I think if I had the time, I'd be comparing it to real ones to make sure it's indeed real. I suspect it isn't, but mainly because the coin is too darn nice. I will say the denticles on the obverse seem off. They should extend all the way to the rim and it seems weird that they're so widely distributed, but that could just come from my lack of knowledge on the strike diagnostics of these early beauties.
I think the berry counts are wrong and in the incorrect location. The letters in Liberty and also the numbers (obverse and reverse) raise a question for me...IMO
The most obvious distinction between this and a real coin is the shape of the "extra" curl. That curl at the shoulder "A" was introduced in 1797 and was wide, like a curler rather than narrow like a natural curl. It's shape was similar to curl "B" of the original design. The curl below the ear "C" is also shaped differently. These are design elements of the portrait punch and would not be variant additions at the time of the original minting of Draped Bust Cents. I must say that these counterfeits are getting closer to the originals and at some point may not be as easily distinguishable as this one.
That is actually getting pretty close to the real thing. The 9 punch broke and left the end flattened. This was overdone in this case, but still getting closer. I just zeroed in on the differences in the head punch some other items such as hair detail and lettering varied creating the varieties we know.
