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42/1 mercury dime.... counterfeit????
COINS MAKE CENTS
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So this was in a bag of 90 percent I bought at a show. I weighed it and that checked out. I had a gold bullion dealer put it on his metal testing machine and it is 90 percent silver but it looks off to me. The one doesnt look far enough into the 2. Am I right in saying this coin is no good? I will be the first to say I am in no way an expert on merc dimes especially the varieties. Thanks for any and all help in advance 
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It's not counterfeit. The date has been altered to make it appear to be the 42/1 variety. Metal was moved from around the 4 and 2 to form the 1. Notice how dark and deep the recess is between the 4 and 2/1? Also look at how deep the recess is in the loop of the 2. It's just junk silver at this point.
The 1 is too tall.
Compare
Digging and digging and digging and someone made a 1.
Here's mine for comparison, if it helps.
Thanks everyone. I figured it was no good just wanted to confirm my suspicions. Thanks!
HAPPY COLLECTING
You bought it as junk and that's what it is. At least you did not buy it as a rarity. Good instinct to check your junk silver purchase though.
Scaled comparison with photo from PCGS CoinFacts.
https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1942-1-10c/5036
Looks pretty close, except the "1" seems too tall, as @ifthevamzarockin noted.
I also don't like how the lower right edge of the "1" is raised where it meets the 2.
I'm not sure how "pushed up" metal could be detected from the photo,
but a stereo microscope should show a low surface if that's what happened.
Pretty good to my eyes, but the 1 is def too tall. This is mine:
It is odd that someone would go to all that trouble and then just dump it into a bag of silver.
Agreed, unless a dealer spotted it as fake and tossed it in perhaps?
I bet it worth be more than melt on Ebay even as a fake.
Unless it was "practice."
Too bad, wish it was real !!!
Back in the first boom, 1979, I never got to dinner until 1 or 1:30 in the morning. I was on the floor in my shop going through Merc dimes. Never did find one of these, although I've owned many.
That's a fun coin to find in a bag of 90 !
Keep it. It's a great learning tool for comparison.
Pete
Definitely an altered coin.... the gap, and depth, of the space between the four and one is a dead giveaway...not to mention the tall one and position... Cheers, RickO
Additionally, based on all the examples shown, the relief of the 1 should be slightly lower than that of the 2. Your example is the other way.
Collector, occasional seller