Many times people suggest weighing a coin to determine if it is legit. How common is it for a counterfeit coin to weigh the correct weight? Does wear on a coin significantly change the weight?
I have a scale to weigh coins. I have not had a fake coin yet. I have been told that fakes don't weigh the same as originals. I supposed that if a coin is well worn, it would weigh a lot different.
I just posted in another thread what two dealers have told me. A good counterfeit will weigh and measure correctly. I was told in both cases that they would need to have the coin in hand. For large cents wear and condition could effect the measurements. Plus I was also told with early copper that the mint was not as careful as with something like silver. So I think all of that comes into play.
Mark is correct, it is not unusual for good counterfeits to be the correct weight and size. There are even counterfeits known that were made with silver of a higher finess than the genuine coins and some that weigh too much. But it is most common for counterfeits to be underweight. So if you are looking for a rule - there is no rule. In the end, you have to know your coins.
As Doug said: The only rule is that there is no rule, otherwise they'd be called the US mint. (Who are that great, lately, either.)
If by good counterfeit you mean a numismatic counterfeit (Intended to fool collectors) then I would agree they will usually be right on the money. If you mean a contemporary counterfeit intended to fool the general public and pass as money then no they are usually significantly off weight. A person making a numismatic counterfeit knows that it is going to be checked closely and the weight being off would be a great big flag that something was wrong. A contemporary counterfeit on the other hand typically made its money for the counterfeiter by being short on the weight of precious metal and the people it was being passed to would not have scales for weighing it or even know what the proper weight was supposed to be. About the only exceptions to this were some contemporary counterfeits from back around the turn of the 20th century when silver ha dropped so low in value that the face value of the coins were way more than the metal value. In that case it made more sense to make the counterfeits out of good metal and even full weight because it made passing them so much easier. The other exception I can think of to the full weight for counterfeits were the fake gold coins coming out of Lebanon in the fifties and sixties. These were a semi-numismatic counterfeit. They were being made as a way to sell gold and at a premium to bullion. That were not intended to capitalize on a numismatic or rare date value, but just on the fact that any US gold coin sold for a moderate premium over the gold value. Also it was a way that Americans could bring the gold back into this country. The counterfeiters didn't need to short the weight because they were already getting a premium price for it, plus shorting the weight would have just made it more likely their product would be noticed and rejected. So they made them full weight Wear on a coin does not normally affect the weight that much unless it is severely worn AG or Fair-2 etc You can take a Lincoln memorial cent, grind the entire reverse off the coin, and it will still be within mint tolerance weight.
