Hello, I have a non defaced coin die half of a Bolivian 1908 50 Centavos piece that I picked up on eBay a number of years ago. I also have the corresponding coin with matching die cracks. I had the coin certified by NGC a while back. I’m pretty sure that the die is genuine simply due to the fact that I got the die from a seller in Argentina and I got the coin from a seller in Pennsylvania and the fact that NGC certified the coin. So I’m not particularly worried about the die being fake but I would like to get it authenticated if possible. So, my question is does anyone here know of any legitimate certification agency/agencies that would authenticate/certify a non defaced coin die? Please see the photos and please let me know your thoughts on the matter. Any information would be helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions for me. Thanks. Best Regards, -Kyle
Well, now, that's certainly neat, and not something one sees every day. I don't know of any third-party certification for coin dies, but perhaps someone will. I suspect in this case "certification" will be merely a case of having some expert examine it and write a letter attesting to its authenticity, which you can then laminate and include with hi-resolution photos of the die. For what it's worth, the die looks totally plausible to me.
The die is in a later state than when it struck the coin, as noted by the new radial cracks, but the big crack through the date tends to prove that you have a coin and the exact die which struck it. That's impossibly cool and would be pretty difficult to fake.
One of the coolest things I have seen in a long while. I've seen dies for Civil War Tokens that were not defaced, and they sell for BIG bucks. I think this is an incredibly interesting pair! Congrats!
I have to agree with the others ! But if I recall correctly this is not the first time you've posted about this die, and the coin. It is however the first time I can recall you asking about authenticating the die. To my knowledge, no such place exist. Well, no such 3rd party anyway. You could send the die back to its home country's mint and ask them to authenticate it. But in that case I suspect they would just confiscate your die, but maybe I'm wrong. In my opinion, the die speaks for itself and needs no authentication.
I would talk to NGC (since they have a better reputation with foreign coins) You may have to send both the coin and the die to them so they can examine and determine that it is the die that struck the coin. And if it is then they may be willing to do something to authenticate it. But the only way to find out for sure will be to talk to them. When you talk to them be sure to let them know that you have a coin authenticated by them that is from that particular die. Might make them more interested.
I think this is an excellent idea. Worth a try, anyway. Might be easier if done in person at a big national show, too, where you will have lots of potential experts in the same room and can "walk it around" for multiple opinions. Additionally, there are some experts in Latin American coinage on the PCGS/Collectors Universe forums. I think dealer Andy Lustig (aka "MrEureka" on the CU forums) might be a good person to ask about this.
I just sent emails to the customer services of the “big four” (PCGS, NGC, ICG, ANACS) grading companies asking if this is something that they might be willing to undertake but we will see. I’ll let you guys know if any of them say yes.
Let us know if they even respond, some of them are notorious for the speed (glacial) of response to email if they even reply.
I’ve never had a problem with them actually replying but I have had some really slow (glacial) response times. It once took between 4 and 5 weeks for me to get a response to a customer service email to PCGS but surprisingly PCGS and ICG have already responded to me in regards to this matter. Both said no but still really fast response times nonetheless.
