Is this coin genuine?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by ToughCOINS, Feb 23, 2018.

  1. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    This coin just barely caught my eye at lunchtime because I thought it looked very wrong. I know different dies sometimes can deliver subtle differences, but I think I'm seeing way too much in this case. Are there any true Merc Dime experts out there to validate or refute my first impression?

    https://www.usacoinbook.com/item/1928-p-mercury-dime-227956/

    I fail to see why someone would fake a coin worth south of $10 when there's so much to be made off of other more expensive coins out there. If this is a sign of things to come, I fear we are going to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of fakes coming our way.
     
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  3. mynamespat

    mynamespat Well-Known Member

    It looks like it was harshly cleaned after probable environmental damage, imo.
     
  4. V. Kurt Bellman

    V. Kurt Bellman Yes, I'm blunt! Get over your "feeeeelings".

    You know what this looks like to me? It looks like a dime that someone mindlessly lightly rubbed back and forth over a wool carpet while listening to a fireside chat by FDR some Sunday evening.

    The imagery just oozes out of the screen, doesn't it?

    "G'night, Mary Ellen.
    G'night, John Boy."
     
  5. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    Look at all of the alphas and numerals . . .
     
  6. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    It looks fake to me. What is the sideways 2 at 4:00? Its fairly common so why fake it in the first place? To much work for to little gain. Looks like steel wool was used for the cleaning.
     
  7. justafarmer

    justafarmer Senior Member

    Certainly a problem coin but I don't see anything that leads me to believe one problem is "the coin is fake."
     
  8. BooksB4Coins

    BooksB4Coins Newbieus Sempiterna

    The 8 has a hit towards center that does make it appear somewhat different, but I'm just not getting any great alarms here.
     
  9. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    I really dislike USB low pixel cameras. Makes it very hard to tell.
     
  10. V. Kurt Bellman

    V. Kurt Bellman Yes, I'm blunt! Get over your "feeeeelings".

    Something else we agree on. Why are they everywhere?
     
  11. BooksB4Coins

    BooksB4Coins Newbieus Sempiterna

    My guess is because most are very cheap, but the fact that some here praise them as if the greatest imaging tool ever known to man certainly doesn't help.
     
  12. V. Kurt Bellman

    V. Kurt Bellman Yes, I'm blunt! Get over your "feeeeelings".

    Probably it. "Cheap" used to be something to avoid. Gawd, I miss those days.
     
  13. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    Kurt, I also bought one, a little time before I joined ( wow already 10 years almost), but soon decided they were OK for big things, but the demon is in the details.
     
  14. V. Kurt Bellman

    V. Kurt Bellman Yes, I'm blunt! Get over your "feeeeelings".

    Cute turn of phrase. Accurate, too.
     
  15. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    It's a question that a lot of people don't get, don't understand. But the answer is really quite simple - it's because it's easier to get away with it when the coin isn't worth much. And the reason it's easier to get way with is because everybody always thinks the same way yo do. So very, very seldom will they ever suspect that a cheap coin is a fake.

    Folks that make these, don't just make one or two - they mass produce them. The profit is in the volume. It's the very same reason that the $1 dollar bill is counterfeited way, way, more than any other denomination ! Nobody ever gives a $1 dollar bill a second thought - they just take them and move on.
     
  16. ronnie58

    ronnie58 Active Member

    Seems like the OP's concern has been addressed, so I hope no one minds my asking for opinions on a 1794 Large Cent ending tomorrow on eBay.
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/302640968881
    Somebody is about to pay a lot for it and I am 99.99% certain it is counterfeit, based upon Liberty's bizarre nose tip and protruding lips. Plus on the reverse the ribbons and stems do not meet in the same way as on what I believe to be an attempted Head of 1793 variety.
    The seller has no feedback, which is 'covered' by his statement that he is 'selling his father's estate'. He has already sold 69 coins and who knows how many fakes.
    Is it possible to inform eBay without making a purchase? Somebody is about to get taken to the cleaners on this. Which is very troubling because it drains needed money from the genuine market.
     
  17. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I think we have gotten way too paranoid. I see nothing wrong with that coin. I’d happily pay melt for it. The color looks right for silver, and the letters/numbers look correct after a cursory comparison with another 1928 dime.

    I bought a fake 1958 wheat cent from China just to prove this point.
     
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