https://www.ngccoin.com/resources/counterfeit-detection/ This valuable resource provides detailed analysis and high-resolution images to help collectors and dealers identify counterfeit and altered coins. It contains information and insights from NGC’s expert team of graders, which has identified more than 100,000 counterfeit and altered coins since 1987. Rick Montgomery, NGC president, finalizer and one of the world’s foremost coin authenticators, serves as editor. NGC’s Counterfeit Detection portal will be continually updated with new discoveries, more high-resolution images and additional information.
Every $2 1/2 Indian is on the list.. wow! I've gotten pretty good over the years at spotting the fakes, but I'm sure one slips by me every now and then. However, for the 1908, they say look for weak details. I would say the opposite... look for full details on the eagle's wing/shoulder, like the example they show. All genuine ones had weak mushy details that year.
Rather than referencing depth of strike, they are likely referring to the lack of crispness of transferred details . . . i.e., edges of the designer's initials, incused letters and stars, etc.
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There's not a single German coin among the top 25 world coin counterfeits. What about the 5 Mark 1952 (Germanic museum) or all the fake gold coins from the German Reich? I can't believe NGC don't see those as much as the listed coins from Eritrea, Iran or Turkey.
