I have found a lot of information and pros & cons and comparing the different independent third party coin grading services, but I can't find much info on independent third party coin authentication services. Can anyone provide any information on companies that will do coin authentication? Or is authentication already included with grading services? I have a confederate penny that I'd like to determine if it's real, restrike, fake, etc. I have found and read about the Robert Bashlow restrikes in 1961. I have taken this coin to two Chicago area dealers. One said it was fake, barely looking at it. I asked him how he could tell that in a matter of 3 seconds from just his naked eye, never closer than two feet away. He gave me a snotty reply that "there is just no way you could have coin that rare". The other dealer gave it a real look and thought it could be restrike. He admitted that he didn't have experience with this particular coin. So yes, I am fully prepared that it could be fake and worthless, but I would just like to know. I realize I would be paying a fee to find out that it's potentially not real and/or not worth anything. Any advice anyone? Thanks, Joe (joemagiera at ameritech dot net) joemagiera@ameritech.net
Yes, the TPGs will authenticate the coin for you, included in the grading fee. You could also post pictures here, it may be as clear of a case as the first dealer thought.
Realistically, your best hope would likely to be that you've a Bashlow as any of the other preferrable options are remote, but with that said, you also must understand there are literally hundreds of thousands of cheap novelty knock-offs out there. Said novelties were sold to battlefield visitors at places such as Gettysburg for many, many years (and perhaps still are) as well as offered elsewhere for a variety of reasons. So, and as the other gentleman said, the first dealer may not have been as dismissive as you may think; perhaps he has experienced this exact situation many times over and was simply being honest. As already said, at this point you would be wise to first post clear/detailed photos before even considering a submission. 'Tis better to know now if you would be wasting time and money than learning the same after you've already spent it.
Putting your email address in your posts is frowned upon here. It can open a huge can of worms that you will not appreciate. For your own safety and peace of mind, edit your email address out of your post.
I apologize. I don't see an option to edit my post. I do know this opens me to spam from thousands of sources. I was prepared for that. But I will try to remember to not post it in the future.
