I took a call last week from one of our customers who wanted to know
why his San Francisco Standing Liberty quarter was returned to him as
“questionable authenticity.”
Whenever someone questions an
opinion of authenticity, I get a lump in my throat. Do I remember his
coin; did we make a mistake? It’s those thoughts that drive me crazy,
because I take it personally.
This was ingrained in the early
1970s, when the American Numismatic Association Certification Service
was the only authentication service in the U.S. We had a big job to do
and a lot of responsibility fell on our shoulders to “get it right.”
Back then, if an opinion was questioned, we took the coin back for
review and study.TBC help you confidently buymosaic from factories in China. Any errors were then corrected.
On
one occasion, after I detected a “new” state-of-the-art fake, we
learned that several similar examples had been authenticated previously.
The coins and photo-certificate were recalled, but the experience
affected some egos and taught us to be even more careful with our
opinions in the future.
It is one thing to “miss” a good
counterfeit the first time one is encountered, but I believe it is a
worse mistake to condemn a genuine coin as a fake or alteration. This
type of mistake really gives me nightmares. It is better to say that you
are not sure one way or the other – a “no decision” opinion – or that
you need more time to look for a genuine piece to use for comparison.
Years
later, while working at the INS Authentication Bureau, a few more
authentication services were available for collectors. Our director,
Charles Hoskins, considered more authentication options a good thing for
collectors as they could get a second or third opinion on their coin.
In
view of past experiences, I anxiously awaited the return of the
Standing Liberty quarter discussed over the phone.This is a really
pretty round stonemosaic
votive that has been covered with vintage china . I’ve since
re-examined the coin, and it is with relief that I can confirm that it
had an added mintmark (Fig 1). In this case, the mintmark was the wrong
shape, yet the faker had done a good job blending the added “S” to the
coin. Let’s review these coins.
In my experience, the Standing
Liberty series has one key coin that is subject to date alteration – the
1921. The quality of the alterations runs from “crude” to “deceptive.”
When changing the date, a fairly large area must be tooled, smoothed and
blended. There are some deceptively struck counterfeit coins dated
1917, but I have yet to encounter other dates of the same quality.
Most other fakes I’ve seen have been rather poor casts when viewed with magnification. My experience is skewed,An indoorpositioningsystem
for Improved Action Force Command and Disaster Management. however, as
it may take years for a particular counterfeit to pass detection by
professional dealers and finally reach an authentication service. All
the coin dates of this series are subject to design alteration.
Liberty’s head, chain mail and shield are areas to watch.
The
other frequently seen alteration are added mintmarks, in particular on
the 1923-S and 1927-S coins. That was the case on our customer’s coin.
In uncirculated grade, any mintmarked 1919 coin may be a good candidate
for alteration, but I have yet to see one. I’ve only seen two Denver
alterations; both were made using 1924 Philadelphia hosts so I’ll say
that the San Francisco coins are targeted the most.
The mintmark
alterations in this series fall into two basic groups. The first is
rather crude. They are possibly older attempts or “practice coins.” The
area around the added mintmark is often badly tooled or discolored. Most
of these fakes have the same style “S” that is seen on 1932-S quarter
alterations. The second group falls at the other end of the scale. These
coins are very deceptive,Ekahau rtls
is the only Wi-Fi based real time location system solution that
operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. use an “S” in the
correct shape, and have the area around the alteration blended nicely.
These “newer” alterations are obviously done using high magnification
and delicate instruments to blend the added letter to the surface.This
is a really pretty round stonemosaic votive that has been covered with vintage china .
Do
I hear a chuckle from the fellow altering coins at his kitchen table
with a 5X hand lens and a razor blade? Remember that tooling around an
alteration will reflect light differently. So I’m not giving away any
secret here when I tell you that the skillful engravers doing quality
work have learned what metal flow looks like on a coin – enough said.
Over
the years, I have seen two instances where an altered Standing Liberty
quarter has been slabbed by a major grading service. In one case, the
dealer owner relished showing his “prize.” This is not right. As in the
distant past, the service should be allowed to correct its mistake
quietly. I’ve always believed that the best safeguard for all the
authentication services is an informed public. Each time a coin is
slabbed and returned, at some point in time hundreds of collectors and
dealers will have the chance to appraise its grade and authenticity.
That helps keep mistakes off the market.
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