I came across this penny recently through fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, and wonder if it is real. I have no experience when it comes to key date Lincoln pennies. Thank you for your help!
Ok..... Is this CENT real? I get the sense that out of cents, certain cents tend to be sent in body bags due to being a counterfeit cent.
It's look a bit off to me, but I'm not very experienced in counterfeit detection. Is there a V.D.B.? It appears to be (or imitating) Mintmark position #1
Design sinking into the fields: check. Blobby letters (IN GOD WE): check. Old, familiar die chip on the inside of the left wheat ear: check. (The whole reverse is a train wreck.) No need to check the mint mark position. It's a fake.
I am thinking counterfeit. The lettering is not sharp given the apparent grade of the coin, which is VF ish. "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "LIBERTY" have mushy letters which make me think that this something like a spark erosion counterfeit.
I'm not seeing that particular issue on this one. Just all the others indicating a from-the-ground-up fake.
Here are two altered 1944-D cent which has become "a 1914-D." The style of the date is different and there is too much space between the "9" and the "1." My genuine 1914-D is not a great coin, but here it is.
Amazing, I wonder when they first " doctored" the coins if they were able to sell them as 1914s. And, if you don't mind my asking as these yours and how did you come about owning these?
I took this to a trusted coin shop and the owner says he believes it is counterfeit. He is a PCGS and NGC dealer and I trust his opinion. It is not an altered 1944 or added mint mark. Something darker, perhaps.... In any case, too bad! Thanks for your opinions. I'll be posting other coins for your thoughts soon.
I bought it as part of a collection. I won't be losing money, but it would have been a bonus to have the real deal!