Meethinks something may be amiss here: http://cgi.ebay.com/TONED-1895-O-BARBER-SILVER-DIME-IN-G-VG-CONDITION-NR_W0QQitemZ360234651223QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCoins_US_Individual?hash=item53dfa88e57 What say thee?
Well on the reverse it does look like someone tried to erase some graffiti. It seems I can see some initials, but can not make it out. It does not look like the word copy there.
You mean is the coin cleaned, possibly. Is the coin a scanned is my only real question. The date is correct the 8 being both thicker and higher than the 9 and the 5 being turned upwards at the end and almost touching the bust. The O mm is slightly high and to the left of center on the bow, matching one of the known mm positions for this date. The coin is probably authentic. It looks like it has some rough patches of little ticks, but if you get the light wrong on a picture you capture all those faults without meaning to.
How much are you looking to spend, because even a G-4 specimen is going to go for some serious money about $500 you might be better off with an AG-3 specimen which you can get for around $350-400, sometimes cheaper, maybe.
Thanks for the intelligent and informed response. I questioned the 9 on the date (possible altered 8) but you say it is OK and "probably authentic".
Did I miss something again? If on a 1895-O Barber dime the 9 was altered from an 8 - then it would have been 1885, which means not only did they alter the 9 but they would also have to redo the whole obverse from seated to barber. And then add the O onto the reverse.
Look, there is always a chance it is one of those super good counterfeits coming out of china. You have to research the seller, look if they bought out of asia, see what their feedback is, ask for photos of the coin (closeups) what is their return policy, etc. But IMO it is a good coin.
