A FAKE 1914 D Lincoln cent

mr1931S · November 27, 2004 1:48AM

Here is an example of an altered date Lincoln cent forgery. The first four in the date of a genuine 1944 D Lincoln cent has been "shaved" to appear as a "1." Note that the created "1" is "too far away" from the nine. Also, note that the "D" on this fake is "wrong style." One will see these offered for sale from time to time. The workmanship on this particularly obvious forgery is very poor but still eight different bidders have been "faked out" at this writing.

kranky · November 27, 2004 1:54AM

One of the easiest fakes to spot, but it still fools the uninformed.

morgannut2 · November 27, 2004 1:59AM

They're more careful with 1895 Morgan Proofs.

Bikingnut · November 27, 2004 2:17AM

Is it a fake because the 1 is not really a 1? Looks like too much space between the 9 and the 1 in the date.

kranky · November 27, 2004 2:19AM

Right on, bikingnut.

richbeat · November 28, 2004 5:12PM

The second 1 is not a 1, and it is also longer than the first 1. The 1's on a genuine 1914D cent are the same length. It is not a 100% foolproof way to tell the difference, as the second 1 can be shortened to the length of the first 1, but it can further help determine altered from genuine. So far, all of the altered 1944D cents I've seen have different length 1's.