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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 1924267, member: 27832&quot;]As I was prowling for sniping opportunities, I found this auction:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-00-FACE-IN-SILVER-LOT-/281334465834?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&amp;_trksid=p2047675.l2557&amp;nma=true&amp;si=43mDH3qiY8Aj2Sr65xoBlxrRVNc%253D&amp;orig_cvip=true&amp;rt=nc" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-00-FACE-IN-SILVER-LOT-/281334465834?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&amp;_trksid=p2047675.l2557&amp;nma=true&amp;si=43mDH3qiY8Aj2Sr65xoBlxrRVNc%253D&amp;orig_cvip=true&amp;rt=nc" rel="nofollow">$4.00 FACE IN SILVER LOT</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]330885[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I won at $129.05 plus $5 shipping; I&#039;d set my snipe a good bit higher on the basis of that 1898-S half in the foreground, which appeared to have AU details, with perhaps some luster around the edges.</p><p><br /></p><p>When the lot arrived and I saw the half in-hand, my reaction was an immediate &quot;what the...?&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]330886[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]330889[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The <b>color</b> was an odd sort of yellowish-brown, and there was no luster at all, almost as if there were a layer of clay dust on the coin. I took the coin out into direct sun, and the surface looked reflective but grainy, almost like it was illuminated with laser light.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I started looking more closely, I noticed other issues. The date was odd, and some of the details were -- well, is this what you call &quot;<b>mushy</b>&quot;? Look especially at the bases of the &quot;T&quot;s, and the top of the right curve on &quot;S&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]330890[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]330892[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The reverse has similar problems; here&#039;s a closeup of the mint mark area.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]330891[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I did a (very careful) <b>ring test</b>, and it didn&#039;t sound like other silver halves, but it didn&#039;t exactly sound like anything else I tried (clad and 40%).</p><p><br /></p><p>I did the <b>magnet test</b>, and it wiggled the magnet, but not nearly as much as other 90% silver coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>I <b>weighed</b> it, and it came in at <b>12.87 grams</b>, significantly <i>above</i> the expected range -- this was on a scale that gave weights between 12.27 and 12.71 for 20 2002-S silver halves, with an average of 12.55 and standard deviation of 0.1. It&#039;s definitely <b>too heavy</b>, which is odd, since most fakes are underweight.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I looked closely at that &quot;spot of gunk&quot; on the shield. It&#039;s actually a <b>cavity</b>, revealing some sort of dark material.</p><p><br /></p><p>I wondered if this might be a contemporary counterfeit cast from lead, but its edge actually looks pretty good, with no seam and nice, square divisions.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, I&#039;m a bit stumped as to exactly what <i>kind</i> of fake this is, but I&#039;m pretty sure it&#039;s a fake, and I&#039;m not willing to pay 60-odd dollars (my final price, minus the estimated value of the rest of the lot) to keep it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m trying to decide whether to contact the seller directly, or whether to just go ahead and raise a SNAD case. I don&#039;t see any evidence that this seller is trying to pull something (like the loser who sold me a fake 1920-s half a few years ago), so I&#039;m inclined to go the gentle route; any opinions?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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