WikiCoins:Counterfeit Detection Guide

“But how do you know it’s real?" It’s a question I’ve been asked many times over the years upon showing someone an ancient coin or some other kind of centuries-old coin that only cost me a few dollars. It’s a valid question, after all, most people have heard horror stories of antique collectors who have purchased old paintings, vases, artifacts, etc for hundreds or thousands of dollars, only to be told that their “antique” is a virtually worthless modern fake!

The prospect of throwing away money on a worthless counterfeit scares many people away from purchasing coins. So let’s get the bad news out of the way: yes, counterfeits, replicas, fakes, imitations, bogus pieces – they are out there in abundance. Now for the good news:  By applying a few basic principals, you can usually protect yourself from getting ripped off. Happily, there are “red flags” to be aware of when it comes to spotting a fake.

"Fake" vs. "Counterfeit"
First, some terminology issues. For the purposes of this article, I will use the term, “fake” rather than “counterfeit,” because to my way of thinking, they are two different things. A “counterfeit” is not necessarily a bad thing. A “fake” is. Why? Because a counterfeit coin is not necessarily a piece that was made to fool you, the collector (more on that later). A fake generally IS meant to fool you, the collector, and separate you from your hard-earned money. But a word of caution though, to be clear. Replica coins sold in legitimate souvenir shops are fakes. BUT, all such pieces, by law, will have “COPY” stamped somewhere on the face of the piece so the buyer will know they are purchasing a REPLICA, not the genuine article. A seedy, under-handed fake coin (as opposed to a legitimate replica) NOT.

The First General Rule of Thumb
RARE/BIG MONEY COINS ARE FAKED; COMMON/SMALL MONEY COINS ARE NOT. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule, but not many. In other words, coins like these are faked far more often than others– big ancient greek silver coins, big Spanish silver coins, rare U.S. Colonial coins, rare early U.S. coins, and generally, any decent-sized world or U.S. gold coin. In other words, if you see a rare 1776 Continental Currency dollar up for sale, chances are slim that it’s NOT a fake, no matter what the seller claims (legitimate Colonial coin dealers or coin auction houses being the exception) ---so do your due diligence and have the coin independantely appraised. By the same token, if you see a 1752 Dutch copper doit in circulated condition, being sold for around $5... you probably don’t have a thing to worry about. Despite being 250 years old, it’s a common coin and hardly likely to be faked. Why? Not worth the time and effort.

General Rule Number Two
BEWARE SLICK, BUBBLY PIECES. In other words, many fake coins are produced via the process of “electro-plating” or “casting.” Though it takes a little practice, you can soon learn to tell the difference between a “struck” coin (usually genuine) and a fake made by casting or electro-plating. Such fakes will have full designs, but they will be noticeably weak and faded– not typical of genuine struck coins, especially struck coins with intact designs and legends. Also, such fake coins will often have a slightly “bubbly” surface, a leftover result of the heating process. Lastly, such fakes will often feel quite slick, far more noticeably so than a genuine struck coin.

General Rule Number Three
BEWARE TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE COINS. This can be tricky. For instance, there are many genuine ancient greek coins out there that look like they were just struck yesterday. Still, I would be immediately suspicious of a private seller’s flawless, super-sharp-looking ancient Greek silver tetradrachma, if only because you know that big impressive Greek silver coins are popularly faked. ESPECIALLY look at the legends and/or inscriptions on such coins. If they are completely bold and intact, even on a super high grade ancient coin, that to me is a red flag (of course it helps to know that ancient coins were rarely fully-struck up, particularly the legends). For another example, if you see a medieval silver coin that’s perfectly round with completely clear legends and design elements, beware! Ancient and medieval coins – or any coins from the “hammered” period up to around 1660– were RARELY nicely round.

General Rule Number Four
LOOK FOR SHODDY WORKMANSHIP. This is a pretty easy way to spot a fake. Many fakes simply look amateur-ish compared to the original. Of course, it helps to know what the genuine article looks like first, but this just comes with reading and experience.

