Nice 1885 5C Chinese fake at the B&M today.

truthteller

A local coin dealer showed me a new purchase today. An 1885 5C in nice AU. Coin was raw. A very, very good Chinese fake that fooled the first buyer and quasi-fooled the coin dealer. The coin had a very strong strike and was artificially worn to give it a circulated appearance. The denticles did not look quite right and the date was a bit too close to the rim, but it took 10-15 minutes and an on line research page to convince me the coin was fake. This particular coin would have fooled most dealers at a coin show. The nickel was sold to a jeweler who got a "rip" at $150. Looks like the rip was the on the jeweler.


TRUTH

LanceNewmanOCC

.
i would settle for a shafty iphone pic!!!

give us somethin
.

truthteller

<< <i>.
i would settle for a shafty iphone pic!!!

give us somethin
. >>




I don't own the coin so I don't have photos nor a camera phone. I can say that the overall strike was excellent. However, the denticles at 9 o'clock were mushy, which is not corresponding to a good strike. In addition, many denticles were V shaped instead of the proper straight and squared off. The luster was typical of an AU coin. The surfaces were somewhat glossy, in contrast to an AU coin which would have more "flat" luster surfaces. The key point to look for is the denticles. I do not think the Chinese have quite mastered the style for 19th century US coinage.


TRUTH

ricko

Too bad you cannot get a picture, it would be very valuable to forum members. Cheers, RickO

RedTiger

Another scary story about a good quality fake. Put a fake of that quality in a decent looking fake slab and it will fool 99.5% of Ebay buyers, and most bourse buyers as well. I wonder if the buyer of the fake will do the right thing and take the $150 hit, or play hot potato and pass the coin. That is the really bad thing, that fakes get passed and passed until someone gets stuck. If it took a full time dealer with a committee and the Internet 15 minutes to figure out that a coin is a fake, 99% of collectors will be fooled.

shorecoll

It'll likely end up in an "estate" sale.

BillJones

I guess this one falls into the "Class IV or V" Chinese counterfeits that are scary as hell...

When comes down to having to know what in essence is a die variety study, you know we face some major challenges.

Steve27

What makes you think it was Chinese?

LanceNewmanOCC

<< <i>What makes you think it was Chinese? >>



that is a good question

from my meager research some of the best forgeries do not come from there
.

johnny9434

<< <i>Too bad you cannot get a picture, it would be very valuable to forum members. Cheers, RickO >>

yes, that would be a great help

RichieURich

<< <i>It'll likely end up in an "estate" sale. >>



Either that or it will have come from "Grandfather's collection".

Analyst

I wrote in my latest column that collectors should buy only 1885 Liberty Nickels that are PCGS or NGC graded. It should not be surprising that some entity is manufacturing fake 1885 Liberty Nickels.

For key dates in many series, the purchase of PCGS certified coins is much safer than acquiring raw coins.

An Introduction to Liberty Nickels, part 1, Circulated Coins

Olsen-Hawn 1913 Liberty Nickel Sells for $3,737,500