Just got this 1889 cc Morgan

looks fake

 

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Sorry, but you have a Chinese fake. The devices are not sharp relative to the amount of “wear” on the piece. Genuine U.S. coin were made sharp and crisp.

These things have been flooding the coin market for almost a decade now. Don’t think that you can avoid trouble by buying the common dates. The Chinese are counterfeiting those too, and they are not even made of silver.

Buy from dealers you trust who have the expertise to spot fakes. It’s also a good idea to buy certified coins when you acquire the key dates.

One more piece of advice. If looks too good to be true, chances are it is.

 

BTW, the 1896 and 1921 dollars you purchased appear to be genuine.

 

I agree fake on the CC but I would be very leery of the 96 and 21 also.

 

What are the clues?

 

That is one coin that should be slabbed before anyone gives serious consideration to it.

 

You can buy the 1889-CC raw, but you have to know what you are doing. You just can't look at the date and mint mark and think that settles the matter. You need to know what the real thing looks like, and also have a good sense as to what the Chinese fakes look like. Unfortunately they have been getting better over the years.

Alarm bells should go off in your head when the price is too cheap. If it says in The Red Book that a coin is worth $290 in VF-20 and store owner is offering it to you for $50, that should be a sign of trouble. Ownership of a Red Book is not an exclusive, members only situation. Most dealers and pawn shops don't leave money on the table, unless it is concerns a item that has a small following that might require special knowledge to spot.

 

I agree with the others. Its a definite fake.

Hopefully you can get a refund...

 

Unfortunately, they also make it in 90% silver to put more problems for public buying. No one can stay in the Pawn business if they can't tell the real thing.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/90-...etail-whole-sale-free-shipping/507183596.html

Jim

 

I’m soaking it now and will post better pics tomorrow. (This might be a duplicate post if so I’m sorry) I agree that 50 seemed to be to good to be true but if it is real I got a great deal. They said it was from the same person that never came in to renew the pawn. Now you’d think they would now what they are looking at or selling but when I bought the other coins and books the person at the pawn shop didn’t even know the books had 3 pages so the sold it to me for 2 pages and the 3rd pages were almost full lol. I know there are lots of fakes but even if it is fake and still silver it’s not a total loss live and learn.

 

What areas do you want me to focus the pics on?

 

It’s probably not silver. Most all of the Chinese fakes I have were not silver.

As for not coming back to pay the pawn ticket, I am reminded of the old Woody Allen movie, “Take the Money and Run.”

 

Or they knowingly bought a bunch of Chinese fakes and are selling them at 5000% markup to people who don't know any better. It's the cynic in me but I'm generally skeptical of situations like this.

 

Sorry I can’t get a full good picture of the coin.

 

Fake, sorry. Probably Chinese. The surfaces, the toning, the denticles, Liberty herself, look off.

 

Your photos only re-enforce my opinion that the coin is a Chinese counterfeit. As I said before, most people don't sell $300 coins for $50.

This reminds me of evening at my local club some years ago. A fellow came in with a "1796 Dollar" he had just bought off the Internet for $200. The coin was an obvious fake because the Bust of Ms. Liberty was shifted to the left. That variety is only seen on 1795 Draped Bust Dollars. I've seen this Chinese fake elsewhere since then.

When I told the guy the coin was fake, he got angry at me. Nothing like killing the messenger! In his case, people don't sell $7,500 coins for $200.

Here are pictures of the real thing.

 

The color looks off in pics. I'm not saying its not fake. they had it for 100 and they gave me 50 off because I buy a lot from them. Like I said they don't know a lot about coins.(not saying I do) I know there are fakes out there and I'm still learning so while you say color is off what else makes you think its fake. I also know not seeing in hand makes a difference as well.

 

The color looks worse in pics than in hand.