General Rule Number Five
BEWARE PRE-1878 SILVER DOLLARS FROM THE ORIENT. It saddens me to say that, because there are doubtless many honest coin sellers who work out of such places as Singapore and Hong Kong. But in recent years, there have been a rash of fake U.S. silver dollars coming from the Far East, that have been turning up on the Internet. Generally these are U.S. Draped Bust Dollars (1795-1803), Seated Liberty Dollars (1840-73) and Trade Dollars (1873-85). SOME OF THESE FAKE SILVER DOLLARS LOOK QUITE AUTHENTIC! Some do not. And this doesn’t mean that fake U.S. silver dollars are not being sold here in the United States as well– be especially wary of Draped Bust silver dollars being sold or auctioned at a bargain price. Which leads me to my next general rule of thumb.

General Rule Number Six
BEWARE OF TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE PRICES. It’s been said many many many MANY times over the years: There is no Santa Claus in the coin business. Now don’t get too discouraged – I can testify that there are MANY great deals out there to be had in coins. BUT.. as a general rule, if a seller is willing to part with a decent-shaped 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling for $200, or a nice 1785 USA Bar cent for $100, you can usually bet you’re buying a $10-$20 fake. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ve run into the most clueless seller on planet earth.

General Rule Number Seven
LOOK FOR “COPY” OR A TRACE OF “COPY” ON THE COIN. I mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth repeating. Around 1960, a law went into effect here in the United States, that any coin replica had to have “COPY” incused on the face of the piece. Sometimes sellers put up a coin up for sale as “genuine” not even realizing that “COPY” is stamped on the face of it! Sometimes, REALLY sleazy sellers will try to remove “COPY” but will not succeed completely. Look for it. The hitch to this is, replicas from BEFORE when this law took effect, will obviously not have “COPY” on the face of the coin.

There are other, more scientific ways of testing whether a coin is authentic or not. One of the truest ways, is to weigh the piece. Is it heavier than the genuine article should be? Lighter? Wrong weight usually means fake coins. Testing of a coin’s metal is another way. An expert can tell or test out whether a “gold” coin is actually brass, or whether a “copper” coin is actually made of lead. Also, is the coin the right thickness and diameter to be a genuine piece (a hammered Spanish reale from the 1400's is not going to have a thick enough edge to write on). Granted however, these are more scientific kinds of tests more often done by experts than everyday collectors.

Now, as far as the distinction (at least to my way of thinking) between “fakes” and “counterfeits.” Speaking for myself, I have little to no interest in a fake 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling. But I would be THRILLED to own a counterfeit 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling! Why? Because a fake Pine Tree shilling was probably produced in the late 20th or 21st century. It has no historical value whatsoever – it’s only value is as a souvenir piece. BUT, a counterfeit 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling could have been produced in the 1600's or even early 1700's! In other words, it’s a CONTEMPORARY counterfeit, a piece struck roughly the same time as the original. Contemporary counterfeit coins were struck to circulate roughly the same time as the originals were circulating. They were meant to be used as MONEY, not to passed off as “collectibles.”

That’s why “counterfeit” is not necessarily a dirty word to coin collectors. There are many enthusiastic collectors of contemporary counterfeit coins, particularly of the Colonial period when MOST of the copper coins in circulation were counterfeit. In fact, contemporary counterfeit coins are often more valuable than the genuine article! All this is to say, don’t lump MODERN counterfeits into the same category as CONTEMPORARY counterfeits.

Altered Coins
It’s worth discussing “altered coins.” Altered coins are close cousins to “fake” and  “counterfeit” coins. Altered coins, however, are genuine pieces– but they have been “altered” to be something they are not. Namely, a rarer coin.

Generally, two things are altered on a coin to enhance its value: the date and the mintmark. For instance, a common 1897 Indian Head cent worth $2 might be altered to appear as an 1877 Indian Head cent worth $500. A 1909 VDB Lincoln cent worth $4, may have an “S” mintmark unscrupulously added to it so that it’s now a $600 value 1909-S VDB cent! A 1922-D Lincoln Cent might have the “D” chiseled OFF to make it a much rarer 1922 Lincoln cent! And a 1914-S Lincoln Cent might have its’ “S” mintmark altered to a “D”, thus increasing the value an extra $200! You get the picture. The “altered coin” phenomenon is particularly a problem when it comes to rare U.S. coins, since date/mintmark combinations play a huge role in values.

Other things can be altered to increase a coin’s value: little marks, design elements, letters in a legend, even. Still, be aware of rare dates and mintmarks. A general rule is: THE RARER THE COIN, THE CLOSER YOU SCRUTINIZE FOR SIGNS OF ALTERATION.