Last week at the weekly Heritage auction, I purchased a Fractional Currency 2nd Issue $.50 Fr. 1317. I was happy to buy it, receive it, admire it.....and scan it... As I was scanning the note, something didnt look right about George Washington. It looked as if he had a face make over. I took a closer look at the fonts, mumbled a few explatives and was convinced, it was a counterfeit. What makes this interesting is that the note was certified by PMG as Choice AU58 EPQ. A nice grade in my opinion, that I was thinking saved me hundreds. The note is so well centered, but you take a look at what I saw Portraits of George Washington. Notice the shape of the face. That was the first indication. real fake The next sequence of scans are from the upper right side of the Obverse. real fake Look at: the "States" , then on the left side, the scroll work, then the beading around the "50". The engraved lines in general are not sharp as they should be. Second the engraved fonts do not have the same balance of white and black areas. Other parts of the note showed similar differences. ie the Locomotive, cargo and mule. I did not even try to do an analysis on the reverse Since this PMG Graded.....this is a perfect case of "buy the note and not the holder" It stumped, PMG, Heritage and at first me, but then In my due diligence, I found it. And have been receiving some nice offers for it. Sorry I am keeping it! Jeff Here are pictures of the note.....hey its got an EPQ designation too! Real Fr.1317 Counterfeit Fr. 1317
I find it surprising that made it past PMG. I don't know how closely Heritage looks at the items they auction but this note appears to be an obvious counterfeit. I am guessing this is a contemporary counterfeit. Am I correct? It is a very interesting piece (but I am attracted to counterfeits myself).
Studying Fractional currency for the past few years, counterfeiting was the primary reason for so many issue changes, paper changes and anti counterfeiting measures that have run the gamut of the entire fractional series. Many graders have had so little exposure to true fractionals in pristine condition and counterfeit's to compare them with or beside, it is not surprising that a few slip in here or there. This note has all the looks of a counterfeit..if you look even closer the inks are different as well. The bronzing around Washington is a huge indicator as it was one of the earlier measures against counterfeiters. A great book is the 6th Edition of The Encyclopedia of United States Postage&Fractional Currency by Milton R. Friedburg! I reccomend it highly! That is a Second issue 50 cent note . An interesting point is that "no authentic note have ever been seen with out corner surcharges"! Look at the reverse OLDBucks and you may or may not see these! They were also printed on various type of plain or fiber paper. These were prepared on plates designed for 20 or 40. Plate numbers normally appear at the intersection of the 4 notes at the lower left corner of the sheet. Mostly 20 notes per sheet! RickieB
G.W. sure does look funny in that fake note! Of course, everythign RickieB mentioned stands as well I am surprised that such a fake would make it through the gamut of PMG and Heritage. Is it possible that the auctions page mentioned in small print it was a fake? I dont want to second guess you, but it just seems so highly unlikely it would pss by them unnoticed. I say unlikely, but nothinis impossible, so it is possible it snuck past them and they didnt notice! You mentioned you had every intention of keping the note. Does the fakness about it raise the value of the note over its value of being real? I would think a fake note, would significantly drop it value.
I'm not surprised about Heritage. The note had a "reputable" TPG holder. Why would the person recieving it or listing it look any further or question it. Now if they recieved it raw, that would be another story.
This is a fascinating thread. I wonder if Coin World would be interested? This should be front page news! [Or you may be able to blackmail PMG for lifetime grading services!]
I would say contact PMG. tell them you have a fract note that seem wrong in one of there holders. They might have to buy it from you. Im not sure if theres like PCGS and NGC?
Interest thing to mention here. In the last week. I have been contacted by a swarm of noted currency experts including Kyzivat, Kravitz and others who grade fractionals for cataloging and other TPG's along with dealers and auction houses. The only group I have solicited for a response and not heard a peep is PMG. I find this observation, somewhat unique, seeing that the story on this note has been posted on almost every major currency forum in Notrth America. I will try to bring the note to CPMX in Chicago. I would like to keep it, unless someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse. Jeff
I have no intention of trying to discredit any of the TPG's, but the lack of response is something to make mention, plus the fact this is suppose to go through stingent checking by independant reviewers and finalized by another individual leaves me with a few questions. You draw your own conclusions. I have been working with currency for 35 years and really didnt start with fractionals until about 5 years ago. I love them!. They are undervalued and under appreciated in the market for their relative rarity. The value of the note, since it is over 140 years old and it is certified, puts added value on it as a collectible and curiosity. More than what I have paid for it. As I mentioned, I want to keep it, but I wont ignore an offer I cannot refuse. Jeff
I found somthing else, on the counterfiet, there are two poles to the left of the two smoke stacks on the steam boat that is more to the left, while the real one does not have the poles.
the 2 'poles' are also on the real note. They are just not as pronounced. On the real note, it looks like a flag is flaying just slightly above the background mountain. You can really see the bottom of that 'pole' just to the left of the white sail. It almost looks like its the border of the sail, but follow it up and you will notice the line continues. As for the 'pole' to the left, i would gather to guess that it is the main pole that supports the sail. Either way, the poles do show in both notes, they are only more noticeable in the fake note.
