Question about coins found in father's belongings

She outlined them on the scan, not the coin

 

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You will NEED to establish, to the best of your knowledge, the storage history of this cent. SOMEBODY is going to be asking "Why does it look this way?" questions. You need to have answers. Any history is better than none.

 

you mean the tarnish?

 

Tarnish, toning, stains, whatever it is. To the best you know, establish a likely timeline, such as "Spent perhaps 20 years in a musty wet briefcase." Whatever it is.

 

The Morgan silver dollars that were with it are almost black.

 

If you can arrange to "re-borrow" them to bring with the 1944 cent to Irving, that may help.

 

Will do

 

Take it to Pawn Stars. Rick might give you $20 for it if it's real.

 

It looks promising, but any extraordinary rare coin is going to require extraordinary proof. As others have said, the weight eliminates the bulk of the fakes, but there are still ways to remove a digit like the 3 and replace it with a 4. There is still a high probability of it being a fake, so don't get too excited

Don't worry too much about the photo. Sounds like the group is really excited to see if it's real, but bottom line, it's going to have to be evaluated - in hand - by an expert (but I would really like to see a clear, magnified pic as well).

Good luck, and if it turns out to be authentic, don't forget your helpful friends at Coin Talk. And if it's a good fake, give it to Kurt

 

Please take Kurt's advice and attend the show. Better safe than sorry with a local dealer who just might get ideas if this is the real deal. Tell no one you are going outside of your immediate family and tell no one at the show why you are there until you meet up with Kurt who will guide you to the right place. Good advice has been given and wish you the best of luck on this. Please keep in touch with us as to how you make out.

 

If it's a fake, I'll want only one thing - a chance to take a really good pic of it.

OTOH, if it's real, there'll be no shortage of pictures.

 

Like has been said, be careful handling it, pick up by edges, no finger prints on the face, wear latex or nitrile gloves, weigh it, and get it in a sealed holder (Air-Tite direct fit) ASAP. You can by a cheap accurate scale, probably at the jeweler or Walmart. I'd be leery of allowing a jeweler or coin dealer to handle it, he may mishandle it, drop and ding it, and although not all, but some may attempt to switch the coin, if they know its value. OH, DON'T ATTEMP ANY KIND OF CLEANING - you may think that little spot or toning is hideous and if I can remove it, it will be worth more, IT WON'T.

 

He already had it weighed SQG. The weight is correct for a steel cent.

The problem appears to be that it might be an altered date.

 

Both 4's look off. But the photo is not crisp.

 

that was my point. More problematic is the alignment of the 2nd 4 in the date.

 

I don't like the rim and second 4 in date.

Fake one above.

 

Noice blowup!

 

Hmm, didn't see he had it weighed, hope all went well. Yeah, those photos leave questions. Anyway to use the macro feature on any inexpensive camera or phone on a tripod or other steadying device (table, etc), and get a full frame of the date?

 

XRF the coin...see what it's made of.