S mints on 1908 and 1909 IHC

timdog44

Are the S mint marks on these two coins real or fake? I have been told that one of them has been faked.

Greenstang

You can’t compare mm from different years. They can change from year to year and sometime 2 or 3 times in the same year. To determine if one is counterfeit, we need a complete clear photo of the obverse of each coin.

timdog44

timdog44

Greenstang - there are your photos. Now what?

Greenstang

Nice clear photos.
Which cent were you told was a counterfeit and did they state why they think that.
Both coins are well worn and a lot of the detail is missing.

timdog44

I was told the 1909 was a counterfeit. They said the S was added.

Greenstang

Hard to tell from a photo if that is true or not but it would not be a counterfeit, it would be an altered coin if it was an added S. The actual coin itself is still genuine.

timdog44

I guess the question still remains, is it a genuine 1909 S Indian Head Cent? It goes from being a $400 coin to a $20 coin.

timdog44

And I get that it is not counterfeit but an altered coin. They told me counterfeit to impress on me that the value was not there.

timdog44

Greenstang, thanks much for your input. But I hope there is more forthcoming as my initial question is not satisfied. Surely there are more people with expertise and better eyes than myself. Looking closely at the mm, I do not see much difference to be able to say there is an altered coin here.

winesteven

There’s a thread currently on page 1 of the U.S. Coin Forum called “The Never Ending Indian Head Cent Thread”. I just posted at the end of that thread your request for help. At a minimum, you’ll get some additional “eyes” looking at your question here. Hopefully one of those readers with expertise can help you.

If you don’t get an answer after another 48 hours, I suggest posting your question and best photos as a new post on the U.S. Coin Forum. That should definitely get you a correct answer!

Steve