After noticing a Chinese copy 1922-d cent being auctioned by seller royal_dc (has reverse die chip on inner left wheat - see attached example) 1922-d cent eBay auction listing http://www.ebay.com/itm/1922-D-Lincoln-Wheat-Penny-/301711951453?hash=item463f6f065d - I started looking at the other auctions for this new eBay seller which includes a 1932-D Washington Quarter with a current bid of $49 with 15 bidders.... is it real or just a Chinese copy like the 1922-d cent ??? 1932-d quarter eBay listing http://www.ebay.com/itm/1932-D-Washington-Quarter-/301711926954?hash=item463f6ea6aa
Can't be real. The eagle has a "gotcha" grin on its face. And the surfaces look like it got caught in a sandstorm.
To me its impossible to tell with 100% accuracy. The pic seems to be very grainy...pics that have had the detail sharpened with a photo editing tool can look that way. But then again, the graininess may be the tell tail...the pic is just over all blurry. Things that stand out to me are the coloring at the edge of all the devices, I also see what look like little bumps on the coin which are usually a tell tail, but I can't tell if that's tidbits from the flip or actually on the coin.... I would certainly steer clear.
True...forgot to mention that...the area around it should look slightly sunken with the mint mark in the middle of the "puddle"
Every coin has a "look" that is a result of the time and place of manufacture. It is very un-scientific and is recognizable after having viewed many of the same coin types over and over. It's is somewhat similar to style but that's not it either. A Morgan dollar made at the Philadelphia Mint in the 1880's will not have the same overall "look" as a dollar made there in the 1790's. It's also a little bit similar to the 1921 Morgan Silver dollars. I can pick a 1921 out of a pile of Morgans just buy seeing the reverses. But there is more than just frabrique involved in this example. Or perhaps it's better spelled fabric.
Figured that's what you were goin' for, just never heard it used in this context. Thx. I couldn't agree with you more on your analysis of the OPs link to the 32-D
Absolutely, 100% fake. Hard to imagine that no one reported this to eBay. And look at all the people who bid on it. Scary.
Thanks everyone for your feedback on eBay seller royal_dc - 1932-D Washington Quarter - as a copy/fake/counterfeit. Final auction price price after 28 bids was $80.00 on 8/18/2015 6pm. FYI - eBay seller royal_dc sold an almost identical 1932-D Washington Quarter ending on July 18, 2015 with 44 bids and a final cost of $162.50. It is my limited understanding that even if this auction was reported to eBay by your or me, they would take no action since we are not the "registered intellectual property rights owner" of US coinage. (See eBay VeRO program) In regards to the auctioned cents, the 1922-d cent with old Chinese reverse with die chip (available on Chinese websites for $1.40+) sold for $16.56 while a 1909-s cent with probable die ship sold for $61.66. A 1909-s cent with a definite reverse die chip sold for $113.40 on 8/1/15. Any suggestion on how we can put eBay seller royal_dc out of business before their next auction in a month?
I agree. I haven't heard or used the term "fabrique" before, but I like it. It's kind of like "terroir" for wine - there isn't really a good word for it, but it encompasses everything about where and how it was made and all the conditions that went into it to give it the feel of an authentic coin. On the OP's coin, the "feel" is wrong... but it sounds fancier when you frenchify it to "fabrique." Haha