Fake or good 5 dollar coin?

[Bruce]

Hello,could anyone please tell me if this is a good or a counterfeit coin?I have it listed on ebay right now under my username rarepots.I got this from craigslist and the same lady wants to sell me another one today,1891.Thankyou very much in advance for any help,Bruce.

[Daniel]

Welcome to the forum Bruce, you're welcome here and we are always willing to help people with coins. Collecting shouldn't involved stress, it's supposed to be fun, so asking question here should relive some of that doubt.

The bars just inside the rim are called denticles and if that's what you're referring to then I don't see anything wrong with this coin. From the images I don't see anything amiss, the coin was struck from a die, I can see that, and it's not a cast copy or spark erosion fake.

The star behind Liberty's head has a misshaped top ray of the star and all the stars appear to be the correct shape, the date looks the correct size and shape and font. I might have been wrong about it being cleaned, but it's appears to be AU and has some circulation marks.

I just don't see anything that red flags the coin. I hope this helps. However, I wouldn't buy too many coins from private people since your confidence and knowledge on fakes and counterfeits needs juiced up a bit. I have several guides with images on fake silver dollars here http://coinauctionshelp.com/Counterfeit ... ollar.html

Visit these pages and feel free to ask as many questions you like, and post images, and don't ever think you can question me out. I never tire of it lol:

[Bruce]

Thankyou,I see what you mean by the star be a little misshaped right behind the head and yes you are right,I did mean the denticles,thanx!!!Bruce.

[dipper13]

Bruce, Another way to tell with a gold coin is weight. If you have a scale, you can pretty much confirm . Gold is unique in density and is difficult to mimic correct weight with base metals used to fool people. It weighs very much more than most metals comparative to its' size. Dan

[Bruce]

Hi Dan,I did bring a coin scale which I just got from ebay a month ago and the weight was dead on.I also tested with a magnet,thankyou for all the info,now I will feel much better buying from this person but will still be careful,thanx!!!Bruce.

[Daniel]

It's all in the details of the design and most certainly the weight. You will do fine since you care to learn and ask questions so you don't stick another person with a fake coin. Very good of you and welcome to the forum!

[Kimkinsley]

I got a metal detector and plan to buy a gold detector. Is a metal detector capable of detecting gold?

[dipper13]

Yes, some detectors have a separate coil for gold, but your detector will ID it. If you can, take a gold coin and see how your detector reacts to it. They all react differently. Try experimenting with a setting that will ID gold and silver. Dan

[Daniel]

Good info Dan, same advice I would give. A pure gold detector is a marketing method to sell to detectors to gold prospectors. The technology is near the same for all types of hand held detectors and they can be set to detect gold. Don't get me wrong a gold coil would be a little better than universal coil, so just buy a compatible gold coil to exchange on the detector you already have.