Classic Commemoratives (Silver) - Authenticity

So this series has intrigued me for a while, and I've decided to collect it raw, hopefully in it's entirety and fill in the Dansco 7095 album. It'll probably be a life-long quest.
My question is, how often are these faked? Many of the coins trade in the $100 range; some less, some more (or a lot more). I know people will fake any coin, but the risk/reward doesn't seem to be there for many in the series.
Just wondered if there were some thoughts.
And I'm not even thinking about the gold issues right now.

Thanks!

 

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Great question, Lon Chaney, as I've started collecting them, too. Mine are slabbed, though, so they won't be in a Dansco.

Steve

 

There are reports of fakes with the silver, but more of the gold ones are faked. Are you collecting 'circulated examples Lon?

 

A forum member (can't remember who at the moment) bought a fake Maine centennial half.

 

@dwhiz..........

 

Fakes exist but aren't especially common. Mostly you need to watch out for the high dollar ones: Hawaii, Lafayette, Missouri, Grant star, Old Spanish Trail.

You should read Swiatek's book. It has some info about fakes in it.

 

Pricey, but invaluable to collectors of the commemorative series. He's even got 'moderns in that book.

 

Lucky me

 

I see the appeal though Lon. A long term goal of mine is a Gettysburg half. I do have the modern Gettysburg set.

 

Sorry dwhiz

 

Fakes may not be common, but fortunately eBay is here to help you find them. The seller I called out in the linked post hasn't been active lately, but he was selling a variety of fake commems for months and months. We reported him again and again, but eBay seemed reluctant to give up the revenue stream. Most of his commems were pretty obvious fakes, but it's possible that some of them might be hard to diagnose, and the fake manufacturers do improve over time.

 

Well ideally no. I may have to for some, though, depending on cost.

 

Whoa, yeah it is pricey. But it seems to be the authority.

 

It is. At least, in my estimation. Try Wizard Coins.......might get a discount.

 

Same rules as any other coin purchase. If your own skills and the available information do not completely convince you that the coin is genuine, assume it isn't and be pleasantly surprised when you're wrong. Even the TPG's are wrong sometimes.

 

It's a little more daunting because you're learning markers on 50 different designs, where a normal series has a lot of the same markers over a length of time. Not always true, I know, but often true.
But you're absolutely right. I'll need some literature and to look at lots of coins.

Thank you for all the great responses.

 

Swiateks book is a must have , but it's still better in my opinion to know the series and buy from trustworthy people . Even the cheaper ones seem to get faked nowadays but most are quite easy to tell if you know what a genuine piece looks like . But ones like Grant with stars are quite good or use a genuine coin and add the star .

 

Plainly, you are looking at the world through crystal-clear lenses.

Yeah, this is a daunting challenge for you. You'll have to become a "specialist" on all of them, essentially. I think that might be part of the motivation for those who specialize in Commens - the process forces you to become a numismatic generalist because no two are alike.

 

Picked up the 1980 version of Swiatek's book for 11 bucks shipped. Figure it's a good start.

 

No problem, glad someone remembered me