If you have ever purchased PCGS holdered coins or submitted coins to PCGS for grading and authentification, then you mostly likely have seen coins labeled as “Genuine”, without a grade or explanation.

In the image, on your left, I used an arrow to point out what number code PCGS used to identify this coin as Genuine. Below is a list of PCGS’s numbers and what they mean. PCGS determined that this particular coin had damage or code “98″ (The damage was on the reverse, image of reverse not shown).

Sometimes, PCGS will print an explanation on their labels like “Bent” , “Machine Damage”, “Surface Tooled”, etc. but this is often not the case. So, I hope these codes help you identify what is wrong with a coin, and eliminates some confusion when buying or getting a Genuine labled coins back from PCGS

  82 – Filed Rims 83 – Peeling Lamination 84 – Holed & Plugged 86 – No Decision 90 – Not Genuine 91 – Questionable Toning 92 – Cleaning 93 – Planchet Flaw 94 – Altered Surfaces 95 – Scratch 96 – Refund, No Service 97 – Environmental Damage 98 – Damage 99 – PVC Residue Also, ebay doesn’t holder coins when they can’t see the entire date or coins that are an unlisted or attributed token, medal, private or mint employee created. Below is a could samples of what the coin will be returned and the label used.

CoinHELP! is proud to announce the beginning of eBay’s Bullion Center! eBay’s Bullion Center features ebay picked sellers and a brand new portal for buyers to purchase bullion silver and gold and with an easier interface for buyers to navigate.

Furthermore, this new interface allows buyer to choose the weight and brand of the bullion they’re interested in buying.

It’s perfect chance for all bullion buyers since ebay is closely monitoring, developing and catering their Bullion Center to buyer’s requests and interest. It takes most of the worry out of buying silver and gold bullion and creates a buying environment that is much safer, and lessons the possibility of buying fake gold or silver.

CoinHELP! has been chosen to help develop this project to make it the safest, most economical and most easy to use than any other precious metal bullion venue on the Internet.

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It’s been awhile since I last blog posted, but for a good reason, I have been expanding and updating all the US Coin Price Guides.

It’s been a slow process but one that will have positive results for everyone! These price guides are being compiled using the latest internet auction’s final values.

It’s not been an easy task considering how fast silver has been rising in value. The precious metals market is very important to consider when trying to find the value a any coin and while looking at a price guide.

I encourage everyone to visit the new and expanded coin values. The Dollar’s, Half Dollar’s and Quarter Dollar’s values are completed. The home page link is here

The above Peace Dollar is an image of an authentic US silver dollar for reference, even though counterfeits are out there, it’s not the only problem collectors need to be aware of in the market places. It’s true that counterfeit Peace Dollars abound but so does cleaned, artificially toned and mis-represented specimens that are major concern as well. Information from reputable sources is the key and I will briefly introduce some important pointers in this article.

First, let’s talk a little about counterfeits and how to identify them. The image below is of a counterfeit Peace Dollar.

Counterfeits and Copies:

It should be obvious to experienced collectors that this coin is a fake, but not all images or coins are as obvious. A counterfeit could appear authentic in-hand but the weight will not be correct for a 90% silver coin of the same size. If you can’t readily weigh a coin, because your at a flea market or it’s being sold by a Street Vendor, then don’t buy the coin.

Another thing you should check is if the date and mint were actually produced because I have seen a few wrong date and mint mark combination Peace Dollars.

The US Mints only produced Peace Dollars from 1921 through 1928 and then again in 1934-1935, and the best way to know if the date and mint you’re looking at was actually minted by the US  is to know the coin series, and the dates and mint marks that were produced for each year. I just wouldn’t buy a coin that I didn’t know something about, but if you’re knew to collecting the following paragraph is a must read.

In 1921, the Peace Dollar was minted at the Philadelphia Mint and have no mint mark, from 1922 and 1923 they were minted without a mint mark or with a D (Denver Mint) or S (San Fransisco Mint), 1924 and 1925 was minted with no mint mark or an S mint mark, 1926 and 1927 was minted without a mint mark or with a D or an S, 1928 through 1935 was minted with out a mint mark or with an S mint mark.

If you see an 1928-D or 1935-D or any other date or mint mark combination, different than the years and mints specified above, then you should realize it’s a counterfeit coin.

Also, closely examine coins that appear to be good bargain, because they are usually fake. You should look at the letter and number font and compare them to an authentic Peace Dollar. Ask yourself some questions like “Do I know this seller?” or “Is this deal to good to be true?” If they’re are selling a large amount Peace Dollars, at prices well below retail, then it’s not wise to purchase their coins.

Furthermore, you should never buy a silver dollar on the seller’s word alone or if you’re not experienced in buying Peace Dollars. It’s just not worth the risk. 

