Both PCGS & NGC use the Brilliant Uncirculated grade. While the grade is mostly used for moderns & bulk submissions, I have seen it used on classic coinage. In fact, there are hundreds of Battle Creek Morgan Dollars that are graded UNCIRCULATED. I guess they dropped the term BRILLIANT since most of the coins are toned. UNCIRCULATED Battle Creek Morgan Dollars Heritage Archives
I have no idea why you mentioned the "kid" had lost his father at the age of one. What does that have to do with anything related to the topic of buying a coin? How did you determine it was a fake without seeing it? Even here, the members ask to see pics before dispensing judgement. The Chinese coin makers have been producing and selling fakes for years. This is not news. Btw, as I recall, you yourself considered purchasing fakes which would have only perpetuated the problem of even more fakes being produced. If people didn't buy them, the makers wouldn't make them.
There is some history here and on other sites and there is far more kindness here on this site. The op is a newbie and while he tries to portray to be someone with vast knowledge of coin collecting, he is still scratching the surface. If you read the posts from most of the members, you will see they are giving guidance even though it may appear harsh at times. Also, the op has many threads that he starts and then never returns to respond to them.
Don't guess there is ever a good age to loose your dad. Sure leaves a big hole in your life. Not enough information to say much about the coin or the dealer.
Seriously? You know of a site that sells fakes? Not to seem suspicious but I'd love to see these coins. Link please.
I'd looked at Alibaba once, but forgot about it. I'll bet that's what Detecto was talking about. Chinese outfit.
Of course, eBay is still a large perpetrator in the fake coin market; and now with the elimination of the "replica" category, the fakes are showing up as genuine. But don't worry, the Coin Forgery eBay group is there to protect us from our own stupidity. Here is just a few of the thousands of fakes they've managed to weed out... be sure to scroll down and view a few of the pages. Many are in fake slabs. Some China based companies (using sites such as mentioned above) are pumping out as many as 100,000 fake slabs per week. http://www.flickr.com/photos/coinforgeryebay/
I will say this about Ebay. If you do get a counterfeit, they will refund your money and in my experience very quickly too. I bought a 1932-s washington off the bay a few months back, got it in hand immediately knew it was fake. So I called the bay told them and they refunded my money and said go ahead and keep the coin. So I now have a 1932S fake if anyone is interested .
Absolutely correct. With buyer protection, you have zero risk of buying a coin through eBay. However, must sellers of fakes are betting that buyers won't know they've been duped, or maybe to embarrassed to admit they were.