Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mac266, post: 2481520, member: 26371&quot;]Johnmatt from this forum read that I teach the Coin Collecting merit badge, so he sent me a counterfeit 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent to use in teaching them.&nbsp; The merit badge doesn&#039;t require a lot of knowledge on detecting counterfeits, but I think it will go far in helping me make my point when I try to emphasize how the merit badge doesn&#039;t make them experts, that they should become experts in a series if they want to continue coin collecting.</p><p><br /></p><p>This counterfeit was an added mint mark, according to the PCGS label on the body bag.&nbsp; I&#039;ll admit, this was a good counterfeit.&nbsp; I couldn&#039;t see it with the naked eye or through my 10X loupe.</p><p><br /></p><p>So I got out my digital microscope and I can see it as plain as day.&nbsp; In fact, it&#039;s rather obvious through the microscope.&nbsp; Here&#039;s a pic:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i63.tinypic.com/2uqkqis.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s what I see right off the bat:&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>1-&nbsp; The flow lines which run through the field are not present on the mint mark, and they would be on a genuine specimen. </p><p><br /></p><p>2-&nbsp; There is evidence of light tooling around the mint mark.</p><p><br /></p><p>3-&nbsp; The edges-to-field transition is very sharp compared to the same transition on the date, indicating the mint mark is resting on top of the coin&#039;s surface.</p><p><br /></p><p>4-&nbsp; I didn&#039;t bother consulting my detecting counterfeits book, and I don&#039;t have these mint mark positions and other criteria memorized, but I&#039;ll assume they do not match with genuine specimens.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks, Johnmatt, this will come in handy![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in