The height of counterfeit paranoia???? And a logical inconsistency.
jmlanzaf
Posts: 35,185 ✭✭✭✭✭
I'm getting a return through eBay. No big deal. Not a US coin. But I think it is interesting as it is evidence of the degree to which counterfeit paranoia has really gripped the market. As a separate example, I have a customer who has bought coins from me for over 20 years. He now will only buy certified coins and only from me and a couple of others because he's worried about counterfeits.
So, I sold a nice XF 1807 Mexico City 8 Reales. I showed a picture of it on the scale at 27.10 g. Nominal catalog weight is 27.07 g. The buyer didn't notice the scale photo when he bid and is returning it because, in his words, the ONLY WAY it could weigh 27.10 g is if it is counterfeit.
I sent him a paper that shows that the Spanish royal decree specifies the weight at +/- 4 grains (0.26 g). And while the vast majority of genuine specimens do come out at 27.07 g (they used 4 decimal places to check the weight), slight variation exists. And anything between roughly 26.81 and 27.33 g is within Spanish Royal tolerance.
The other interesting footnote to this story is that he told me he considered coins as light as 26 g to be real due to wear. ????? To go from 27.07 g to 26 g by wear can only be accomplished if it is virtually a slick. They lose very little weight until they get down in the VG/F range. And, as you probably know, most fakes tend to come in light not heavy.
I may just keep the coin.
But I now routinely get questions even about slabbed coins if my photos look different than the PCGS photos.
Comments
@jmlanzaf.. I have noticed increased sensitivity regarding counterfeit coins - and more recently - slabs. There have been many more posts in the last year here on the forum. That being said, I would not have questioned the coin you referenced in your post. Cheers, RickO