Despite actually being made of gold, this coin gave graders déjà vu
Counterfeit 1915 Indian Head Eagle by Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) …..
The United States struck Indian Head eagles (gold $10 coins) from 1907 until 1933, when it stopped minting gold coins and criminalized the private accumulation of the precious metal. Only a few rare date-and-mintmark combinations appear in the series, though the 1915 Philadelphia issue is not on that list.
A few months ago, a purported example of a 1915 eagle was submitted to Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC). The most obvious red flag is repeating depressions that match a known fake. These marks appear when a counterfeit die is created using a genuine coin. Any contact marks on that coin appear on the dies and any subsequent fakes that are struck from the dies. However, these transferred impressions are shallower and tend to have the same luster as the fake specimen.
A genuine common-date eagle carries very little numismatic premium, save for examples in high Mint State grades. Therefore, it might be surprising to learn that this piece is actually made of gold and is the correct weight.
So why would a counterfeiter create such a coin? For one, there’s a financial incentive (albeit a small one). Such a common coin would likely face less scrutiny when offered for sale. Some buyers might even skip third-party authentication and grading.
A second possibility is that it was struck to circumvent the aforementioned 1933 gold ban, which wasn’t formally rescinded until 1974. Soon after the law went into effect, gold prices rose. However, the ban carried an exception that allowed individuals to own a small number of gold coins so long as they had numismatic value. Therefore, there was motivation to turn, say, an illegally held gold bar into what appears to be legitimate U.S. gold coins.
Regardless of its precious-metal content, a 1915 Indian Head eagle has no numismatic value when it is a counterfeit.
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