Key Takeaways

• Some of the most counterfeited U.S. coins include key-date Lincoln cents, Morgan dollars, and early gold coins with significant numismatic value.
• Counterfeiters often alter genuine coins by adding mintmarks or modifying dates to mimic rare varieties.
• Authentication from trusted dealers or grading services like NGC and PCGS can help collectors avoid purchasing counterfeit coins.

Rare coins are a big money issue. Some of the rarest coins sell at auction for millions of dollars, including the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, which sold for an incredible $18.9 million in 2021.

Unfortunately, as is the case with anything valuable, there is a major problem with counterfeiting. Because the dollar amounts attract buyers who aren’t necessarily experts on numismatics, shrewd fraudsters can alter coins to make them appear to be some of the “holy grails” of the community.

So, this page provides useful information about counterfeiting in the US. Here are the 20 American coins that are most commonly targeted by counterfeiters.

A Word about Morgan Dollars

Before we get into specific coins that are top targets for counterfeiters, we do need to talk about Morgan dollars. The Morgan silver dollar was the primary $1 coin of the United States between 1878 and 1904, with a final year of production in 1921, and is an easy favorite for many coin collectors – especially beginners, who can purchase a genuine historic coin for under $50.

However, as a group, Morgan dollars are among the most counterfeited series of coins, according to a 2018 report from the nonprofit Anti-Counterfeiting Education Foundation. So, even though there are individual coins that may be specific counterfeiters’ targets, you should be cautious about buying Morgan dollars – be sure that you use a reputable dealer and/or get them authenticated by an expert.

Now, let’s talk about the specific American coins that are the most counterfeited. Please note: our primary source for this information is the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), which based its report on its own records. We are grouping them according to the coin series in which they belong, but the numbers beside them represent their rankings in the list.

Lincoln Wheat Pennies (1909 – 1958)

The first group of coins that suffers from large amounts of counterfeiting are the Lincoln wheat pennies. These coins were minted between 1909 and 1958 and remain one of the most iconic one-cent pieces in American history.

The key dates in this series are the biggest targets:

1. 1909-S VDB – The inaugural issue from the San Francisco Mint is the most-counterfeited coin of them all. Counterfeiters may attempt to add a mint mark or add “VDB,” a reference to the coin’s designer, Victor David Brenner.
2. 1914-D – The Denver Mint’s issue in 1914 is likely rarer than the 1909-S VDB, but is slightly less of a prize for fraudsters. Unlike the 1909-S VDB, most counterfeits of this coin are outright fakes, rather than altered versions.
3. 1922 No D – This penny is a major target for a rather unusual reason. Only the Denver Mint produced Lincoln cents in 1922, meaning that every coin from that year should have a “D” mintmark. However, excessive die polishing caused the mintmark to disappear on some coins, creating the famous “1922 No D” variety. As a result, counterfeiters may attempt to remove the mintmark from genuine coins to make them appear more valuable.

Indian Head Gold Coins ($2.50 and $5, 1908 – 1929)

Though it may seem difficult to believe in the modern era, when the US Mint uses cupronickel almost exclusively for its coinage, the United States used to issue gold-bearing coins as semi-regular currency for most of its existence. One of the last of these series were the Indian Head gold coins, which served as coinage in the early portion of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, these coins are often the target of counterfeiters because of two factors. For one, their gold content gives them an intrinsic value, but not enough to overwhelm their value to numismatists – meaning that fakes made with genuine gold are still profitable for scammers to produce because they can fabricate the coins in uncirculated condition – the defining factor for whether an Indian Head coin is worth hundreds of dollars or thousands of them.

The other issue is that unlike the higher denominations of this coin series, the value of the $2.50 and $5 pieces is not high enough to garner significant attention from the community or the mainstream press. Where certain versions of the $10 or $20 Indian Head Eagles and Double Eagles can draw in excess of $1 million at auction, the smaller pieces may only be worth tens of thousands – still a lot of money, but not so much to attract particularly inquisitive eyes.

So, many of the top 20 most counterfeited American coins are from the lower denominations of the Indian Head gold coins. The versions that appear here have been common subjects of genuine gold coin fakery, where the scammers are trading on the splits between the metal content and the numismatic value of these coins to collectors.

1. 1914 Indian $2.50
2. 1911 Indian $2.50
3. 1915 Indian $5
4. 1925-D Indian $2.50
5. 1912 Indian $2.50
6. 1915 Indian $2.50
7. 1909 Indian $2.50
8. 1913 Indian $5
9. 1910 Indian $2.50
10. 1927 Indian $2.50

Indian Princess $3 Gold Coins (1854 – 1889)

The $3 gold coin, commonly known as the Indian Princess gold piece, features Liberty wearing a Native American headdress. Although often associated with other “Indian Head” coinage, it is technically its own design series.

