Sad scene at the Santa Clara show today

CarlWohlforth

I overheard a fellow who thanked a dealer for his advice to take his raw coins to ANACS for a quick review before he submitted them to PCGS. ANACS told him his 1916-D Mercury dime was counterfeit and he had some impaired proofs that might grade PR 50. The guy said he saved $100 in grading fees.

We were sorry for the bad news. It was gently suggested he buy slabbed coins, at least he would know they were authentic. It was also suggested he think twice about where he got the coins in the first place. Good advice I thought, but he seemed to still be giving the original seller the benefit of the doubt.

JrGMan2004

mrearlygold

ealandg

K6AZ

What was the problem with the 16-D, added mintmark?

There are those around who still knock slabs, but not everyone is good enough to pick up on some of the really deceptive altered/counterfeit key dates. I hope this collector has some recourse through the dealer he bought them from.

merz2

I agree whole heartily with K6AZ.Unfortunitely there are some excellent counterfeits.There are some that have even fooled the experts.So any key date should be examined by an expert before purchse.

CarlWohlforth

Yes, it was an added Mint Mark 1916-D Mercury dime.

K6AZ

That's too bad. If anything, this also is a good example of why you should only buy raw key date coins from reputable dealers that you know and trust. Any good dealer will stand behind the authenticity of the coins they sell. I know of one dealer who made good on a 93-S Morgan that was an altered 98-S five years after he sold it.

ConstellatioCollector

DHeath

Carl,

One of the local dealers has a box of carded counterfeits and alterations. Most have walked into the shop, but they include a 93-S, a 3 legged Buffalo, a 22 no D, a 16-D, a California fractional (it's even holed), and others. Most are good enough to fool anyone who doesn't know the diagnostics. BTW - the 93-S is an added mintmark (wrong style). I always hate to hear stories like the one you overheard. It's ultimately bad for all of us.

RGL

A shame ... when I bought my 1937-D Three Legged, even though I knew the diagnostics and knew it to be a genuine, a dealer was gracious enough to allow me to walk it by ANACS at a show, which agreed with my assessment, before coin and cash exchanged hands.

EVillageProwler

Several years ago, when I was just getting back into the hobby, I walked into a coin store in midtown Manhattan looking to buy some key Lincolns. He had a 22 plain and maybe even a S VDB. Problem was that all his material was raw. And, he wouldn't sell me his 22 plain because he wasn't 110% certain that it's genuine. Like an eager fool, I pressed him to take my money or hurry up and get the darn thing authenticated.

He took his sweet time, and I eventually moved on to dollars (he sold me my first ever Bust dollar, raw, that PCGS later slabbed). Never got to fill the two remaining holes in my Linc album.

I've long since come to appreciate just how ethical he was being to me. Like the rest of the City, I think he's fallen on some tough times of late. I don't know if he's still in business, but I sure do hope so. His name is Paul Bosco, in case anyone is interested in meeting a smaller collector-oriented honest dealer.

EVP

PS About that Bust dollar... he sold me two that day. The other he said had been cleaned and sold it to me at a "net" grade. Oddly enough, I think that one also got slabbed by PCGS in the "details" grade. Cool!

Stork

Paul Bosco


I see his name as a bidder and seller of exonumia/medals quite a bit. I have had other buyers recommend him (Askari comes to mind for that), and if I see his name on either the buy or sell side it is something nice (whether or not I can afford it is another story of course).



Cathy

Bubblehead

Reading the above has reminded me of my ANACS experience....
I had sent it in to them, tho.
It was returned as "Not Genuine- D added"

How many of these are out there, I wonder?

JrGMan2004

<< <i>Reading the above has reminded me of my ANACS experience....
I had sent it in to them, tho.
It was returned as "Not Genuine- D added"

How many of these are out there, I wonder? >>



On a 22 Plain??? That'd be pretty

Blade

BurritoGrande

I can see how someone does this in order to rip someone off. I don't know how they live with themselves.

I suppose this behavior is nothing special to numismatics. There are sociopaths in all walks of life. Whoever created this counterfeit probably has no remorse, and is probably proud of his work

edsondl

Some people estimate that there are twice as many 1916 "D" Mercury Dimes now than there were in 1917.

Merc

I'm sorry he bought a counterfeit. The trouble is, when there is money to be made, some people will find ways to cheat and steal to get it. To protect yourself, you shouldn't buy coins above your experience level. PCGS, NCG and ANACS graded coins allow people to buy rare date coins by relying on the experience of the graders. Plus, the collector needs to know how to grade. I don't see how someone could buy impared proofs and not realize it.

At the FUN show, ANACS had a nice counterfiet coin seminar and brought 50 some fake coins. Some of the die struck counterfeits were excellent. You would have to study them under a steroscope to see they were counterfeits.

JadeRareCoin

I had a call through our Yellow Pages ad a few months ago. The guy had a collection that he inherited from his father. It was 99% common stuff, but there was a Lincoln Cent album with a 09-S VDB......it's potential value was worth more than the other 1000 or so coins combined. It just did not look right to me. So, I asked if I could come back later with my scope. They said "yes", so I came back that evening (it was a house call). It took 2 seconds to say "this is a counterfiet". The family was devasted. He said that his father bought the coin from a friend who was also a coin dealer, 20 years ago in Florida. He still had the receipt. I don't think that they believed me, but I did not buy the collection. Wonder if my competitors bought it........?

dorkkarl

<< <i>There are those around who still knock slabs, but not everyone is good enough to pick up on some of the really deceptive altered/counterfeit key dates >>

slabs get knocked not because of their usefulness in nailing c/f's, the problem is w/ grading.

K S