Since you said "comparison" I assume that the mushy coin in the top photo is the counterfeit and the sharper coin in the lower photo is the genuine. Was the counterfeit cast? It looks more cast than die-struck to me. Was it gold of the proper alloy or some other metal? Do you know where the 1978 to 1983 counterfeits originated? Beirut? If there's a story there, I'd like to hear it.
Publius2, posted: "Since you said "comparison" I assume that the mushy coin in the top photo is the counterfeit and the sharper coin in the lower photo is the genuine Yes. Was the counterfeit cast? No. It looks more cast than die-struck to me. All of you should drop the word "cast" from your counterfeit opinions. Decent fakes have been DIE-STRUCK since the 1960's. Unfortunately, the counterfeit authorities of the day misinformed all of us back then that the fakes they wrote about (the crudely made struck examples) were cast counterfeits! I personally have not seen a decent cast counterfeit of a US coin - EVER! Was it gold of the proper alloy or some other metal? No, early C/F's such as this used a lower alloy of gold. The color of the fake was different. By the 1980's, the counterfeits were made of better gold. Do you know where the 1978 to 1983 counterfeits originated? Beirut? If there's a story there, I'd like to hear it. No. AFAIK the wars in that part of the world cut down on the Lebanese fakes.
