Can anyone determine if this a counterfeit 1850 Braided Hair Cent

I sold this coin a few weeks ago. Now the person is telling it was a counterfeit and I can't determine that myself but i was wondering if that is why it had the marks on it the way it did. If it is I definitely want to refund the person although it is well past the time , I don't want to be responsible for selling a coin that was counterfeit. I have not heard a lot about counterfeit in large cent but i'm sure it's possible. She said it weighed in at 10.5 and it should weigh 10.89 therefore it wasn't real. Weight being lower on an old coin doesn't concern too much because of wear. Also she had a dealer check it and he said 99% counterfeit not sure where the other 1% would be. Im uploading the pics.

 

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Yeah I think the big X on the coin was a collectors attempt to prevent it from sold to another collector. Whoever did it seems to have been trying to damage the coin in a big and obvious way to deter other collectors from buying it.

There is a Youtuber called Spegtacular who uses pliers to do the exact same thing to fake silver coins.

In my opinion I think it would be best to just honor the buyer's request and refund them. It will also help maintain your reputation if you do so.

This is just my own personal opinion.

 

Well if I got a second opinion like this I intended to do just that) I would not - not honor the request if someone told me that yes it was. Not that I didn't believe her, I just know you all here have good eyes for coins. I thought it strange that the coin is marked in this way it's like they were checking the alignment of the things on the coin.

 

Can you tell if there anything wrong with the alignment compared to the stars ? It kind of seems like that is what is being checked.

 

I don't think it was anything regarding the alignment as the alignment can be checked without any physical damage to the coin itself.

Someone could easily use a ruler or a protractor or other such device and check that kind of stuff without marking the coin permanently.

That's the biggest reason that I can think of that it's not anything to do with checking the alignment.

If you look at the "E" in "CENTS" on the reverse you'll see whatever tool marked up the X on the reverse also appeared to scratch up the E as well.

 

Interesting. Not my series, but ONE CENT does look funny to my eye. Wait for more educated opinions.

 

The PMD is very odd. Maybe to cover up some counterfeit tells

 

Thank you I am interested in hearing what everyone has to say about this. I did already tell her though I am trying to honor that request to refund I just have to wait on the site to advise because she completed the sale which closes it and of course fees came out. But it was not very very much and Im not needing her to return the coin only destroy it it's not real so shouldn't be too difficult.

 

All I have to say, if that matters, is what a shame to a Nice coin!!

 

Well if it counterfeit it is not really a nice coin (

 

That's Silly. Who would counterfeit a Penny, even those days?

 

I don't have any idea. This is what the buyer said a dealer told her. That was why I was hoping someone could give me an idea of anything that they saw on this coin that made it appear fake.

 

Interestingly enough I found this article about counterfeit large cent
https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/struck-counterfeit-coins-a-family-of-struck-fake-large-cents/

 

The author of that article @Jack D. Young is a member here and @Conder101 is also a very knowledgeable copper collector. I would see what they have to say.

 

Coin looks genuine to me but I'm no expert.

 

That would be awesome!! From her last reply to me it seemed to me she was actually counting on the weight to determine the authenticity of the coin because it didn't seem like she was aware that it may be a little off due to the wear. I still however told her I would honor her request to return her money because that's how I do business. It not and never been worth it to me to have a person dissatisfied with a purchase that they make from me big or small. Life is to short to have people think of you and remember you for that. "Oh yea that's the lady sold me a crappy coin" Not going to be me )

 

The N in ONE looks funky and the last A in AMERICA is notably lower than the rest of the letters. I was not able to match these to several coins shown in PCGS Coin Facts.
I was unable to match the three hair curls shown under the beading in the bun on your coin to several coins shown in PCGS Coin Facts.
Just my two cents.

 

Thank you; I have not documented a fake similar to this one; obviously defaced, I have seen genuine examples "crossed" like that before for who knows what reason. Scratches look pretty old as well.

I always start a review of a "subject" example with an attribution effort; there are a ton of varieties for this date and I picked an image that is certainly close for comparison.

I "re-oriented yours to get better focus!



Nothing really jumps out at me on a quick 1st look (other than the obvious damage)...

 

Unfortunately the Chinese are counterfeiting almost everything now. Many years ago, most large cents were spared, but not any more. Believe or not the Chinese actually went to the trouble to make a counterfeit 1958 Lincoln Cent, which has very little numismatic value.

Here is a genuine 1850 large cent.

 

I thought the subject coin looked like it circulated after it was mutilated as well. This in itself does not mean its genuine but I'm not seeing any obvious red flags. The date style and placement from what I can make out resembles that of N-20 and N-28.