An example of purchasing slabbed coins

MSD61

I am not in the habit much in purchasing slabbed coins. However, in cases where a coin is a rare date, type, mintage or condition I will
purchase the coin in a slab to insure its authenticity. A good example is one of two of the 1940 Irish pennies I have. One is authentic and
slabbed the other is not and it wasn't until a few days ago I found that the one was a fake. It has been created by a coin doctor. I had never
really looked at the penny closely it was more less a purchase to just have. It was really not in any shape to be sent off for grading but more a just
to have it coin. Well, I got that sucker out over the weekend and really took a good look at it.

Under 10x I noticed something very strange in the number zero in "1940" well, it had been soldered on. Yes, that's right someone had
cut the zero from another penny, filed down the original number on the penny I have, most likely a 1949 penny and then soldered the 0 to my penny
to make look like a 1940. I would have never seen this with the naked eye and even under 5x it's hard to tell. Under 10X one can see the solder flow
and where it cooled also the number zero sits much higher than the rest of the date. Also the definitive tool marks from the filing. It was a darn good
thing I didn't pay much for the coin but it does just prove the point the importance of buying extremely rare coins slabbed and not raw.

By the way the year 1940 is one of two of the rarest years in the Irish penny series (1928-1968) the other year is 1938.
Mintage for 1940 was only 312,000 and for 1938 possibly 2. One known 1938 penny is in private hands with an estimated
value of $60,000 dollars and was sold by Spink in 2002. A 1940 penny in red uncirculated is has a value of about $1500 dollars.

Also this weekend, some good news as well, I filled a hole in my 50 pence series now I only have two left to complete it and one
is going to be a hard one. 1986 is the rarest year for Irish 50 pence coins.

Okay, I'm done rambling now.

coinkat

INTERESTING STORY... sorry to read about the counterfeit 1940

clarkbar04

BUMMER man, but interesting information and good detective work. Nice to hear about some semi-modern rarities!

crito

If it's any consolation I recall a story on the US coin board about a guy who found the D on a 1916 Mercury dime rattling around on the inside of the slab. Someone said it had been crazy glued on and looked rather convincing... before it fell off, that is.

(For those who don't know, the price difference between a 1916 and 1916-D Mercury dime can easily be hundreds if not thousands of dollars.)

So anyway, moral of story is it can happen to anyone, even the grading services occasionally screw up. What separates the good from the bad is how quickly they correct the mistake, IMVHO. Some are more than happy to leave garbage on the market with their brand all over it. Others, like PCGS, will write a check so quick it'll make your head spin.

IstilllikeZARcoins

I am fairly sure that the 1938 Penny sold a month or two ago somewhere in England.

I have been trying to Google some info but I've had no luck.

worldcoinguy

Sorry to hear about the bad news. Do we get to know the TPG?

lordmarcovan

That's rather strange, considering I've never had trouble finding 1940 Irish pennies. I've bought and sold over a dozen, I'm sure, often for modest sums. (Well, OK, maybe almost a dozen.) I don't think they are as scarce as Krause would have one believe. I've slabbed a couple in the AU grades, and got rather ho-hum prices for them on eBay and/or here.

It seems strange for somebody to have gone through that much work, though of course it was probably done in the days before the Internet, before one could sniff out scarcer dates with a few mouse clicks or keyword searches.

RareBronzeCollector

I've only found the 1940 to be rare in lusterous AU or BU, where it commands a hefty premium.... Other than that, they are available at a very modest premium in lower grades....

MrEureka

I am fairly sure that the 1938 Penny sold a month or two ago somewhere in England.

It was in the last Spink sale. Hammered at GBP 22K.





Sale 7010 Lot 345

x Eire, Bronze Penny, 1938, harp, rev. hen and chicks (DF.-; S.6643), residual lustre and slight tone, almost FDC, of the highest rarity - it is believed that only two examples exist; in PCGS holder graded MS65BN
Estimate £ 25,000-30,000

This could be classed as a pattern. While the main design of the Eire issue Penny is similar to the previous Irish Free State Penny, the legend is different on the obverse. The next date of Eire issue, which is the first common date, is 1940.

danglen

<< <i> So anyway, moral of story is it can happen to anyone, even the grading services occasionally screw up. What separates the good from the bad is how quickly they correct the mistake, IMVHO. Some are more than happy to leave garbage on the market with their brand all over it. Others, like PCGS, will write a check so quick it'll make your head spin. >>



That hasn't been my experience. I gave some coins back to PCGS at the Baltimore in November of last year and it took them close to five months to get back to me with an offer that was hard to swallow. However, I took it because I didn't want to spend another five months haggling over it.

7Jaguars

I have seen quite a number of the 1940 Irish pennies on sale even in higher AU/BU grades and think the preservation rate fairly high on this particular date and denomination.