FAKE PROOF 2015-W AMERICAN EAGLES SURFACE

The latest counterfeit to infiltrate the collector market is a fake Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollar that appeared at a Florida coin show in February.

Reports have also surfaced of several other different Proof dates also appearing, with 2013 and 2014 pieces among them.

Examples are also reportedly being offered through online outlets.

The counterfeits are offered housed in original U.S. Mint packaging with genuine government-issued certificates of authenticity.

The counterfeit 2015 coin was reported March 7 to Coin World by F. Michael “Skip” Fazzari, a numismatist with Independent Coin Graders in Tampa, Fla.

“The coins are good enough so that a dealer opening the box to make sure a coin was inside would see a blazing Proof,” Fazzari said. “However, a close naked-eye inspection by a bullion dealer would probably be enough to detect a scam,” he said.

Fazzari surmises genuine Mint packaging could have been acquired on eBay or at a coin show where packaging is sold separated from its contents, by dealers or collectors.

The empty boxes, still often containing the certificate of authenticity, remain after the coins are removed, often for submission to a third-party grading service, according to Fazzari.

Among the diagnostics, the counterfeit is out of tolerance, Fazzari said. Fazzari said the counterfeit weighs 30.54 grams compared to the genuine standard of 31.101 grams. The diameter of the fake coin is 39.77 millimeters versus 40.6 millimeters for the genuine silver Proof.

The counterfeit did not test positive for silver or copper using an electronic metals analyzer, Fazzari said. The fake has a specific gravity of 8.4, but currently its metallic composition is unknown.

Although crudely manufactured, Fazzari said the counterfeit is close enough in general appearance to a genuine coin “to fool the average collector or first-time buyer.”

Fazzari took close-up photographs detailing the differences of the counterfeit at specific locations compared with a genuine Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollar.

Buyers should also examine lettering on the obverse of the coin. The Y in LIBERTY appears with serifs on the fake, but is sans serif on the genuine coin.

The overall surface appearance on the fake’s obverse is granular, compared with the genuine coin’s more satiny-looking finish.

To read the complete article, see:
Counterfeit Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollar surfaces at show (www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/03/counterfeit-silver-proof- 2015-american-eagle-dollar.all.html)

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