From the Dark Corner: Return of the “Authenticated” 1807 Dime Counterfeits

By Jack D. Young and the Dark Side Group ……
 

It’s been a while since I wrote a new installment from the “Dark Corner” for CoinWeek, and longer since I wrote about this subject “coin”.

Since my 2017 CoinWeek article on deceptive 1807 Draped Bust Dime counterfeits, I have documented two more TPG-certified examples. Of the now-eight appearances I have boiled down the “known” examples to five, as one example is known only by the online cert (no TPG images) and two pairs match for toning and other unique marks. As in my previous articles on these deceptive counterfeits, I start with a timeline of imaged examples:

1. July 3, 2013 – Holed example sold on eBay.
2. December 9, 2015 – NGC-certified (2791432-001) “PLUGGED” example sold on eBay (likely same as #5); NGC nuked the cert after further review this week.
3. NGC 2653318-011 – “QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY” (no image, just cert).
4. NGC 2657329-011 – “QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY” from initial bad submission with several early coppers (Fall 2015). High-res images courtesy NGC (likely same as #6).
5. May 20, 2016 – Raw example sold on eBay (likely same as #2).
6. December 15, 2016 – Raw example sold on eBay (bad seller; likely same as #4).

After my June 2017 CoinWeek article:

7. PCGS-certified example – Raw on eBay 2017 (PCGS returned); certed 2017.
8. Stack’s Bowers consignor example January 2025; PCGS-certed 2015.

The known five start with the damaged source example from a 2013 eBay listing.

The resulting repairs do not match a genuine example in the following areas but do match the next four distinct examples along with other common marks.

The “famous four”:

And the updated cert:

NGC 2657329-011 “QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY” is from an initial bad submission of known sellers–including several early coppers–in the fall of 2015 (high-res images courtesy NGC):

This one from the known bad sellers in Texas; sold raw in December 2016 on the ‘Bay.

The next one surfaced from a friend after my article was published. It was returned to the TPG in 2017 on their guarantee and as far as I know is still there.

The next one just surfaced; a gentleman from a major auction house received it as a consignment for an upcoming auction and was concerned when he reviewed it. He cited my CoinWeek article and sent me a message about his concerns.

Note from the auction house:

Maybe my articles actually are helpful!

I did make a bid to purchase this latest example for additional research, but it appears it will go back to the TPG under their guarantee.

And the example PCGS bought back originally? Looking through my archives, it appears they determined it to be the genuine example:

I would expect the genuine one to have the correct edge!

So that means at least three of the four 1807 dimes are very deceptive counterfeits. Ten years after being certified it gets submitted for auction; I often ask myself at what point do these just all become “genuine”…

Best, as Always,

—Jack

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