $250; 1917-D Reverse, $285; 1917-S Obverse, $650; and 1917-S Reverse, $150.

The reverse mintmark remained on Walking Liberty Halves coins through 1947, the last year in the series.

A year earlier, the Mint at Philadelphia, a die contained doubled letters on the reverse. PCGS estimates some 3,000 were released into circulation. Here is an illustration:

The doubling here is easy to spot on the “L,” “U” and “R.” An example in Good 4 is worth $50, rising to $110 in VF30 and in the hundreds and thousands in almost uncirculated and mint state.

The popularity of these varieties and doubled die is based on their often turning up in worn condition in bank rolls. Happy Hunting!

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.

New Counterfeit Discovery on 1921 Peace Dollar

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By Jack Riley

In a previous article I discussed a large “family” of counterfeit Type A reverse Peace Dollars. The majority of the coins encountered were dated 1921. This article is about a counterfeit 1921 Peace Dollar with a B2 reverse! This reverse type wasn’t used until 1922.

Before diving into the specifics, let’s have a short review:

Let’s look at the two reverse for 1921 and 1922 Peace Dollars:

On the 1921 Type A reverse, 4 rays appear below “ONE” and on the Type B reverse, three.

There is one more distinction on Type B reverses, which we label B1 and B2. As illustrated below, B1 reverses show two mountain peaks while the B2 reverse has 3.

Image below Courtesy of VAMworld showing the 3rd peak, B2

So now we progress to that 1921 counterfeit with a B2 reverse! See below.

This is the only example of this counterfeit I have seen as of now. The coin is a cast counterfeit evident by the images and the weight of 23 grams. You can see grainy surfaces and many “lumps” throughout the fields. I make note of two possible markers if this is identified on various dates.

There is a prominent dot about the A of “DOLLAR” on the reverse that may be a helpful indicator and a small crack running through the eagles mouth/head.

While this particular coin shouldn’t fool a veteran hobbyist, it is very possible this is interchanged with various dates and an unknown “family of fakes” is out there. Variety attribution on Peace Dollars can be tricky even for experienced collectors.

But this article provides the basics from which all of us can learn.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack Riley, Jack D. Young and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, 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 commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking 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.

1880-CC Morgan Varieties

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The 1880-CC Morgan Dollars have several varieties that occurred to save the Mint money. Dies for these coins were made at the Philadelphia mint. The Carson City Mint, like other mints at the time, frequently reused dies by repolishing and re-engraving them. This process led to overdates and different reverses.

This is a basic article without naming other VAM varieties (cataloging different die markers). Visit here if you want to learn about VAMs.

1878 and 79 Reverses

Let’s start with the two reverses, compliments PCGS CoinFacts, so that we can understand the role they play in the varieties.

Now let’s proceed to the varieties and overdates.

1880-CC Regular Strike

The 1880-CC, regular strike, has the rounded breast of 1879:

1880-CC Rev. 78 (Regular Strike)

The first variety, then, is the 1880-CC Rev. 78:

Now that we know how to distinguish which reverse, we move on them to the various overdates.

1880-CC “8 over Low 7” and “8 over High 7”

Below find markers for the 1880-CC 8 over Low 7 (Regular Strike [aka Reverse of 79]) and 8 over High 7 (Regular Strike).

If the coin is worn, you might not be able to identify what you have without a microscope, and even then you might not be able to see the low/high 7. Fortunately, many 1880-CC varieties are uncirculated from bags released by the Mint as well as GSA dollars (more on those later).

Here is a blow-up so you can tell:

Two distinctions. The 8 over Low 7 has a remnant of the 7 in the middle of the top loop of the 8 and what looks like a die chip with some space between it and the bottom of the 8; the 8 over High 7 has the remnant close to the top of the 8 and the remnant close and almost touching the bottom of the 8.

1880-CC 8/7 Rev. 78

As you now might have guessed, another variety is the 1880-CC 8 over 7 with the 78 reverse. Look for the remnant of the 7 in the top loop of the 8:

Here’s the obverse and reverse of the above coin to give you an idea of how faint the remnant is and why you might not see it in a worn version. (There are other die markers to identify which variety you have but are omitted from this article, focusing on the basics.)

1880/79-CC $1 Reverse of 1878 (Regular Strike)

Yet another variety. How did this one happen?

Dies originally intended for 1879 dated coins were repurposed for 1880 production by overpunching the date with “1880,” resulting in the visible “80/79” overdate. This practice of repurposing dies helped conserve resources at the time. The reverse die used was the “Reverse of 1878,” characterized by a flat eagle breast and parallel top arrow feather.

Values

Values for each of the varieties differ so you might want to focus on the rarer ones, especially if you have acquired GSA Dollars, which do not distinguish between the various varieties in their holders:

Here is a table with each variety’s retail worth at MS63 from CoinFacts:

VARIETY VALUE AT MS63

1880-CC Regular Strike$875
1880-CC Rev. of 78$1450
1880-CC 8 over High 7$950
1880-CC 8 over Low 7$900
1880-CC 8 over 7 Rev. 78$1350
1880/79-CC Rev. of 78$1450

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.