how to tell if one of the coins you bought are cast counterfeit copies

[michael]

now these are just some signs just because the coin might have one or possibly two signs does not make it a cast counterfeit but it should be cause for concern if you got two or more signs so you can protect yourself if you are suspecious and get it checked out by someone "in the know" so to speak

 

again if you see multiple items as per the below the red flag should go up and when in doubt do not BUY IT THEN you know you will not buy a fake coin and remember you must be able to look at a coin personally under a good light with a good glass before you buy it if not then let the buyer beware

 

here goes

 

highly suspect if

 

the story is that it has been in a collection 20 30 35 years or more as casty counterfeits have been made and offered for more than 50 years some more than 100 years just look at those micro o morgan dollars

 

i would be suspect of any underweight or even overweight coins as some makers of these coins have added more weight to fool the specific gravity test

 

when you see round small pimples tiny ones in the fields of the coin usually air bubbles in the mold result in round raised pimples now a rust hole will not be perfectly round

 

any type of metal build up in the angle of the field and letters of the legend again caused by air bubbles in the mold

 

any tooling and/or engraving around the lettering relief and numerials of the design this is usually done to remove extra metal build up caused by the casting mold

 

if you have a genuine coin to compair to the questionable coin you are thinking of buying compair the edge of the genuine coin to the suspect coin and usually the width of the edge reeding will not match the genuine coin and YOU WILL NEED AT LEAST A 20X POWER SMALL HASTINGS TRIPLET TO DO THIS

 

i would suspect any coin being offered at a bargain there is no santa claus in numismatics

 

i would be leery of any coin where the fields are like the consistancy of a plaster wall and/or the fields of the coin look like fine grit sandpaper but usually the seller will say it is seawater salvaged and yes seawater will do this to a genuine coin and sometimes it is almost impossible to tell as such the difference bettwen a genuine sea salvaged coin and the cast counterfeit with such surfaces but when in doubt pass pass

 

i would be careful of any coin that has been blackened around the edges all around the lettering and outline of the designs the denticles around the edge of the coin this is a telltail sign for everyone i have seen well almost everyone chances are you will have telltail signs of a fake coin under all that black smutzch

 

i would say that if the area is rough uneven and/or like sandpaper between the denticles and outside edge of the coin then this is not a good sign as this is the hardest place for a cast counterfeiter to erase off of a cast coin

again the space between the denticals and the outside sometimes beaded edge of the coin

 

if you got a sharp knife like uncirculated reeded edge on a coin that is circulated it is a highly suspect coin but usually the makers will wear down the edge mechnically and before this they will cast the coin larger so when they machine tyhe edge down for wear it is the same size of a regular coin so be careful!!!!!!!

 

if you got a coin that is poorly cast to hide it the counterfeiters will give it a high polish an extremely high polish and if you look closely at this highly polished coin under a strong glass you will see hundreds of small tiny pits kind of like an orange peel affect this is done after the coin is cast and then highly polished giving the coin again an orange peel affect

usually this is done on fake gold coins to much success

 

any reeded edge coin which is satiny and grey coloration

in the bottm of the grooves people never take the time to look at this when examining a coin but i do and once you get used to it it is easy to see and a great way to tell many otherwise great cast counterfeits ,,,,, the bottom of the grooves on a real mintmade coin it will be smooth!!!!! on the cast counterfeit coin it will have a really fine sandpaper finish as it is not from striking in a die but from casting or machineing after the coin is made but sometimes the counterfaker will polish the grey bottom grooves to make it smooth like a real coin

 

so be careful!!!!

 

and keep the faith

[IGWT]

Thank you, Michael. Contemporary cast counterfeits made during the post-bellum era can be fun additions to a collection -- if you know what you're buying.

[EZ_E]

Very informative, Michael. As always, you are de man!

[HaydenTubbs]

[MikeInFL]

Superb post, as usual, Michael....Mike

[physics-fan3.14]

Great information, very helpful.

 

It would be easier to read if you used punctuation.

[michael]

hey no comments from the peanut gallery

 

 

[Bruceswar]

very nice post.....

[jtryka]

michael,

 

I've read enough of your post that I and quite used to your writing style, so your lack of punctuation is easily overlooked when considering the important and informative content you provided here. Many of the items you mentioned are also true of struck counterfeit, however many modern counterfeits struck for the numismatic market (particularly gold) are quite sophisticated, and require additional scrutiny to identify. Still, looking at the dentils, reeding, tooling marks and any raised areas on the surfaces are sure to alert you to a potential fake. Thanks for the great post!

[Die Varieties]

Thanks Michael for a very informative post.

 

A while back a collector showed me what he thought was a genuine 1922 Peace with rotated dies error (180 out). Many of the things you pointed out in your post was quite evident on this coin indicating all the "red flags!" Of course the weight was wrong too.

 

Keep em' coming.

[michael]

thanks guys!!

 

the super struck counterfeits are usually EDM and for me since i know what to look for and have seen many are usually for me again easy to tell for the gold coins as all are off color and i can spot them at arms length

 

and if for some reaosn the color is good and i cant tell as such

 

then i usually look for the tell tail EDM spikes that are usually within the lettering close to and around the outer prerifery(sic) of the coin

 

and the spikes are always usually there!! so they are no brainers for me

 

maybe i should teach at the summer ana

 

well i would never be accepted but it is a good dream

[TomB]

Good work, Michael!