A Pretty Decent Looking Counterfeit Until You Look Closely!

Images of a "coin" for sale:






There are a few issues when looked at closely-

1st it doesn't match the listed "small date, small letters variety:




2nd it is an off center bust, which was only struck dated 1795:



3rd it has the "bite marks" of the struck fakes nicknamed the "vampire" counterfeits.



4th the obverse bar code doesn't read (at least with my scanner).

Unfortunately the cert number used does not have an on-line image of the genuine coin.




My Coin Week article can be found at https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/s...-a-family-of-struck-fake-draped-bust-dollars/ for those interested.

Best, Jack.

 

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That still looks like it's several steps above the fakes we usually see here. Sooner or later, they're going to correct this set of mistakes...

 

Are all the counterfeits with bite marks 1796 off center?

 

No; my article shows several different dates...

 

The listing was removed...

 

These continue to be popular on the internet!

Latest listings removed but I save images for my files:

 

I would think that would be standard
taking a pic of the actual product
and certifying that image, strange…

 

The vampire variety! Ooh that sounds like big money!!

 

Today there are much fewer NGC/PCGS certified coins without pics, but coins in old slabs often do not have online pics. I am pretty sure they intentionally selected a coin w/o pics in the cert lookup.

 

That makes perfect sense.

 

Your always fun and educational. I like being able to see what you see with your guide. Just plain interesting as hell

 

Say it ain’t so joe

 

NGC has been imaging every coin they certify and posting the image for over 15 years now. PCGS has just recently begun posting more than a few of them.

Every date from 1795 to 1804 can be found from the Vampire hub

 

Latest for sale on the Internet; current bid is $710.00...

 

The “VF25” grade is what did it for me. It reminds me of a joke about 2 guys trying to tell each other’s horses apart. They found that one horse had longer hair on its mane and also their eye colours were different. Then, after they measured them, they discovered that the black horse was two inches taller than the white horse

It is helpful to see the diagnostics though.

 

It's interesting to see how the counterfeiter can supply these things with many finishes, from a shiny "AU to Mint State" to a dull "EF-VF."

These things have been around for a long time. I saw one of these copies for the first time over 10 years ago.

 

That off center jumped at me the second I saw the 1796 date. This a series I know pretty well

 

275488937367 here is one @Jack D. Young

 

Saw that joke last night; thanks!

Edited to show mine: