A Couple of Counterfeits

I picked up these two duds at the coin show yesterday. The first one is a 1921 Morgan dollar. At a glance it looks real, but if you look closely; it is obviously fake. It is not silver either. It weighs 22.3 grams instead of 26.7.

The second one is a fake 1843 Seated half dollar. It is a better imitation than the Morgan, but since it isn't silver; it is obviously fake. It is a little porous and pretty banged up. It weighs 10.4 grams instead of 13.3.

The dealer selling them said that they found a lot of counterfeits during the 1979-80 silver boom, when they were melting bags of "scrap silver."

Charlie

 

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I'm curious - why would anyone fake a 1921 Morgan?

 

I tend to doubt the 1979-80 story, but rather believe these things are made in 2004-2005 China.

 

21 Morgan

My thoughts as well. If your going to fake a coin why would it be the least desired coin in a set?

 

Back then a dollar could buy alot....so there was a big reason to fake them.

Speedy

 

I have one of the fake Trade dollars from China. The 1921 Morgan seems to be made of a different metal than the Trade dollar.

Charlie

 

Hi,
I am just curious as to whether or not you knew they were fakes before you bought them. They are obvious forgeries. The Morgan being easier to tell than the seated half, but both easy to see.
Bill

 

Aside what others already answered.....To me, it would be more logical to fake an unwanted less looked at coin than a highly desirable, highly scrutinized coin.....less likely to get caught....or caught as quickly anyway.

 

Yes, I knew they were fake when I bought them. They were only a couple bucks each. The guy selling them had about 20 different counterfeits including some 1970's quarters and halves, a Trade dollar(one of the Chinese ones), a 1943 copper cent, and some others.

Charlie

 

OK

I'm stupid. Other than the metal, how is it "obvious" that these are forgies?

Ruben

 

You Could Have The Silver Dollar Graded And Slabbed By Sgs And Sell It On Ebay

 

Reuben, for the morgan look at the neck, I find that personally to be the most obvious. It's missing that little indent. The date is odd too, amongst other things.

 

That was exactly what I was doing was looking for the notch in the neck, and I thought I saw it. I'm just so bad at these things. I thought I saw a notch, and thats why I asked the question. As for fonts ;( Wow - I don't know. I barely notice them. Perhaps if I had the coin in my hand it would be more obvious.

 

I think it would definitely be more obvious in hand. I think sometimes it is hard to tell things from pictures, although some people here are great at it. Hopefully some day I will be equally good.

 

I'm just so bad with these kind of things. I can pick out the smallest error in a program, noticed that you posted Louis XIIII instead of Louis XIV in the grading thread, and catch small changes in the run of an experiment, but I can see certain spacial things at all. I'm the kid who always lost the spaldeen in the outfield, and never learned to spell or tell when I was before E.

Never the less, I think I see a real difference in the nose and a wheat stalk in the top of her bonnet transformed into a leaf. But without this side be side comparision, Forget About it!

I'd be completely lost if this was a silver coin.

And the 1921 Morgans ALWAYS look wierd to me anyway.

Ruben

 

Hi,
Some of the other giveaways is the roundness of the letters on the counterfeit. On the real coin, the surface of the letters and numerals is basically flat. Also look at the hairlines on the counterfeit. They are too deep and so many that should be visible are missing.
Have Fun,
Bill