Counterfeit Gold Coin – 1892 Half Eagle
By Max Spiegel – Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) ……
Many counterfeit gold coins originated in the 1960s and ’70s in the Middle East.
The 1892 Half Eagle is a relatively common issue with a mintage of 753,480 pieces. This date can easily be located in circulated grades through MS 62, the grade most frequently encountered by NGC. At that level the NGC US Coin Price Guide reports a value of $710, which ranks it with some of the other popular Type coins from the Liberty Half Eagle series.
Counterfeit gold coins exist for virtually every date of US gold coins and the 1892 Half Eagle is no exception. Because this is a common date, the fakes were generally not intended to fool collectors. Rather, many of the spurious pieces originated in 1960s and ’70s in the Middle East (particularly Lebanon), where merchants preferred gold in coin form as a store of value. The merchants were not particularly concerned with the authenticity of the coin as long as it had the correct weight and composition.
A number of these Middle Eastern fakes ended up in the US, where private ownership of gold was illegal until December 31, 1974. Many of them were likely imported by people who wanted to own gold coins, but could not legally acquire genuine US gold coins domestically.
This counterfeit gold coin, a 1892 Half Eagle submitted to NGC, is a typical Middle Eastern counterfeit gold coins. The coin has the same design, weight, and composition as a genuine example. The finer details, however, are lacking. There is moderate softness on both sides but primarily at the digits and letters, which can appear almost cartoonish. There are also a number of raised lines—often seen on fakes—by the denticles, especially on the reverse. A few particularly noticeable raised lines can be seen above the D in UNITED and the F in OF. These are almost never seen on genuine specimens.
Although these Middle Eastern counterfeit gold coins were not manufactured to deceive numismatists, many have found their way into collections. As older collections are sold, the fakes will reappear in the marketplace. Luckily, the spurious pieces still have significant intrinsic value because of their gold content.
Interested in reading more articles on Counterfeit Detection? Click here.
I have a 1901 $2-1/2 gold liberty. On the reverse side of the coin at the bottom where it’s stamped 2 1/2D. there’s an extra for below the dot for dollar in the rim notches. Is this a fake or a die defect?
Who minted these coins? Was it the Lebanese Government? Thank You.