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Counterfeit Coin Detection – 1872 Seated Liberty Silver Counterfeit Dollar

1872 Counterfeit Dollar

1872 Seated Liberty Counterfeit Dollar

By Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) ……
 

Rough texture and minuscule raised dots within the recesses are clues that this 1872 Seated Liberty Dollar is counterfeit.

The 1872 Seated Liberty Dollar had the highest mintage of any coin in the series with just over 1.1 million pieces struck. Most appear to have reached circulation and while low-grade examples are fairly common, higher grade specimens are quite elusive.

According to the NGC US Coin Price Guide, an NGC AU 50 example trades for nearly $1,000. Low Mint State examples can easily sell for several thousand dollars and Gem pieces are virtually impossible to find.

fake_1872_dollar_obv1872 Counterfeit dollar are not seen regularly, but NGC graders did identify one such fake several months ago. This piece is about average quality and almost certainly imported from China in the last decade.

Overall, the design details appear softer than normal, particularly on the reverse. More specifically, the eagle and legends have a rough texture with minuscule raised dots within the recesses. There are also a few thin raised lines on the reverse. For example, raised lines can be found between the “I” and “N” of IN and above the “O” in GOD.

Raised dots, lumps, and lines are virtually never seen on genuine pieces but are frequently encountered on forgeries. As a result, counterfeiters will often attempt to disguise these diagnostics and this specimen has been purposely abraded. In addition to obscuring raised dots and lines, the abrasions have the added effect of making the coin appear circulated. Many numismatists automatically assume that a circulated coin cannot be fake.

Despite the counterfeiter’s efforts, this coin appears rather dissimilar to any legitimate examples. NGC graders look at hundreds of authentic coins every day, which makes it significantly easier to spot a coin that does not look right. Undoubtedly the best way to learn how to spot counterfeiters is to look at as many genuine coins as possible.

Interested in reading more articles on Counterfeit Detection? Click here.
 

Numismatic Guaranty Company
Numismatic Guaranty Companyhttps://www.ngccoin.com/
NGC was founded in 1987 and has become one of the largest third-party grading services. Their parent company is the Certified Collectibles Group (CCG).

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9 COMMENTS

  1. I have an 1875 trade dollar that is a counterfeit from China. It is easy to tell. At the bottom of liberties seat it says “In GOP we trust”.also the ribbon in her hand says “lubert”.

  2. I have an 1872 stuck trade dollar wondering if it’s real …I know they were minted 1883 onwards just wondering if it was one of the ones struck for showing what they’d look like

  3. Is there any chance that a fake 1872 one dollar coin could be silver?
    My coin shows some difference: the one doll. inscription seems to be a little lower, the arrowheads are smaller, there is no letter s below the eagle. However, the direction of the eagle and the human figure appear correct when the coin is flipped from top to bottom. The inscription in god we trust also seems to be fine. In addition to these, it oxidizes like silver, which can be cleaned with baking soda.

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