Is this morgan real or fake?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Kevin Dore, Sep 28, 2018.

  1. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    This whole arena of deceptive practice in our hobby still just befuddles me. All that effort to scam a person for seventeen bucks. How do these people sleep nights? So sorry this happened to you, OP.
     
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  3. 1916D10C

    1916D10C Key Date Mercs are Life! 1916-D/1921-D/1921

    In some parts of China, if I’m not mistaken, I think $10 or less is about a day’s wages. $17 multiplied by multiple unsuspecting buyers adds up to making a lot of money in a third world country.
     
  4. LA_Geezer

    LA_Geezer Well-Known Member

    I was scammed once on an IHC that I should have realized was fake. I contacted the seller within 5 minutes noting that I caught on and had notified ebay. My money was returned within an hour.

    The first thing I do now is to check where the seller is... I will not buy a coin from anyone living outside the USA, not even Canada. That is not always 100% assurance though, so the best approach I have found is to stick with dealers who have at least 5000 positive feedbacks. I have never had to return a coin, nor have I needed to have ebay intervene. My routine is to check for newly listed items from my list of saved sellers whenever I'm looking. It works for me.
     
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  5. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    Yes it boggles my mind too that this practice is so popular, but it is what it is. It's a nice life lesson for me.
     
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  6. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    You're right it's not 100%. This seller did show an address from New York
     
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  7. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    I have one other question, which I think I know the answer to already. I know that some of these fakes are actually made of silver. I highly doubt this one is. I've tried the drop test and it doesn't quite sound like silver, but it's close. The fact that the weight is actually right makes me think it is possible although highly unlikely. But does anybody think there is even a chance that this replica was made from silver?
     
  8. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    It’s not a 100% effective method..... Set your fake next to a known Morgan and lie a piece of tissue over them. True silver clearly shows through the tissue. There was a thread here not long ago showing the distinction and it is blatantly obvious.... Now that said, it is entirely possible the fake has a thin layer of silver on it. In that case a magnet should tell the rest of the story.
     
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  9. Nathan401

    Nathan401 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

    The protections of both EBay and PayPal will cover the ENTIRE cost. You'll get your money back and get to keep the "coin."
     
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  10. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    Ok thanks, I'll try that. I already did try the magnet test though and it passed that. I'm guessing maybe it's made out of nickel but who knows. If I find it is possiblsy silver I'll wait till my dispute gets resolved and bring it to one of those "we but hold and silver" places and be up front about it being a forgery. They should be able to test the content there and if it is silver, maybe I get a free 5 or 10 bucks for the melt value to cover my aggravation and trouble.
     
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  11. Oldhoopster

    Oldhoopster Member of the ANA since 1982

    It all depends on the density of the metal. If the density is diff than the 90% silver coinage alloy and the weight is right, the size will diff and vice versa. If the densities are close, then the weights and sizes should match
     
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  12. MacStexas

    MacStexas New Member

    On raw coins I see if it attracts a magnet. Got one off eBay that did and returned it promptly to seller with a full refund.
     
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  13. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    The size was very near perfect when I compared it to a real Morgan. The diameter was perfect, and the thickness was slightly bigger, but it was very close
     
  14. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    It's almost 100% not going to be silver. Where's the profit for them?
    I imagine they would use silver on a rare date counterfeit.
     
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  15. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    I agree, an 1896 o isn't worth much in fine condition like the one that was pictured in the ad, however it is a low montage date on that year and one that is in AU condition is worth about $100 or more. One in MS could go for thousands of dollars. It is likely that it's not one that was intended to be passed off as a higher graded coin for top dollar, judging by the way it was marketed, but I think the possibility exists that maybe it was one that they tried to pass off as a highly graded coin and failed so they tried to sell it to someone looking for a coin at cull pricing just to cut their losses.

    I realize that this theory is a bit of a stretch and I do agree that it likely is not silver, but at this point since nothing I've checked has been able to prove that it is not, I'm not 100% convinced yet.
     
  16. Kevin Dore

    Kevin Dore Active Member

    Or maybe it is a copy of one of the higher dollar VAMs. I know it's not the popular and expensive micro o ones but maybe it's another that would fetch top dollar if it was real. I don't know enough about VAMs to test this theory. Again, I know it's a stretch. Just saying it's possible however unlikely
     
  17. Cuthbert

    Cuthbert New Member

    thumbnail_20180929_120844.jpg thumbnail_20180929_120908.jpg I bought a silver 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition Half Dollar for $4.95 and free shipping. I figured the coin was damaged / marred with something that didn't show in the picture. If it was as advertised I was getting a phenomenal buy. The coin arrived after 3 weeks. The coin looks nice. I'm a new collector and like to hold the coin in my hand like I did when I was 12 years old and collected pennies. Then I noticed the copper color on the edge of the coin. I dropped it on the floor and it sounds like a clad coin. No ring. More of a dull splat. I looked at the packaging and saw that it came from China. This was my first and hopefully last encounter with a fake.

    I kept the coin thinking I should turn it in to the Treasury as a counterfeit. Is that what I should do? Or should I take my Dremel and engrave "Fake"?
     
  18. Bert Gedin

    Bert Gedin Well-Known Member

    What can you expect from China, if not red flags ? And 99% reliability ? img304.jpg
     
  19. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    None of them are silver. It is illegal for citizens to ship precious metals out of China.
     
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  20. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    Just take a file and cut a V-notch in the edge.
     
  21. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    Just because it is illegal to ship silver out of China doesn't mean they don't do it.

    Any convincing fake is going to be made out of the correct metal at the correct weight.

    Unfortunately for the OP, the coin posted is not a convincing fake.
     
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