Fake? Or Tampered with? You decide.

What makes you think it might be ?

 

Can't say as I blame you, don't like chop marks myself. But an ugly turn-off is not reason to think a coin is fake. Now realize, I am not saying that the mark proves it genuine or fake either.

Is there anything else that makes you think the coin might be fake ? And yes, that does include the mark. And if it is the mark - then why ?

 

Fair enough, but that indicates to me that you don't know what chop marks are. Chop marks are a mark punched into the surface of a coin by a Chinese merchant to indicate to himself and others that he has verified the authenticity and silver content of the coin bearing the mark. These marks were used for centuries.

Now, knowing that, does it change your perspective ?

 

BNB I think your instincts were working, learn to trust them. Even if you don't know why, when they perk up and say something is wrong - then walk away from the coin.

The purpose of my questions was to try and teach you something, a couple things actually. The first I mentioned above. The second is about chopmarks.

Gotta run right now, but I will continue this later.

 

OK - back to the chop mark. If one were to check the rarity census for chop marked coins what you would find is that it is extremely rare to find a chop mark on any coin dated after 1900. The simple fact is, it just wasn't done anymore by that time. As an example, using the Frank Rose rarity scale, there are 2-5 examples known of a 1914-S Barber half dollar and there is no US coin known, or any other coin for that matter, dated after 1914. And very dang few of them dated after 1900.

So, it is extremly unlikely, almost a certainty even, that the mark on that coin is definitely not a chop mark. But rather a mark put there purposely with the intent to deceive.

That alone is enough to bring a coin like this one, which is enough of a rarity of its own accord, under suspicion. If nothing else, it is a damaged coin. And why would anyone place such a mark on a coin that is considered to be scarce and of value if the coin were genuine ?

That said, the degree of wear on the coin makes it difficult to distinguish if the coin is genuine or not. But given the above, I rather suspect it is not.

So I guess the lesson here is that it is not always enough to know the different aspects of the coin itself in order to determine if it is genuine or not. Sometimes you even need to know things that would seem to be far removed from having anything to do with a US coin of this date. So never hesitate to learn as much as you can about the subject of numismatics. Even if it has nothing to do with the coins you collect. For at some point in time you might just find that knowledge to be invaluable when you least expect it.