1916-D Mercury Dime found - Is it FAKE?

[mentalvirus]

At first I almost fell over but then thought "this could just be a fake". Looks convincing to the naked eye but then I set up my Canon 5DII and 1:1 macro lens on a tripod with an off camera flash to get some close up pics. It now appears to me like this might have actually been cast? I don't know much about fake coins, how they are usually produced or how to detect them. So I thought I would post up some pictures and see what some of the very knowledgeable people here think of it? Thanks for your input!

It does appear to be silver though and weighs in at 2.4g

 

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[SeaninNH]

Is it magnetic? It does look odd. The reeding seems odd to me, but other than that it just looks old and like it's been in the ground for a long time.

 

[Bum Luck]

First - I am no expert, and I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

The eye looks wierd. It's almost like the wear started at the coin level, not the high point.

There's a few what look like die cracks, but why aren't they worn?

The rim seems thin and too well defined.

I'd take it to a coin dealer. An old one.

Good luck!

 

[enamel7]

Truthfully, the only way to know is to send it to a grading service. I found one a few years ago and no one would touch it unless it was encapsulated. I hope it's real.
HH
enamel7

 

[mentalvirus]

It certainly does appear to be fake to me. I've taken a couple more pictures, one of a more heavily worn Mercury first and then another of the same area on the 1916D. It certainly looks cast to me, from the texture of the surface and this section of the leaves on the branches. This is taken with a pretty expensive full frame camera and a 150mm 1:1 macro lens at minimum focal distance. I swear to the eye, in your hand, you can't see any of this and it really looks legit! Looks like a merc in very nice condition! Kind of crazy...

 

[Diver_Down]

It looks cast to me. The "die breaks" that were mentioned above would be worn off along with that degree of circulation. Also, if the die breaks were legit, they would have showed up on the other 16-D's (at least some of them) that are out there. Also, the porosity of the surface and the mushy details send flags. The only way to be certain is to send it off to be graded and authenticated. Just don't be too surprised if it is returned in a body bag.

 

[Rooter]

I concur with the above opinions.

 

[ES66]

I've dug a lot of mercs and a lot of silver coins in general and I've never seen anything come out of the ground looking like that.... The details just don't seem right at all... If it is real, maybe it was exposed to some harsh chemical or environmental conditions, but like I said, I've never seen a silver coin with this kind of detail... Where did you get it from?

 

[yonico]

It looks cast to me. The "die breaks" that were mentioned above would be worn off along with that degree of circulation. Also, if the die breaks were legit, they would have showed up on the other 16-D's (at least some of them) that are out there. Also, the porosity of the surface and the mushy details send flags. The only way to be certain is to send it off to be graded and authenticated. Just don't be too surprised if it is returned in a body bag.

+1
NOT GENUINE
uneven wear gives it away. try to test with a magnet.
also wear on the coin is unusual - coin looks scratched and even perforated..?
last thing i've noticed is the R on liberty on the obverse doesn't look right and is too deep into miss liberty's hair..

 

[olepossum]

i used to make molds for concrette statuary and what ever imperfection was in the piece itself would be picked up when you put the rubber to it so we would spend the time filing cracks and sanding sharp corners. then wax and then rubber after it cured we would take the mold off if it wasnt waxed properly it would make little pucker marks in the rubber thats what i see instead of die cracks. it was then used to make a ceramic moled of the coin because rubbber would melt when the molten silver touched it .who ever made it didnt care about a good fake just the money they seen. awesome find for silver and a good old fake but i would still send it off when it comes back it will either be graded or sent back in a body bag.

 

[CoinHELP!]

I thnk it's fake. The mint mark should be more box like and the surface of this coin has been altered. Even faked made it into the ground to be found later.