If you are a novice scouring Facebook coin groups, you will see dozens of fakes and replicas and might be tempted to like or even buy them, only later to learn you have been snookered.
In a few hours on the platform, I found the following counterfeits and tracked where so called ultra rarities were purchased.
1882-CC Morgan Dollar
The 1882-CC Morgan on the left is fake, due to the misplacement and wrong font size of the mintmark. The surface has that cheap base metal look along with casting bubbles. Morgan dollars are struck, not cast.
When focusing on Carson City dollars, always compare the raw coin with a PCGS example, which you can find on PCGS CoinFacts. The mint mark placement should be the same along with the size and sharpness of the CC.
You can also check die markers at VAMworld. If you are unfamiliar with VAMs, see our beginners guide to learn the basics.
Also look for any distortion of the devices and identify any tool marks or uneven surfaces.
1955 DDO Cent
If you are considering a doubled die coin, especially a rarity, carefully study and compare the raw coin with a holdered example. Inspect every letter, number or device. If you see any deviation, you have a fake.
The doubling on the counterfeit is south of the legend, “Liberty,” while the authentic doubling is north. There are also slight deviations on other letters of the motto and date.
1969-S DDO
If ever you see an ultra rarity on Facebook, eBay or other site, you are almost certainly looking at a fake. The problem here, though, are click-bait social media sites that claim you can still find the coins listed below in pocket change.
This coin appeared on a Facebook coin site:
The U.S. Mint estimated that a mere 50 or so of the doubled die 1969-S cent were released. Hobbyists have been searching for these for decades. Consider this: Between PCGS and NGC, 52 have been holdered.
Concerning the above fake, deviations exist on the legend and motto. Also, the date font is thick with no doubling, and the mintmark is misplaced.
Copies
There are three types of copies:
- Coins with the word “COPY” altered or erased.
- Coins with plating to match that of an ultra rarity.
- Restruck coins with the correct metal and weight of an authentic one.
Kellogg Eagle
Any veteran hobbyist would know immediately that the coin below is a copy with the wrong metal and deviations in about every device, date and legend. Also, the word “Liberty” is missing and “copy” has been scraped away.
The motivation here concerns the rarity, an 1854 Kellogg Ten Dollar Gold piece, of which a mere 180-200 have been found. Kellogg & Co. was a private mint that produced gold coins in California during the Gold Rush. They sell for thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the condition.
So the scammer learned about that and scraped, thinking someone on Facebook would buy it.
1943 P-D-S Copper Cents
The cents below are plated with the metal that matches the ultra rarity, with copper on the 1943 Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mintmarks. You can also get plated 1944 steel cents, all mints.
1944-D Restrike
These same ultra rarities (and many more on the above chart) are struck with the same metal and weight. When FB coin members are informed, often they become arrogant, probably because they have buyer’s remorse.
Here’s an example:
Join “FwF” FB Coin Group
If you are a Facebook coin group member, be sure to join “Fun with Fakes” moderated by counterfeit expert Jack D. Young who also writes for Proxiblog. You can find his articles on the archive tab of the website.
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