Heads-up guys. This last Saturday in Westchester NY I saw a nice off center Liberty nickel and an off center Indian nickel. Both are off center and both were suspect of being counterfeit. I believe that they are struck counterfeits from China. The guy that owns them concurs with this suspicion & he is in the process of returning the two pieces. I’m promised close-up high resolution photos to post here but I’m still waiting. The following photos are the result of my clumsy attempt at show floor photography. They are definitely die struck counterfeits. The dies include good detail in Liberty’s hair and weak detail in the corn (from strike?) and decent details in the balance of the reverse wreath. The planchet used is poor quality and weighed slightly out-of-spec. The planchet looks to have been artificially aged (darkened). I did not give much attention to the off center Indian but it appeared to have the same characteristics as the Liberty. The Indian planchet was also aged & darkened. Seeing the two nickels together, the darkness makes them look quite suspect. Viewing them separately, would probably fool most novice collectors. I hope to post better photos soon. Very best regards, collect89
Hey -- is this the 90,000th thread? That what the URL seems to indicate . . . if if is indeed a counter, and if it indeed started at 00001
The buffalo IMO is an easier coin to detect. The lack of a meaningful transfer from the field of the struck area to the blank unstruck area is a good indicator of a counterfeit piece. Also are those tool marks near the second feather on the Indian? Hard to tell... My observation of the V nickel is the lack of the denticles on the area on the obverse. This would be my first indication that something is not correct. I find it interesting that the coins also both appear to be just about exactly the same amount off centered. Just some of my observations.
Good observations. Everyone collecting errors should be on the watch. Fortunately, error collectors should have a good knowledge of the minting process & know how to detect poorly made fakes. I suspect that the manufacturer could use any of his dies to make some really interesting errors. It would be easy to make wrong metals, die caps, & virtually any position off center & double struck etc. Although it might be difficult to make a Liberty Nickel that is 50% off center at 6:00 with both a date & mintmark:smile.
The evident lack of tumbling marks in the unstruck part of the planchet is another clue that something ain't right.
Another Scary Thought That is another great observation :thumb:. You know what I was just thinking?.... What if the manufacturer is watching this thread & learning how to improve his product? We ought to invite him to Hawaii for a meeting. We could offer to help him with his planchet problems. He should bring several samples of his work & we will bring the planchet data. When he arrives at the hotel (on USA soil) with his material, we could just introduce him to the secret service.
It's a sad day when you can't trust anything that isn't slabbed. And sooner than later, they will perfect counterfeit TPG slabs. Very unsettling to say the least. -LTB
I occasionally stumble upon a fake error in a top-tier slab. Such occasions are thankfully rare. Misdiagnosis of genuine errors is a much bigger problem.
