Counterfeit 1871 Shallow N Indian Cent

EagleEye

The 1871 Shallow N is a very scarce reverse type. Many may have never even see a real one in hand, so this fake will fool just about anyone!

1871 Shallow N on ebay




By itself no one would have any problem with this coins authenticity. But once you compare it with this known one, it become very worrisome.

A known fake (scroll down to bottom of the page)




Although one has a die break over the OF and the other doesn't, they are from the same obverse. See the mark on the neck on both! I don't think the reverse dies are the same.

doh

Is the whole coin fake or did someone just mess with the N?

EagleEye

1871's do come with Shallow N' s S-4 and S-5, but this is not one of them. It is die-struck from false transfer dies.

rhedden

The seller is someone reputable from whom I have gotten decent coins in the past. You should probably email him & tell him about the fake.

adamlaneus

Wow, that is a good fake.

If it weren't for that characteristic gouge on the neck, it's a really good fake. I see a few other minor parallels between the two coins pictured.

If I had just one coin and no way of knowing the die indicators:
The only thing I could say is that the devices and lettering seem unusually deep. The "N" in cent might be shallow, but the rest of it looks deeper than usual.
This coin would fool me good. I feel sick.

EagleEye

You should probably email him & tell him about the fake.

I did.

FilthyBroke

Nice work! The first thing I look at is the dentils, seems from what I've seen that many fakes can't quite get the dentils right. That second example seems like it would be very tricky to pick out as a fake.

ziggy29

These guys are getting scary good. I"m going to have to get all mine slabbed if I ever sell my collection. I was planning on only slabbing the '77, but it looks like I won't want to sell the other 1866-1878 semi-keys raw, either...

UtahCoin

Rick,
Have these been around for a while, or is this something new out of China?

That is a VERY scary fake, I never would have caught it....

COALPORTER

Do you think a TPG would catch on?

Frankcoins

<< <i>Rick,
Have these been around for a while, or is this something new out of China?

That is a VERY scary fake, I never would have caught it.... >>



If I remember correctly, these were known in the 1980s and in one of the 2 ANA counterfeit guide books.

EagleEye

The seller removed the listing.

CoinMiner1

Egads, perhaps they modified the date of an 1877 with an original shallow N into an 1871; Now that is indeed TRICKY.

Where is the best public display of a counterfeit (cent or otherwise) coin die collection?

I've seen one or two at a time, but not a collection.

That is something I would like to see.

Similarly, how about a public display of a fourree collection?