Proof and Proof Like:

It’s very rare for a Peace Dollar to be proof like or deep mirror proof like, so it’s no wonder that some sellers have tried to describe the Peace Dollars they are selling as such or even clean or doctor their coins so they appear to have these attributes. Don’t be fooled!

Proof Morgan Dollars were only produced, in very small numbers, in 1921 and we’re talking about a number less then twenty specimens total. So the proof Peace are very rare and are in collections of well known collectors and can be tracked. Also, any PL  Peace Dollars should be examined closely and preferably purchased already attributed as such by a reputable grading service like PCGS or NGC.

Don’t be fooled, very few coin grading services will suffice in regard to attributing PL Peace Dollars! Only by PL Peace Dollars in PCGS, NGC, ANACS or ICG holders.

Graded and Slabbed:

The above image is of two graded Peace Dollars and that are over-graded. You should never buy a coin by the grade on a label, and never take the word of a seller who is selling already graded coins by just any “Alphabet” grading service. If you do, remember this, the coin might have been graded by the seller, placed in the holder with the label of just their opinion of the coin they own. If this doesn’t say conflict of interest then I don’t know what would.

You should remember four grading services, and stay away from the rest, until you gain more knowledge about grading Peace Dollars. These coin grading services that can be trusted more than the rest are as follow: PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS.

If the Peace Dollar isn’t graded and authenticated, by one of these top four services, then you risk losing money immediately after your purchase. You also run the risk of paying to much for an over-graded coin. You work for your money so don’t let anyone steal it, for an inferior graded coin, just because they placed it in a “professional” looking holder with a lofty grade.

INB, SGS, PCG, among many others, are among the worst offenders and should never be trusted because their grading standard is much more liberal than the accepted grading standard. You’re just throwing your money away buying coins housed in any other holder then the top four coin grading services.

Make no mistake, the MS66-MS69 grades, authenticity and condition of a coin isn’t an opinion and you owe it to yourself to be informed before making a coin purchase. High grade Peace Dollars are rare and valuable in a PCGS, NGC, ICG or ANACS holders and can’t be purchased for much less than retail. If you see a great deal on a high-end graded coin, in any other holder, then you should know it’s too much of a risk to purchase.

Altered Surfaces:

The above to Peace Dollars have altered surfaces, the left example has been cleaned and this can be identified by the hair-like lines on the neck. The coin on the right has been cleaned and then artificially toned. Notice that both coins are circulated and were cleaned or retoned so as to make them appear uncirculated.

The coin below is an example of an uncirculated Morgan Dollar, with natural toning, housed in a PCGS holder.

It’s recommended to learn the facts about silver tarnish and toning and only purchase toned coins, in a reputable grading service holder, until you get the feel for what toning isn’t natural and what cleaned coins look like.

The coin below has what is considered an altered surface and this alteration can come in many forms. An altered surface is usually an over-dipped or lightly polished BU or AU coin and can be identified by their “jewelry” like surface. A jewelry surface is often a polished and dipped surface that brings out the luster of the metal, but an original coin’s surface was obtained by a great amount of pressure and heat from the coin die pressing the metal into the design elements of the die. No other process will reproduce this appearance.

A Peace Dollar’s surface shouldn’t look sleek and to clean, but retain a soft or frosty luster obtained during the strike of the die.

I am most certain that many other aspects of buying Peace Dollar could be mentioned, but I chose the most obvious to give you a jump start. If you want to learn more about Peace Dollar grading, mintages and values then visit the links I provided at the end of this article.

Peace Dollar grading, Peace Dollar mintages and values, Peace Dollar facts and key dates

If you want to buy authentic Peace Dollars at ebay then here are links to every date and mint mark.

AMG stands for American Morgan Graders and is an ebay seller from Australia. This seller, usa-dollars, sells coin in their own AMG holder on ebay Australia (AU) and commits many wrongs with their auction listings. 

The most important offense is their grading standard, and it’s to liberal to be accepted as a serious attempt at grading Morgan Dollars. AMG is also not a grading service since they don’t accept submissions from collectors for grading and authentication. This coin holder company uses a false grade and a value in their listing’s title to gain more exposure gain. 

Fortunately, their images are good enough, that you can see their coin’s details and it’s obvious that the coins are over-graded by most serious and widely accepted standards! Below is an example of an over-graded coin and all of their coins are graded MS67 and up, but Morgan Dollars in these grades are rare and demand a higher premium. This is the only reason AMG prints these high-end grades on their holder, it’s for pure profit and nothing else.

 Compare the above graded MS68 Morgan Dollar with the coin below, graded MS68 by PCGS.

 It’s easy to realize, and I could list hundreds of MS68 PCGS and NGC graded Morgan Dollars, that AMG’s MS68 doesn’t even come close. As a matter of fact, the AMG MS68 just might be AU58 is that’s circulation wear I see on the eagle’s breast feathers.