These coins are also frequent targets for counterfeiters due to the gap between their gold value and their numismatic value in higher grades.

1. 1882 Indian $3
2. 1855 Indian $3

Gold Dollars (1849 – 1889)

In the wake of the California Gold Rush, the US government stepped forward and began issuing a $1 coin minted with 90% gold content. However, unlike silver dollars and other gold coinage, these pieces were tremendously small in diameter – roughly half an inch wide.

Between the disruption caused by the Civil War in the 1860s and the fact that these diminutive pieces were often set into jewelry, rather than used as currency, they were only produced for 40 years before their discontinuation. Despite that, they were produced in relatively large numbers – some mintages ranged into the millions – so they were quite common for a time.

1. 1853 Gold Dollar – The most-counterfeited gold dollar is the 1853 issue. Ironically, the reason for its popularity among scammers is its high mintage. More than 4 million of these coins were struck, and they are common enough in the coin collecting world that deft fakeries can avoid detection by dealers, who may not examine them as closely as they would other coins.
2. 1887 Gold Dollar – The 1887 gold dollar was struck only as a Proof coin, with a mintage of 7,500 pieces. However, the writing on the wall about the coin’s discontinuation was already clear, so an unusual number of these coins survived. Nevertheless, counterfeiters still make them in large numbers because the uncirculated versions are still quite valuable.
3. 1862 Gold Dollar – This year’s issue was also quite large and exceeded more than 1.3 million minted pieces. However, as with the others, there is a lot of money available for mint state versions of them – and their numismatic value is such that counterfeiters can splurge for blanks with the correct golden composition and still make money defrauding people.

Singletons (1893, 1916)

1. 1916-D Mercury Dime – The second-most counterfeited American coin is the 1916-D Mercury dime. Mercury dimes are already a popular choice for collectors, and the 1916 version is the key date due to its low overall mintage. However, the Denver issues are particularly rare, while Philadelphia editions are not – and scammers find it quite easy to add a small “D” mintmark to a Philly version and turn a sub-$200 investment into a fraud opportunity worth tens of thousands.
2. 1893-S Morgan Dollar – Now, although we spoke generally about Morgan dollars and their preferred status with counterfeiters, the 1893-S Morgans are a particular target. The San Francisco Mint only produced 100,000 of these coins, and any of them in decent condition can still draw tens of thousands of dollars. Most commonly, scammers will add the “S” mintmark to a genuine Philadelphia version, although there are a few of them that may produce outright fakes.

Other Coins to Watch

Now, the 20 coins mentioned above are the most likely targets for crooks to fabricate. However, we do have to talk about a few other coin series that you should be sure to verify before you buy.

The first of these coins are the Saint-Gaudens $20 Double Eagles. Perhaps the most beloved coin design in the entire US Mint catalog – the mint reproduced the iconic design on the American Eagle bullion coins – the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle is a showpiece for any collection. As mentioned, one of its members is the most valuable coin of all time, but almost any of them are quite valuable. Thus, scammers may chase a big prize and attempt to produce their own facsimiles to fool you.

The other coins to watch are the Trade Dollars, which were minted between 1873 and 1878 primarily to facilitate trade with Asia. Although millions were struck, many were exported or later melted. They are also unique in the landscape of American coinage and are less familiar to many Americans today. With so much mystique and value, genuine versions can be quite valuable, and scammers commonly attempt to make clean forgeries of them because it’s unlikely you, the consumer, would have the first inkling about confirming one’s authenticity.

The Bottom Line

The unfortunate reality is that with anything of value, there will always be low-moral individuals who will attempt to bamboozle unsuspecting consumers. In particular, these crooks are drawn to situations where many people cannot spot the differences in value easily.

With any coin you collect, you should endeavor to have an expert confirm its accuracy. Make sure you choose a reputable coin shop or – in some cases – jeweler nearby who you can trust.

It may even be worthwhile to get your coin graded by NGC or PCGS. We can give you more information about getting a coin graded, but the important thing is to determine whether you are going to gain more value than the cost of grading before you decide to send a coin into one of these services.

One thing is true, however. You can count on any product you buy from JM Bullion to be authentic and, in most cases, already graded. We have offered rare coins to investors for more than a decade, and we live up to our A+ BBB rating with every deal that we make. Call us at 1-800-276-6508 (8 – 6 CST, M – F) for more information about coins we have available, or even if you just have a question or two. We’d love to hear from you!