$2 1/2 Gold Authentic or Fake

Sorry about the color, it is actually the correct color for a gold coin. It has been lightly circulated and has been cleaned. It weighs 4.21 grams, which is 0.03 grams more than the listed weight of 4.18 grams, but I'm told it's in an acceptable range. Does it look authentic to you?

 

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Bigger pics would help...

 

Looks authentic, but awfully cleaned.
Spot price plus 10%....sorry.

 

The picture makes it really difficult to say much abou this piece. The color does matter because it's part of the authentication process. My first impression is that the detiles (the "teeth" around the rims on both sides) look uneven. On the reverse the dentiles on the upper right and lower left look longer than the ones on the upper left and lower right. If that is so, it's not a good sign. It might just be the angle of the photo.

Here is a certified 1907 Quarter Eagle in high grade. You can compare it with your piece.

 

I would if could, but ….. I'm able to enlarge the pics with two fingers on the mouse pad, but it gets blurry if too large.

 

Thanks, that's the range I'm in with the cleaning.

 

Thanks, nice pics. I have compared it to similar pics and the details all compare well. The problem I have is comparing the fields, the certified uncs all have super smooth fields, but mine, I figured from the light circulation and cleaning, are nowhere near smooth. The actual color is like the pics you posted and the denticles look more even in hand.

 

You know what's interesting/strange about the denticles? I found certified uncs that look like your obverse pic where the denticles are shorter by the 1 in the date, so the 1 does not touch the denticles and I've found examples where the denticles are not shorter and the 1 touches them. Mine touches the denticles and it's more apparent in hand.

 

IMHO, pass and wait for something better. Save your collecting bucks in the meantime so you can expand your buying range. If you’re willing to accept cleaning, it’s not hard to find a details slab. That way, authenticity shouldn’t be a problem.

 

Good advice, but too late for that. This was the absolute least expensive one on eBay, with better details and less damage than any others priced higher, but in that price range. It was bought with no returns, so the only way it's going back is if it's a fake.

 

Here's another one, with a different date, that photographed better.



I agree with @Santinidollar. When it comes to gold pieces, certifed is better.

 

Yeah, I like slabs better, but with all the counterfeit slabs out there, they scare me too. I hate to say this, but one BIG positive, not to mention the negatives, to buying from the Mint, is you can sleep at night, knowing it's real. Like I mentioned, this one was cheap, good for a pocket piece, jewelry, a hole filler or bullion (if it's real).

 

The number fake slabs is very low. It’s is a concern, but it’s not common, and there often issues font on the lettering and other details.

 

I don’t think you have to worry about a counterfeit slab if you trade with a reliable dealer. They don’t want to sell one as much as you don’t want to buy one.

 

That’s a lame excuse. If you don’t know about Liberty gold coins, you don’t buy them raw. I wouldn’t and I own many of them. Get one in an NGC or PCGS secure holder and you’ll have online high res pictures of that coin. It’s very simple.

 

Just from your pictures alone I would have passed due to the dentils on the right side, obverse looking like they are spaced slightly away from the rim. But, of course, in-hand/better pictures may show something different.

Just bad pics to make a decision on gold.

 

What does the rim look like?
Polished like that would be spot IF REAL.

 

I think it looks very questionable with the central weakness and the poorly defined denticles be really interesting to see the weight

 

Thanks for all the input. I did a little more research and I'm leaning toward it's a fake. One issue that only shows a little in my pics, but is far more prevalent in hand are very small round pits (hundreds to thousands of them) all over the coin and an orange peel affect, most noticeable in the fields. Here's what I found that describes this coin to a tee:

if you got a coin that is poorly cast to hide it the counterfeiters will give it a high polish and if you look closely at this polished coin under a strong glass you will see hundreds of small tiny pits kind of like an orange peel affect this is done after the coin is cast and then highly polished giving the coin again an orange peel affect
Usually this is done on fake gold coins to much success.

I just contacted the seller.

 

It's a little over, 4.21g. Another bad sign discussed here:

i would be suspect of any underweight or even overweight coins as some makers of these coins have added more weight to fool the specific gravity test

I'm not sure how that would fool a specific gravity test, but there it is.