Fake Morgan Dollar from Ebay

Unfortunately, I must report that I have been duped on Ebay for the first time over a Morgan Silver Dollar! I must admit I wouldn't have noticed the forgery coin had I not weighed it however. I think this incident proves to me the importance of buying a reliable small digital scale for weighing coins. These can be picked up nowadays for a few pounds and I am certainly glad I purchased one!

A real Morgan dollar coin should weigh 26.73g. If your coin's weight differs from this by more than a gram, I would be very suspicious it is a fake as the official tolerance for a Morgan dollar's weight was 0.097g but bear in mind that worn coins will weigh as much as 0.5-1.0g less than this due to the loss of silver content. The coin I received weighed 22.17g! At 4.56g (17%) lighter, there is no doubt this coin is a fake made of a lower silver-content alloy (especially as it is in 'very good' condition).

I won't post a link to the seller of this coin, as I don't believe they knew themselves and they have offered to refund the purchase price on return of the coin. I will be posting their link if things don't work out like this however!!

The moral of this story, I think is caveat emptor (buyer beware) with Ebay coins. It also proves the value of a good digital scale to weigh your coins on as soon as you receive them.