Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 2/3/2010

Question
CAN YOU HELP ME ON HOW TO TELL IF MY COIN IS COUNTERFEIT, I SENT IT IN TO A GUY THAT WANTED TO BUY IT, BUT HE TOLD ME IT'S COUNTERFEIT, SO I TOLD HIM TO RETURN IT WHICH HE DID, HELP.

Answer
Hi Frank,
The quickest way to get an idea of whether your coin is genuine is to weigh it on a digital scale that can measure grams. Any jeweler's scale will do this. An authentic coin should be around 25.0 grams, though one that has significant wear may be as much as a gram lower. Counterfeits will always be 23 grams or below.
Additionally, you can post a follow-up question with a clear picture of the coin. I can usually tell counterfeits by eye, since the method by which they are made is very different and shows on the coin.
There are certainly many replicas of this coin, but the real ones are not all that rare, so it is definitely not out of the realm of possibility for you to have a genuine coin.
Also worth noting... if your coins has a dot after the B, like "B." instead of "B", it is an even more valuable variety.
Thanks for the question! =)