Member
The govt doesn't like competition not necessarily counterfeiters. Those old coins aren't competing with any current govt money printing so no problem as far as they're concerned. You think coins are the only thing China rips off? Try producing any product and they'll have one produced at a 1/3 cost in a year. Copyright? ha!
Don't ever assume govt does what you think it does. You have problems, they have plans but solutions aren't one of them.
Moderator
It is best NOT to give the company the benefit of a link from Kitco. Thanks for asking first! Members here have found many sources such as AliExpress, etc that sell wide variety of fake/copy items. If you wish to share the name of the company then others can simply use a search engine to locate it easily enough.Originally Posted by rletlow
Kind Regards
Member
You named the one I found. It is crazy. I need to go retest all my silver now.
Member
Make sure you open an Ebay case for item not as described-counterfeit item. This way the seller isn't going to get them back and then re sell (take advantage) of someone else who might not know any better. With it being ten coins and a high dollar value Ebay will most likely have you send them the coins to be destroyed, rather than just letting you keep them for disposal. I've had a couple coins they told me to just dispose of myself and refunded my money but another instance with a more expensive bust dime that was counterfeit they had me send it directly to them to deal with disposal. But the main reasoning is if you open the case as not as described-counterfeit item it will insure that the seller won't be getting them back to con someone else which is exactly what would occur imo. And if it reoccurs Ebay can ban the seller.
Member
Have yet to see or hear of a fake Chinese counterfeit that passed the ring test over the past 20 yrs. But, eventually they might figure it out once they advance to rapid production of die struck coins. The fakes are often dullish or sandblasted/cleaned looking XF-AU coins without a nice 100 yr old crust on them. The luster never looks the same either assuming they have any on it. So if your XF/AU coin doesn't have the right luster look (or not a drop of luster anywhere), or no crust, you better look closer. At least ring it with another coin. Buying dirty, dingy,original Good-Fine coins is safer. Same thing for uncirculated coins. Most accumulations of real circ Morgans should be littered with the S mints (1879-1882 "S") as well as the O mints (1879-1885, 1898-1902 "O"). It's odd to find a hoard of just Philadelphia coins. That should raise a flag. The mint marks and dates on these fakes are often amateurish looking like the 1881 in the orig post. I could see why the counterfeiters would want to stick with Philly coins since the added mint mark is just one more item they can screw up on.
Banned Full
yup. it's a coming, they are around, and strong apparently..like african bees, many and multiple times, geeez, multiple times stung with out the right protection and procedures, possibilities are there...a shame... we all get wiser at least....
INCT
Member
yup, intrinsically a fake morgan worth more than a paper FRN. Tell the gov't to stop printing and arrest the fed
Last edited by yellowsnow; 12-11-2012 at 08:07 PM.
Member
nod, your good old fashion test working for me too. Magnet test does require some knowledge of magnetism to be effective.
Member
Hey guys...
I have a couple questions. First off....I've only got 3 Morgans but after reading all of this I decided to pull them out and have a look-see. After looking at them, weighing them, etc....I do have some interesting results. What is the acceptable range for weights on a true Morgan? I know it is supposed to be 26.73 grams but with some wear (some wear....not a slick mind you) what would be an acceptable weight? The three Morgans I have weighed in at 27.48, 27.73, and 27.75. The first 2 I weighed look the same but the third one that weighed 27.75 does have a slightly different look to in terms of the color of the silver. It almost looks like it's darker in color and oddly a bit more shiny. I was actually concerned by the one with the low weight but after looking at all three, I'm wondering if the third one may be fake with the slightly off color. Another thing to note is that (unless it is my imagination) I swear that the third one has an ever so slightly thicker edge on it. If I put all three side by side, I can feel it barely with my finger. Also....I am aware of the ring test but what does a true Morgan sound like, in general, compared to a fake? Is the ping of the real one deeper sounding or more higher pitched?
I am heading to my LCS to pick up a couple of things tomorrow and I'm going to take them to see what they say about them. If I can get some decent pics....I'll post them up so ya'll can see what I mean about the different color on the one Morgan.
Thanks, Jim
Junior Member
The ring test is crucial since these new molybdenum planchet silver plated coins will past the weight and dimension test - but not the ring test.
Simply balance the coin on the tip of one finger and strike the edge sharply with another coin - real silver will produce a long sustained high pitch ring, very clear and not varied in pitch. The ring will last several seconds. If it just thuds or clunks and does not sustain, then it's not silver.
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