The 1893-S Morgan Silver Dollars are so famous that there are more in existence today than were originally minted. Most counterfeit Morgan 1893-Ss consist of altered versions of existing genuine Morgan dollars.

Most 1893-S Morgan silver dollars are certified, so why should I know how to tell a fake when I see one? Haven’t NGC and PCGS already done that for me?

I have seen fake Morgan 1893-S both graded and raw. I have to assume that the PCGS and NGC raters know how to spot a fake Morgan 1893-S, so when I see an example of a fake engraved on a carrier that looks legitimate, I have to realize that the carrier is just as fake as the cover. currency.

I also come across the denial of fake coins. The owners of these coins do not want to admit that they were tricked into buying a counterfeit coin. That’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when the owner paid a lot of money for a graded coin with the confidence that it was blessed by a major third-party grader.

The date/mint mark of 1893-S is the most valuable of the Morgan designed dollars. Because of this, most forged versions have been made by altering the date or mint mark.

Learning to distinguish a fake Morgan 1893-S is simple, because ALL 100,000 coins were made with the same obverse and two reverse dies. That makes diagnosis really easy.

They all have the same opposite characteristics and not very different inverse characteristics. Any coin that does not possess the telltale diagnostic features is a fake. Learn what to look for and you can spot a fake raw coin AND a fake graded coin.

The date is probably the easiest thing to choose. Unlike other dies from S, O, or P mints, the date has a flaw and a certain feature that altered coins will not have.

First, take a close look at 1. Does it line up exactly with the dentil directly below it? Can you draw a line right through the center of both?

Next, study the last number. As the date progresses, it tilts up to the right, relative to the edge. The 3 is noticeably taller than the 1 at the beginning. This is the easiest way to quickly spot a fake.

There are things to check on the “T” and “R” in LIBERTY, but you’d need a microscope to spot them. There is a small scratch on the “T” and a detail that resembles “bunny ears” at the base of the “R”. ALL genuine Morgan 1893-Ss have this detail, if you have a microscope see this diagnostic detail.

There is really no need to flip the coin for further diagnostics..

Additional diagnostics will only tell you how the alteration was made. The genuine “S” mintmark is clear and rounded. It is not a musky stain. The top serif on the “S” is a vertical line, while the bottom serif is more like a triangle.

The next gift from the mintmark is the “S” alignment. It must be perfectly aligned. I’ve seen the “S” mintmark noticeably slanted, and it shouldn’t be. Also, the “S” is slightly padded between the top curve and the slant of the “S”, as well as between the bottom curve and the slant.

Since most counterfeit 1893-S dollars are tampered with, continue to study the coin under 10X glass. Turn the coin over and look for tool marks around the 9 or 3 for signs of date tampering on the obverse. Altered coins are usually 1898-S, 1883-S, or 1893-P.

As collector values ​​continue to rise with the 1893-S, the fakes will only get better. With emerging technologies, fakes will become almost perfect replicas of the original. My hope is that as the technologies to accurately copy a coin advance, the technologies to detect such copies will also continue.