So I came across a listing online for a 1955 double die penny and it seemed too good to be true. I did a quick google search and it turns out you can buy them from China now? How in the world is someone supposed to tell what is real anymore? These fakes all look very real to me. Here is the listing photo in question, do you guys think it is real? https://im.ge/i/hLgtam https://im.ge/i/hLgNBf
The "copy" is just a photoshop to probably comply with legal requirements for listing online but I'm sure other vendors are out there selling them openly. Did you see the photos of the listing I posted? Do you think it's a real coin or a copy? I tried a new photo host and it seems to be showing up now.
I guess it was news to me but I just didn't know they had started faking our pennies now. The seller also has this 1916-D dime which I am guessing is also fake?
Coins have been being faked for decades. This is not a new thing. There are a lot of Chinese counterfeits that have been made of american coins, from pennies to dollars. That is not a very good fake IMO, and Abe's face and hair are clear signs of it not being genuine. Also, the website says its a copy in the title, so you can't blame the seller.
That counterfeit of the 1955 doubled die cent has been around for quite awhile. I added to my virtual “black cabinet” of counterfeit coins years ago. If you see a picture of it straight on instead of at an angle, it’s more obvious. Bad photography and pictures shot at an angle are the stock in trade for counterfeit coin sellers. When you see that for a perspective purchase, turn the page. Don’t even consider buying it. I’ll post pictures of this counterfeit when I’m on my desktop.
A little history of the 1955/55 counterfeits. But first a few words to avoid the risk of being called a know-it-all as some of the "experts" here have done in the past. Consider this when I post something now and in the future... 1. I'm older than all of you except for Doug. 2. I was lucky enough to get in on the ground floor of Third-Party coin authentication in this country so I've seen a few counterfeits over the years. The 1955/55 is an expensive coin. By the 1960's a much better counterfeit (Published in 1963) than the one in the OP existed. For some prospective, this example would not have fooled any coin dealer back then; while the better made fake of the time was deceptive enough to fool most dealers. By the 1970's there were two or three very deceptive fakes of these coins in the market. The ANA's Certification Service published one of them in the 1980's. If I remember, it is the one with a tiny curved "spur" coming off the top of one of the 5's. IMO, anyone who has a genuine cent made between 1950 and 1957 in AU condition would see that the coin in the OP looks much different -nothing like it should. The key to avoiding counterfeits is a simple rule: Know what a genuine example looks like. That way, even for an experienced professional, you still may not know if a coin is authentic or not but you will know it looks differtnt than it should and that's the "red flag" we all look for.
This is your first line of defense. Unfortunately the notion of making a big score overcomes all rationality for a lot of people, which is why counterfeiting thrives. Your second line of defense is that the coin you posted looks like garbage, which it is. Trust your instincts.