1876 Twenty Cent on eBay / Fake ?

[reid1836]

Hi ,

I just noticed a suspicious 1876 Twenty Cent piece being auctioned on Ebay.

It still has a day + to go on the auction. But from what I can see in the photos provided in the listing , I suspect it to be a fake ! The neck feathers seem all wrong to me , as does the lettering on the reverse. Seems to be poorly done. But the bids are already at $308 with 11 bids on the coin. Naturally it is a raw coin. Thought maybe some of you might like to check it out . I would like to hear some other opinions. Perhaps my counterfeit detection skills are a bit dusty. So give me your honest opinions and some specific details as to why you feel that way !

[Deerefan8420]

Could you please provide a link to the eBay auction in question?

[reid1836]

Easy to find . Just check the 1876 twenty cent pieces for sale ( there were only 30 listed) and look at the one with an auction price of $300 + dollars. Sorry , I`m not very good with the linking thing !

[WoodenJefferson]

Is it this one?

 

I'm far from a 20 cent expert, but there seems to be a divot in the eagles wing feather.

[reid1836]

YEP ! THATS THE ONE !

[WoodenJefferson]

OK then, for posterity. ~anomaly~ in wing feathers. Anything guys and gals?

 

[BillJones]

That little notch does not appear on the genuine coin. Also the lettering on the real coin is sharp with no weakness. I suspect that this one is a counterfeit.

 

It is interesting that the picture is tinted yellow. That is not just bad photography; I think it is on purpose to distract the viewer. Yellow tinting like that on the entire photograph is not the result of a "mistake." It is intentional

 

 

[RWB]

Cast fake. Look closely at the fields and upper surfaces of letters.

 

As Bill noted, the overall yellow color is unlikely to be a white balance problem - it's there to distract viewers.

[L1ncolnF4n]

FAKE FAKE FAKE

 

Stay away

[reid1836]

Well , so glad that my counterfeit detection skills still have an edge to them. Thanks guys ! So sorry for whom ever winds up with the winning bid on this one! Thanks again for checking it out and giving your honest opinions!

[RWB]

The "coin" will make a nice "thunk" sound when dropped on a table.

[A.Phillips]

Now, can one of you explaining a little more how do you can tell it's a counterfeit coin? I am still a "newb" to identified the fake/real coins situation.

[joes2001]

It looks fake to me. I wouldn't buy any coin over 1 or 2 hundred raw if I wasn't entirely sure it was genuine. To detect an ungenuine one, I suggest comparing it to other genuine ones, especially graded (because there's no question it's real then). First, you will notice the strike of the devices is particularly weak. The details don't look like they were struck with tons of pressure. They are sandy, mushy, soft looking. You can see this in the stars on the obverse too. I'm almost entirely sure it's fake. Of course you can't be a hundred percent sure, espeically with pics, but if it is questionable to you, stay away. That's the best advice.

[WoodenJefferson]

Now, can one of you explaining a little more how do you can tell it's a counterfeit coin? I am still a "newb" to identified the fake/real coins situation.

 

 

Just to be on the safe side of caustion, there are a few areas on the reverse of this coin that are indicators that you should just 'stay away' from this particular item.

 

We mentioned area #1, the small notch in the eagles wing feathers. This is not conclusive because errors from coining dies and mechanical issues happened quite frequently at our Mints.

 

Area #2 is bothersome to me, as this area is not very well defined and is void of any sort of detail, On a confirmed US minted twenty cent pieces, the area is a shallow depression in the element but is not completly devoid of detail as is shown here.

 

Lastly, the dentils surrounding the rim lack definition and separation and are mushy at best, not a good indicator that you have an equvalent of a real US Mint product.

 

When you tie in all these 'noticable' factors, the color tinge of the image, the gainyness of the coin overall in conjunction with the other 'pick-up points' caution warrants you to move on and look for an example already encapsulated by one of the top tier grading services. This is their expertise knowledge at work, certifying that the coin you see inside is a genuine minted example. The number grade on the label more or less defines a trackable value, an invaluable resource to collectors.

 

Good luck.

[A.Phillips]

Thank you Jefferson and joesabet for clarity explanation. So basically the counterfeit maker made the mold/die and stamped it on melted silver coin? It's pretty big disappoint to know that some collectors out there (including me) are not familiar with counterfeit coins or currencies. Oh boy..