The 1844 Seated Liberty dime is among the most common important dates in the Seated Liberty dime collection, with only 72,500 examples struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
So it is no surprise if a counterfeit of the very low mintage but readily available dime in circulated condition seems from the numismatic market.
Numismatic Guaranty Corp. lately commissioned as imitation an 1844 Seated Liberty dime which has been filed for grading and encapsulation. Collectors should take note of this diagnostics.
The entry, seeming in a state consistent with being gloomy 12, was artificially weathered to seem as though it had been in general flow throughout the 19th century for a substantial time period, based on NGC.
NGC’s grading team voiced concerns within the 1844 Seated Liberty dime entry almost instantly from the onset of the authentication procedure, beginning first with the date, the company stated.
The serif at the base of the 1 in the date is too narrow when compared with the 1 to a real 1844 dime, as would be the perpendicular lines at the 2 4s, based on NGC. The date averages overall possess a more rounded appearance compared to the specimens on the real pieces.
Design details are feeble and particularly noticeable on the obverse stars and Liberty’s entire body. The entire depiction of Liberty about the counterfeit displays extreme porosity.
The dentils on both the obverse and reverse are feeble, but particularly flat on the opposite in the 5 o’clock position.
The forgery is 5% underweight — 2.54 g rather than the standard 2.67 g. A metallurgical evaluation of this imitation decided its composition to be 60 percent aluminum, 37 percent zinc and two percent silver, rather than 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
In accordance with NGC, the fake dime can be artificially toned and aged to hide the temptation which would give away the piece as being counterfeit.
Actual 1844 dimes are easily obtainable, for a cost, together with Mint State pieces demonstrating hard to get.
Heritage Auctions provided a hoard of 612 1844 dimes at a July 2003 sale, which provided lots of collectors the chance to procure an example due to their own collections.
