Is This 1904-S Barber Half in high grade authentic?

I have included images, I need your guys's opinion if you think this barber half is real or not.

 

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Looks like it is whizzed. I would never call that a high grade coin. What are the circumstances in which it is being sold, and why are you questioning it? If it is because the asking price is lower than you expected, that would be because of the surface damage lowering its value tremendously.

 

I won it from an auction, looks like a nice vf+ example despite the damage, just need to know if it's real because i got it at a strangely good price; i guess i'm very cautious because it doesn't make sense that it would go for so low unless other people might've thought it was fake. Just need expert opinions

 

When I passed my Coin collecting merit badge in Boy Scouts, the couselor showed me a wooden bench his son made in shop that had a Barber Quarter nailed [thru the coin] into it's top. The whole surface was then shellacked over. IMO it was a really nice one: nicer than any I had ever seen at a coin shop. It had a full sharp Liberty, had to be a strong VF at least.

He then commented, "If I had known that he would do that in class, I would've given him a really high grade Barber to work with". I'm not making this up.

This coin sort of reminds me of that.

Oh, sorry, just saw that you bought it. Well 1904-S is a much better date in high grade but then the coin appears badly cleaned. As long as you got it at a really good price tho.

 

That is a modern Chinese counterfeit. The devices are all fuzzy and the date is malformed. Avoid like the plague

 

I agree that this coin looks whizzed. That's why you got it at a strangely good price. It's now considered damaged.

Welcome to CT.

 

If I weighed it and it weighed the 12.5 grams that real barber halves are supposed to be, is it safe to say it's real?

 

Nope. The Chinese strike them out of 90% silver if paid to do so, and some are struck on thick planchets so that the weight would be right.

But I guarantee that this coin is 100% fake just by observing the fabric

Here is an article I wrote that may help:

https://brna.org/2019/05/28/modern-chinese-counterfeits-of-united-states-coins/

 

Bingo.

 

Nope.

Most likely outcomes when you receive the coin:

1) It's significantly underweight, possibly even magnetic.

2) It weighs normally, but it's thicker than legit coins.

3) It weighs normally and is normal thickness because it's struck from 90% silver. I haven't found one of these fakes yet, but I understand they exist.

@TypeCoin971793 is right. This has the classic look of a modern low-end counterfeit. If you bought it through eBay, they'll make you whole, either by having you return the coin at the seller's expense or by refunding you and having you keep it. Don't bother talking to the seller, just open a case.

 

@Josh G, welcome to CT!

Josh, you can't just will something to be what you want it to be. And regarding weights, that's kind of a one way street...while the wrong weight usually indicates a problem, the correct weight doesn't necessarily mean everything is OK.

Your coin certainly appears to be a problem, as many have indicated, & that's why you think you got a great deal on it. Just learn from this & go on.

If it's returnable, do so. JMHO

 

No, you just make the fake coin the correct amount.

 

so there is a 0% chance this coin is real?

 

It went low because the surfaces are destroyed.

I suspect it's real but heavily damaged.

 

As a coin wears the weight will be lighter. The more wear, the lighter the coin.

 

The seller is also auctioning off a 1893-s barber half, the date looks very fake to me... what do you guys think?

 

I think the 1893 could scream FAKE louder only if the date had been written in with a Sharpie.

 

Yes. The thing has AU sharpness, but the uncharacteristic weakness through the date plus the grainy surfaces say to me that it is not real. I have never seen a lightly circulated Barber Quarter or Half Dollar that looked like that.

Here is a tip for you. If the photo is shot at an angle, don’t even consider bidding. That is one of the ways that counterfeit sellers hide problems.

 

Stay away from those coins, and seller.