I've heard there are occasionally phony slabs that are not legit. This coin should be somewhere around maybe low end XF range, not even AU. Surface is very dark. Every time I look for one of these pieces some rather questionable listings come up in search. I'll have to buy one from an experienced local coin dealer some day.
I can't speak to the authenticity of the coin or the slab, but that one looks nothing like other MS 63 examples that I've seen. For comparison, here are 2 NGC examples that I have - the first is MS 64 and the second is MS 61 (I even paid less for this one than the price listed above). I also have 2 other NGC AU 58s that have far more luster and detail than the one shown above. Hm. Ebay can be a mine field.
lately, I have seen that many coins have been overgraded. that's why you should always buy the coin and not the holder. I have several AU58s that look way better than a 62.
Can you look up the serial number on PCGS website? Either way, if it was legit, I don't think the coin looks that great.
Yes, that slab is counterfeit, and an obvious one at that. Here is the authentic coin/slab combo that bears that serial number:
Yup, that definitely appears to be a fake, as T$ identified. This seems like good info for @TypeCoin971793 and @Jack D. Young , the experts on fake slabs.
Here are the photos from the auction for all to see, as I'm sure eBay will pull this listing soon. @TypeCoin971793, I'm sure you'd like to use these for your thread.
In all honesty, if you are indeed looking for a Japanese 1 Yen coin, I'd recommend avoiding eBay or just about any other eCommerce site since there are plenty of crude fakes floating around. If I were you and were in the market for this particular coin type, I'd suggest waiting for a larger coin show or buy one from a reputable dealer such as Vcoins or an auction site such as Heritage.
I'm actually convinced there are more fake Yen crowns than Morgan Dollars around online. It's not difficult to find legit American silver there.
That is your first clue that it is a fake slab. As much flack as I give the TPGs, they will NEVER get a grade 20 points wrong. If the slab is genuine, it can be honestly written off as a mechanical error. I have seen 10 points off in genuine slabs though. The gold shield PCGS slabs will always have a picture, fortunately. That confirms the inauthenticity of this piece
I can't really tell with the cruddy images provided, but the edges of the plastic holder in question don't look like those of an actual PCGS slab, either. And then the final clue: While "delivery from China" isn't always tantamount to a scam, whenever I see this in a listing, I move on. I'm sure I've missed out on some good coins and deals by doing this, but that's what I do...
You have to closely analyze and check every single item, but I've definitely ordered items from China and Russia and received beautiful, original items. You just to have every warning bell strung and every alarm ready.
Another bad seller- have had similar listings pulled from another Chinese seller. Even the 1st Mexico 8R I looked at was bad. I saved some images and reported the whole mess.
eBay wiped out the sellers 40 coin listings. https://www.ebay.com/sch/Coins-Pape...e0:g:fjcAAOSwooxethq4&_ssn=guansilixue&_sac=1
Okay, why did eBay wipe them out, and not all the other obvious fakes on their platform? I thought eBay didn't really aggressively pursue this stuff as much any more? Does it take messages from other users for eBay to pull these kinds of listings?