Many of you are now probably squirming in your chairs saying "you did what?!" Bear with me, I had my reasons. At this point, I was now 90% sure I was holding a counterfeit coin. He even reduced his original selling price from $22.00 to $15.00 (again two more red flags). He answered vaguely that he acquired the coin from a friend who gave it to him and that he didn't know how much the coin was actually worth. While I was examining the coin, I asked the seller where and how he acquired it. At this point, I was about 60% sure that I was about to purchase a counterfeit coin. To me, these details were important, because both logically and naturally, the higher areas of the coin should show more wear than the lower areas when circulated over time. On the reverse side of the coin, I noticed similar wear patterns where the details in the eagle's inner wing feathers were worn down more so than the higher areas, such as the eagle's head, chest, talons clasping the arrows and olive branch, as well as the wreath. On the obverse side of the coin, I noticed that the words "liberty" were worn down more so than the higher portions of coin, such as the cheekbones, the hair, as well as the wreath and cap. Strangely, I didn't ignore these details. The last red flags I noticed was the detail of the natural wear on the coin. By now, I'm sure many of you are thinking as you read this, "wow, what an idiot!" and rightfully so! Nevertheless, I was determined to buy this coin. I foolishly rationalized that the coin was cleaned, which explained the lack of color (this is why I should've brought an earth magnet). The other red flag I noticed (and ignored) was the lifeless color and lack of sheen on the coin. I didn't have my scale to confirm, but the weight of the coin in my hand seemed light compared to authentic Morgans I've held in the past. The first thing I noticed was the weight of the coin. I met with the seller at a public location, which happened to be a Burger King, and the seller looked normal and seemed trustworthy however, after sitting down and seeing the coin up close and personal, something in my gut told me that something was very wrong. Contrary to following the advice of other seasoned silver investors to always bring an earth magnet and a digital scale, I chose to assume the risk by not bringing these items because I was running late to my meet-up with the seller, and I rationalized that the odds of the coin being counterfeit was pretty low (foolish decisions on my part). Based on the photographs he sent me, my quick referencing of the Grey Sheet, and that day's silver market value I determined that the most I would pay for the coin would be $22.00. I was ecstatic when a seller contacted me about a standard 1885 Morgan Silver Dollar. I began looking on Craigslist under collectibles for individuals selling single coins or entire collections (first red flag). At this point in my life, I decided that I have finally reached enough financial stability to start collecting and investing in precious metal coins. It wasn't until I was much older and stationed in El Paso, TX that I really started to specialize in a particular genre(s) of numismatics, which is both U.S. I fell in love with Morgan Silver Dollars after I stumbled upon a standard three-coin set, stored in a felt Crown Royal bag under my Great-Grandfather's bed shortly after his passing. For this reason, I feel compelled to share my own experiences in dealing with counterfeit silver coins and bullion.Īs previously mentioned in an older blog, I started collecting coins at 7 years old. As with anything in life, but especially with numismatics, 'knowledge is power.' The more you know, whether you are a dealer or collector, the more money you will save. I do not claim to be an expert in the field of counterfeit detection, and I am confident that many of you are already armed with this knowledge so this blog is geared towards those who are new to the world of silver coin or bullion investing. Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I posted a blog, but I am finally back, and I am here to stay! The topic of this blog is on how to detect counterfeit silver coins.
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