My latest snag at the coin shop

BQ,

I' by no means a numismatic expert, but I have studied $3 gold pieces intensely for the last few months; mostly because I purchased one unknowingly that was fake. The fake I have passes the ring test, is of the proper dimensions and is the proper weight(It is made of real gold).
Here is a thread discussing it:
http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=35690&highlight=gold+counterfeit

If I were to guess, I would guess yours is real. However, there are fakes of these that are good enough to fool dealers. Its a coin that I would never buy uncertified(again) because of this; especially a low mintage one. This is just my personal opinion.

I would send this in to ANACS(they slab problem coins, and yours appears to have surface alterations), and make sure you can get a refund from the dealer if the coin is not genuine.

 

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I actually do intend to send it in to anacs for certification. The coin looks different in hand, quite a bit actually from the picture, so I'm hoping that altered surfaces are not an issue. Like I said all the other signs point to it being genuine including the leaf diagnostic. the leaf stem on the left side of the date being an unattached fragment. I'm hoping to be able to submit it after payday. I'll keep y'all updated on what they end up grading it as. Should the unthinkable happen, and the coin turns out to be counterfeit, I'll not have a problem with the dealer, we've been doing business since I moved into the area and he's always been better than fair with me.

 

Reporting for duty, Mike:smile

My guess is that the coin is genuine but has been (more than gently) cleaned. By the way, while the price might have seemed enticing, I wouldn't have good feelings about a dealer/seller who said

Think about the implications of that statement.

 

Thank you, Mark.

I'm happy to hear my numismatic antenna gave a false alarm here.

 

p.s. please keep us posted, BQ!

 

p.p.s. Congrats on your NEWP!

 

The coin looks like it has been cleaned but I would say the it is real. IF some one took the time to make a 1870 that looked that good they would have thrown on the "S" and got 100 times the money. God buy though as the details are nice XF.

 

Actually, an S mint-mark would have aroused a lot more suspicion. At a certain point, rarer is not necessarily better with counterfeits.

 

I think that you got your money's worth, but not a whole lot more.

The coin appears to have been treated harshly. There is some damage and the surfaces are very pebbly.