This is a major problem with coin grading companies taking 3+ months to return your submissions to you. I now have no recourse in regard to the person who sold me this fake on eBay, because it's well beyond 30 days ago. They use the reverse of an IHC with an S mint mark as bait to sell you a roll of common wheat cents for $100 or more. I had assumed this was a marketing ploy, and that they'd at least seed them with a genuine one! I have to admit the thought never even occurred to me on a semi-key '08-S, whereas I would've probably scrutinized an '09-S much more closely. I suppose this is all part of the "growing pains" (or school of hard knocks) involved in being both a new collector and reseller. Que sera sera. Thanks again for your help!Earle42 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 15, 2022 1:03 amThe best part to me in all of this is that you said you cannot un-see it! Now you have the wherewithal to start detecting these for yourself as well. Another technique is to make a graphic overlay of one onto the other - the differences stick out easily.RevElvisLee wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:16 pmMan! You have got some sharp eyes. It's funny how a person can't see it until it's pointed out, and all of a sudden you can't unsee it. I would've never picked that out, but now I also see that the genuine has the hint of a smile, where mine has a slight frown! I guess that about sums up the situation!Earle42 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 13, 2022 11:28 pm Having deliberately handled and studied the modern fakes, I can tell you that the picture yo posted just initially look off in the design. I took yours and a legit PCGS graded one and put them side by side. I tried to align the profiles to the approximate same orientation, but they do not line up b/c they are different. An imaginary line form the tip of the nose to the chin is appromiately the same in both, which throws off the direction the feathers are pointing. I admit I did not get it perfectly aligned, but the effect is the same.
Click to enlarge. Note red arrows show design differences in the details of the face. Note bright pink arrows show the differences in letter spacing when each arrow is compared with its matching arrow on the other coin. Note I took an drew a blue line form the base of the top feather to its tip on the left coin, and and did the same with a green arrow on the right coin. I then copied those lines and put them side by side in the middle to show you the difference in length.
Remembering we are dealing only with pictures - the results are not hard to see when looking carefully.
I suspect your coin has a more porous surface than is showing in the pictures as well. I suspect the weight of the fake will be close to legit, but the weight might also be off.
Fake1908-S_Comp.jpg
THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to do such a detailed analysis and provide a definitive answer. It's pretty much worth the money I lost on what I thought was a semi-key IHC! Oh well, price of an education... Fortunately, my 1863 came back AU-58.
Steve