To me it doesn't looked dinged up enough, but I'm sure there was something else that tipped PCGS off. Weight maybe, which couldn't be determined from a picture. Are there any visual indications?
On a coin like this I would look for tiny lumps of metal and raised lines that look like an odd die crack but not as sharp as a die crack. Also this coin appears to have little spikes going from the lettering and the second star to the denticles. mike
Here's a picture of a fake one I have in my possesion along with a couple others. There is a lump of metal by the second star also throught the very bottom rear of liberty's neck you can see one of the raised lines I mentioned earlier. Also you can see what looks like die deterioration around the rim. mike
On the obverse - the hair detail does not look correct to me - not 3-dimensional or layered like authentic On the reverse - extra blobs by the letters that look like coin coming up - holes in die
I like how the seller says PCGS told him it is not genuine and then goes on to say he's sure it's not a counterfeit but they said that because it was cleaned or whizzed... Very amusing.
The look of this one just feels off to me. The roundness of some of the denticles would worry me.
The coin is a very obvious fake. What I don't get is why people would pay so much for a counterfit????????? This coin has the look of a phony even from a distance. Up close it is just plain bad. It looks like this coin is going to sell for the same price a real one would..................unbelievable. Rusty
One tip-off is that this moron thinks "Not Genuine" does not mean counterfeit!!!!!! What is counterfeit with this deceiver???????
It also looks like there is raised metal in front of the neck, the banner on the reverse looks bogus, some of the lettering is a little off, the color is off (although that could be the scan). The edges on the reverse look bogus. Etc, etc, etc, etc.
This is what makes gold scary for me. I can't tell what is wrong with it except for the color looks funny for old gold. I was reading n article in Coin World written by one of the ANACS graders. He wrote about counterfeit gold and said there is a die struck fake for every year and mintmark for $10 gold. You have to look at the coin carefully under 10X magnification or more and know what you are looking for. I don't have that experience so I don't buy raw gold.
You can clearly see a raised lump touching the bottom of the neck above the 8 and above the 3. Another way to tell a counterfeit is put it under a strong loupe or better yet a stereo microscope and look close to the device. Where you would expect to see regular grainy luster it ends up having a more molted look (micro bubbles), it works really well when you can compare it to one you know is original (you can really see the difference).
This shows TRUST in IN GOD WE TRUST. The 1893S fake is on the left; a genuine coin is on the right. Notice how the first T on the fake overlaps the ribbon edge, and the R and U are not even with each other on the fake. Also, the obverse appears too sharp on the fake.
Comments
On the reverse - extra blobs by the letters that look like coin coming up - holes in die
The look of this one just feels off to me. The roundness of some of the denticles would worry me.
This coin has the look of a phony even from a distance. Up close it is just plain bad. It looks like this coin is
going to sell for the same price a real one would..................unbelievable.
Rusty
That is the main tipoff. Other is roundness of dates, lousy stars, and general micro-granular appearance.
"Blippity" denticles also. (to COIN a word...heh)
Wish all phonies were like that.
It also looks like there is raised metal in front of the neck, the banner on the reverse looks bogus, some of the lettering is a little off, the color is off (although that could be the scan). The edges on the reverse look bogus. Etc, etc, etc, etc.
FrederickCoinClub