Is this a fake Morgan silver dollar?

[planejet42]

Can anyone tell me if this Morgan dollar is fake? It's in my Grandpa's collection. It looks like it's fake to me, but I am not sure. The overall look of it seems off. Kinda like it's plated or something. The weight is just about spot on to a confirmed real one. I particularly think it looks fake in the stars outlining the coin. It seems to be missing one.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Dihren]

Yah I would say almost definitely a fake. Look at Lady Liberty's ear, the feathered end of the arrows, and many other small details. just focus in on one spot and compare. google morgan dollar for comparison. but i would say fake. I added a picture of differences, but the list goes on and on.

 

[Dihren]

 

[planejet42]

You can tell a coin is fake from such small differences in the details? The weight is dead on though, I though fake coins had a different weight? It isn't magnetic either.

 

[jeff of pa]

Dihren may know more then I do on this & may be right, but I don't see what he does

Maybe color is off But it's a photo

only thing telling to me you said "It looks like it's fake to me" & Being you are actually holding it,
IF Your used to handling Morgans & your suspicious, Your probably correct to feel that way.

I would be hoping it's a filled Die on the star (Error Coin)

either way do you have a dealer you can take it to ?.
Don't ask him if it's fake . Ask him what it's worth.
odds are if he offers silver spot or more he thinks it's real

 

[planejet42]

Thanks Jeff. The color of it is just different from the other Morgans. It just looks brighter, but not cleaned. That would be a neat error. I guess I'll just have to take it to my coin guy, thanks for the tips.

 

[Jamesbondaka]

Dihren may know more then I do on this & may be right, but I don't see what he does

Maybe color is off But it's a photo

only thing telling to me you said "It looks like it's fake to me" & Being you are actually holding it,
IF Your used to handling Morgans & your suspicious, Your probably correct to feel that way.

I would be hoping it's a filled Die on the star (Error Coin)

either way do you have a dealer you can take it to ?.
Don't ask him if it's fake . Ask him what it's worth.
odds are if he offers silver spot or more he thinks it's real

Exactly! It could be real but probably not. Take a look too at the edge... the ridges should be uniform and crisp....mostly. There are exceptions and errors but ifs its "off" and a star is missing....and the edging is not true....almost guaranteed ...its a fake

 

[cudamark]

It looks real to me but it's hard to say for sure by just a photo. There are really only two reasons to fake one.....to use a lesser valuable metal to pass off as silver or to produce a rare date/mintmark coin to fool collectors. Neither one looks to be the case in your coin but there are ways to test it. Like Jeff mentioned, take it to a coin shop and get an appraisal. They will do that for free.

 

[Muddyhandz]

Not all coins were struck equal in those days. The missing star could be from a weak strike, wear patterns, or an "error."
Test for silver content. Looks like typical silver tarnish spots to me.
Like cudamark said, they would only fake this coin for silver content. It's not a key date either so why fake it?
Cheers,
Dave.

 

[Mike Moutray]

The details look genuine in your photo. try a "ring test" - it is very difficult to counterfeit a coin that will pass it and since this is a common date, it is extremely unlikely that a high quality fake would be made of it. balance the coin on your fingertip and gently strike the edge with a hard object. it should produce a nice long low bell-like ring. most fakes produce a short, dull thud or "clack". recent chinese made fakes produce a shorter high pitched ring... if you have another silver dollar to compare the sounds, that would be better. chinese "white metal" fakes that are being made today are almost always underweight, or too thick to make up the weight shortfall.... and nearlly all have many points in the design and lettering that do not match genuine coins. Hope this info helps,
Mike.

 

[beachbummah]

the easiest way is to put a magnet to it. Silver will not stick. Al fakes are made of metal that will stick to a magnet

 

[BuckleBoy]

If it is an old counterfeit, it could very well be worth much more than a genuine one. By the way, a "fake" is modern to fool a collector, etc (which as Muddyhanz pointed out above, would be pointless for a common date coin). A "counterfeit" was meant to pass for face value. My money is on old counterfeit, if it is counterfeit at all. Filled die could've easily caused the star to be missing.

-Buck

 

[Red James Cash]

Correct me if I am wrong but the information I've read the chinese repos are cast not stamped.If the small squares around the outside edge are sloppy then it was cast.

 

[Brian C.]

It looks like the one I found at an old farm site, mine has a peace cut out, like they were trying to cut it like the peaces of eight. They did travel.

 

[JimDon]

I looks like a weak strike mint error that was stored in an older plastic container or sleeve that has caused discoloration of the coin. I have several coins I put in plastic sleeves back in the 80's that developed a weird tint to them.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

The one easy way to tell if it is, without examining to tell if its wear or lack of details is to get a real one and put it beside it, if the weight is dead on, then the fake should be thicker..and see if you can slide a coin on the top to see if they are on the same plain...Sounds odd, but I was able to do that when I bought some fakes to see how close they looked, they too were exaclty the same weight

 

[Grizzly13]

It looks real to me also. I do not see any diferences in the two comparisons. Maybe the color is due to some kind of reaction it had with something else.