You can also compare the rim of the suspected coin with the original ones, if the width of the rim is not the same as the original, then you’ve got yourself a fake. The letters on this coin looked different than the authentic ones. Ill defined letters: Another replica didn’t have the words properly engraved on it.

We know that such a coin is fake as the coins produced in San Francisco didn’t have this overdate.

The mint-mark: It pays to know the facts! One counterfeit showed a “2” over “1” overdate, while the reverse side of the coin showed an “S” mint mark.

In such cases, look for the following things. There is a good chance that a majority of makers of these reproduced coins might also sell these counterfeit coins too (without the label of “COPY”). The size of this label should not be less than one-sixth the diameter of the coin, with the ideal dimensions being 2 mm X 6 mm. Usually, reproduced vintage coins have to be marked with the word “COPY”. It is therefore of uttermost importance that you are able to identify what is authentic and what is not.Īccording to the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, the key to spot a fake 1942 dime is to observe it closely― the coin says it all. In this age of technology, the biggest challenge the numismatic world faces is of counterfeits flooding the vintage coin market. The coins minted in San Francisco didn’t seem to have this defect. The same defect was observed in coins minted in Denver (usually denoted by the symbol “D”) but wasn’t very prominent, and it took almost two decades to discover this defect.

It has been observed that this defect is more prominent on the dimes minted in Philadelphia, and this was detected almost immediately.

19421 mercury dime overdate