Here is a guaranteed fake. The 1908 has smooth wings/feathers on the eagle. Any you see with detailed feathers that look like the other years is fake, 100% guaranteed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1908-US-Ind...48?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item2c92716be4
Here is a MS65 example of the reverse.. notice the smooth shoulder/wing. Now here is the fake. Notice the wing details that look more like the other years. Anytime you find a 1908 with these details, it is a guaranteed fake.
Interesting. Also interesting to compare the "2 1/2 DOLLARS" placement at the bottom -- the fake has it close to the edge, as on later dates, while the genuine coin appears to have it placed higher. Is that true for all genuine 1908 quarter eagles? Edit: An NGC article on this series states that "most examples lack definition on the upper portion of the eagle's wing". The reverse from this auction looks "off" enough to make me nervous for other reasons, but is it possible that the soft-wing diagnostic isn't 100% reliable?
Not sure about the Letter placement. Just the general appearance of the coin looks mushy to me, which is another sign. I do like when fakes have such an obvious giveaway like the feather detail though. Makes it a lot easier spotting them.
I'm scared to buy gold anymore. there is SO MUCH fakes out there! i bought a fake 1/10 ounce gold panda once. but the dealer was honest and gave me a refund, it totally fooled us both
A more reliable tell on this coin than the detail on the shoulder and wings is the detail in the eagle's legs. It's too well defined in some ways, and not in others. I have bought and sold a couple of 1908 quarter eagles with good detail in the shoulder and wings, but they are indeed rare, and not so well defined as seen on the above forgery.
I would argue that if you have sold a 1908 with good detail, it was a good fake. I have not seen one genuine one with the details there. Here is what pcgs info says... David Akers (1975/88): The 1908 is typically well struck on the obverse but the reverse has a noticeable lack of detail on the eagle's wing. This is not the result of a weak strike but rather stems from a lack of die detail. (The die work was improved on later issues in the series.) The color is usually a medium greenish gold and the lustre is good but not exceptional. Most specimens have a rather "soft" frosty or sometimes even slightly satiny appearance.
Below are reverses of two different 1908 Quarter Eagles I have in inventory at this time . . . one is on the website, and the other is not currently listed. Both possess "good" detail for the date, but nothing approaching what other dates offer.
I think a lot of the best fakes came out of the Mideast awhile ago , Chinese fakes have nothing on those fakes . Always compare a suspected fake to a known real coin like jwitten showed even better the same date and MM .
Both of your coins have the same weak details I was talking about. They look nothing like the other dates. To me, neither shows good details.
Note that I indicated good detail "for the date". While there are none of this date with "full" details for the series, not all 1908 Quarter Eagles are equally weak. It is worth keeping one's eyes peeled for the occasionally offered coin with a superior strike (again, I stress "for the date").
