OK, so I have been researching and trying to learn... I have been in the market for a pillar dollar, I found this on ebay, but it looks suspect to me. The denticles dont look right, not even, which is usually the easiest give away. Also the year looks off, something not quite right... So do you all agree, or am I way off? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mexico-pillar-8-Reales-1769-/261090059793?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item3cca2e2611
I am certainly not an expert on identifying counterfeits. I have heard, however, that there are a lot of counterfeit pillar dollars. The guy selling this one doesn't have very much feedback. I wouldn't take that to mean that he's untrustworthy as a seller, I'd take that to mean that he may or may not know if he's got a fake one or not. If I were to be looking to purchase one of these on ebay, I'd look for one from someone who has a large feedback score with 99%-100% positive feedback. Perhaps if this person was selling a pillar dollar that was graded by one of the reputable grading companies.... Also, posting on this forum is a great idea as there are lots of professionals here who can spot fakes really quick.
Here's a pillar dollar for sale from a local coin company here in St. Louis: https://www.scoins.com/ViewLot.aspx?LotId=25549 They are not accepting online bids yet but will start doing so on Sept 17th.
I really see nothing to make me think the coin is not genuine. That said, I would still be leary of buying one on ebay from a seller you do not know. I am far from an expert on these coins but do know a bit about them because I collected them for some time. But the one and only time I ever bought a fake in my entire life, it was a Pillar dollar, and I even bought it in person. Unfortunately I did not have a scale to weigh it when I bought it. As I told you in another post, your best bet to buy one of these coins and have assurance it is genuine is to only buy from a trusted source. Or buy one slabbed.
