passed the magnet test, but the weights are low ..... 1881 CC-25.6g 1885 CC-25.1g 1885 CC-25.7g 1889 CC-25.7g 1891 CC-25.5g 1893 CC-25.4g
Pretty hard to tell from pictures, but at first glance they looked fake to me. They all look too similar to each other. Did you get them all from the same person/place?
They all have an identical look. Right there, even with the magnet test, I'd be suspicious based on identical coloration of the whole lot. The odds on that in terms of older coins like that is astronomical against it. I'd bet on fakes.
I've heard of coins losing weight due to circulation, but not an entire gram of weight. They all have the same type of wear, and appearance, and suggest to me these are counterfeit, even though they passed the magnet test, which is only one of several tests used to determine authenticity.
They all have the same chip in the hair under the M on the OBV. I bought them from this resale place for $20 ea. He kept asking how much I knew about coins and kept saying he didn't know anything about coins or dates and was just a resale place. Then he said, I'm not a coin shop, so I have to charge you tax. I said, coins are non-taxable, he said he would let me slide this time, but then charged me tax and didn't give me a receipt to top it all off. I bought for melt, but these don't even sound like real morgans when flipped. Even when buying just for melt, take a good look.
I mean, it is absolutely obvious that they are fake, and that they are not even good fakes. Those are all "good CC" dates--even decently circulated, that would represent a pile of a few thousand dollars there. Like even the least savvy shop isn't going to bother finding out what the value of something like that is? They are probably not even fully silver, so probably not even worth melt.
I'm pretty sure they are base metal (non-magnetic), so no melt value. Some of the former eBay sellers of "Chinese Replicas" have moved their goods to Amazon and similar sites.
Just got off the phone with the guy and told him that I thought they were counterfeit and that I was just touching base with him before I take it for 2nd opinions. He tells me right off the bat, well, I just do resale, I don't know anything about that but to let him know what I find out. What are my options when I have no receipt? My goals are to get $$ back, but don't want him to be able to sell these fakes to someone else. I do have a business card and a customer rewards card he punched twice while I was there. I also have the approximate time of the transaction and he made a mistake and started to ring me up at $12.50 each and had to void the transaction and start again so the register and register tape will show that.
Have an expert authenticate these are indeed counterfeits and tell the guy who sold them either give you a refund in full, or he'll be speaking with the police for selling U.S. Coins that are definitely not real, and are not marked according to the HPA.
I was going to tease you and say they are all fake. I can't tell with that picture though. It is certainly possilbe. I can usually spot them rather quickly if I can see the detailed obverse (and reverse.) How does the lips, hair and beak look. Ruben
They are totally fake Ruben. Thinking back, many thing that he said should have been indicators he was dishonest. I have to do some research as to which laws were broken during the transaction. There were a few.
Even if the law was broken, kiddo, how much are you willing to spend to enforce it. The law sucks like that. Your not going to get a beat cop to make an arrest for forged morgans.
