I could ask Google but not today. I bought at auction recently a 1909 S VDB that was returned from the grader as "Not Genuine" added mint mark. The auctioneer will take back and make good on the price. That is a good thing. Now how in the world do the bad guys do that? Seems very specialized to me. And how is it attached to the coin so as to prevent a solvent from loosening it.
Why would you buy one raw in the first place?Might save a few hundred but for coins like that my opinion get them certified not raw at first and I would like to see pictures of the coin.What auction and which grading service did you send it to also.
Could we see a picture of the coin? I'd like to know what to look for. And good job to the auctioneer's honesty and letting you return it.
In a lot of cases a solvent WILL cause it to fall off. There are also some adhesives that won't dissolve in common solvents. Other possibilities are spot welding/soldering, adding a mintmark by masking and then using electroplating to build up a new mintmark. Then there is lowering/working the field to leave a raised mintmark behind.
https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-mintmarks-watch-out-for-embossed-mintmarks/# Here's a good article about counterfeit mint marks e.t.c on rare/hard to find coins.
This is one of the few times I wish I had a scope so I could show this better. This is an added “D” 1916-D dime. It plugs the hole in my dime book and I acquired it in the 1980’s. It is done so well that the only indication is that the “D” is slightly misplaced. I even believe that the counterfeiter carried the dime for a period with his pocket change do add believability to the coin. This is not done with adhesive. It is a freaking masterpiece of work. It’s too bad the perpetrator used his skills for criminal work…. But this added mintmark is permanently affixed to this coin with solder I most imagine. It sure isn’t adhesive.
I can see how the D is a little to the right of the olive leaves from where its supposed to be. A pretty good counterfeit though. Did you stamp it as a fake so a novice collector won't get scammed when you get rid of it?
No I haven’t. I do have a sticky note in my dime book saying that is a counterfeit. And my dealer who is as straight as an arrow has been told repeatedly about it. My wife is under orders to carry my collection to him when I leave the party.
I wonder if this was done by drilling a hole in the edge and then using a pair of needlenose pliers with the MM engraved to raise the MM. The hole is repaired. Look closely at the edge and see if there are any discerible tooling marks.
The Auctioneer owns his own auctioneering company. He does especially well selling large estate collections of 500+ coin lots frequently in central PA.
That’s good. I was just asking. He would not know if it was a fake then. He just gets the information etc.
