Question on Counterfeit Morgan 1895 s

I have come into possession of what I am sure is a Counterfeit Morgan dtd 1895 s. I checked the known VAM and I did not see it listed.

My question: Should I attempt to have it listed as a known counterfeit and have it examined and cataloged, and to whom is it recommended it is sent to if that is the case.
Rest assured it will never see the light of day again as long as it remains in my possession and I have taken steps to ensure that it is clearly marked while stored, just want to do the right thing to avoid someone getting burned with one if there are more out there.

Coin Details
Wt. 26.4
Diameter. 37.2
Thickness. 3.0
Appears to have cast marks on Reverse west center of the eagle and on the north line of the N in United

 

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VAM listings are only granted to vintage counterfeits that were made of actual solid silver and circulated alongside genuine coins for some time.

I do not know of any references or listings for modern Chinese-made counterfeits (of which yours is one).

 

I came across an opportunity to buy one of those in Nevada last year. He insisted it was real, and wanted $300 (what a bargain!). When it all seemed too good to be true for an uncirculated 1895-S - I called bunko on the deal. It was in a non-TPG holder and it looked strikingly similar to the fake that was seen on Pawn Stars a year or so ago. In hindsight I probably should have just called the police. The guy was upfront about it being a fake, but still wanted a premium and it seemed like he was looking for a patsy.

If you know it's fake, and you aren't out too much - I say destroy it. Or at least mark it as "copy" or something clear and identifiable.

I wanted a copy/fake for my set - but when I saw it was a true unmarked attempt at fraud - I backed out and told him I'd pay him melt value for it and we could destroy it. He wasn't too keen on the idea.

I'd almost say send it to the secret service or FBI - but I think you would embroil yourself in endless hassles, questions and paperwork - with no end game.

Just do what you feel comfortable with - and be ethical. That's all we can ask. No crime in owning it.

 

The Canadian National runs just up the street. I'd have fun putting it on the track and waiting for the hourly freight. Haven't done that since I was a kid.

 

Thank you fellas, I think you are right about endless paperwork or maybe even not a priority. Not out any money, so I think that I am going to keep as a fake and labeled as such for my collection. Also to make sure it never sees circulation again.

 

Still think my idea is more fun

 

Wow, the sucker could have fooled me.......I'm not a collector of Morgans though. What's the tell tale sign of fakery on this one fellows?

 

what caught my initial attention was the Thud it made when put down, Then the apparent cast marks or bubbles on the reverse. Then after I weigh and measured it it became more obvious. No Silver ringing sound and it felt wrong

 

It never saw circulation in the first place

 

It is a decent one in terms of design but the cartoonish date is a dead giveaway at a glance

 

The bigger picture (bust) drew my attention away from that......on second observation, I should have picked up on that.

 

You raise an interesting question about slabbing counterfeits so long as the coin is marked (or else someone could just crack it and perpetuate the fraud). So I checked ANACS because I seem to remember them slabbing these coins. Guess I was wrong. Here's ANACS policy.


"If we are absolutely certain that a the coin is a counterfeit or an alteration, pursuant to federal law and in accordance with our legal obligations we reserve the right to turn the piece over to the U.S Secret Service. The Secret Service’s standard procedure is to contact the current owner and the previous owner and have the previous owner return the purchase price to the buyer. The Secret Service’s ultimate goal is to trace the coin back to the original perpetrator."

http://www.anacs.com/contentPages/CounterfeitCoins.aspx

 

For the record, I think it's fake, too. But....

It's only 1.5% light, and can you say with absolute certainty that all 1895-S varieties have been discovered?

Here's the "cartoonish" date, overlaid with one from a Heritage VG18:



Digits are too thick, especially in view of the level of wear - which doesn't even closely match, obverse to reverse, which is my own personal reason for believing it counterfeit - it's nowhere near a VG reverse - but it's not that far off. Spacing is pretty darn good.

The images aren't clear enough to make out what's happening around the N.

Get it into the hands of somebody. Maybe @messydesk would like to look at it. It's a pretty decent fake, at least in these images.

 

Looks bad. Other than what's been mentioned earlier, when's the last time you saw a Morgan with that much detail in the hair and absolutely no ear?

 

You may want to contact Steve Caruso of "The black Cabinet" if you want to have it listed as a known counterfeit. http://www.theblackcabinet.org/

 

Wrong diameter and thickness (3mm vs 2.4mm) should be dead giveaways, right?

 

Here's one that came close.

 

My thought on that Morgan would fall under the listing "Is the Pope Catholic?" .. The 1895 is a dead give away forget the rest of the diagnostics.

 

Dave, what's your opinion on the feathering around the wheat, rib, top cap line, cotton boles and elsewhere on the op coin?

 

Inconclusive because they're within the margin of error for the quality of the imaging. Not a swipe at the OP - he did pretty good with what he had - but not sufficiently conclusive to rise to the level of "evidence."