Looking at this coin it has extra bits on the I ,D and E in God we trust at the bottom left had had of letters also check out the stars ,some have iregular shapes and the date have some odd bits too
That's because it's a counterfeit. Blobby or "mushy" lettering like that is a classic tell for a counterfeit. Also, look at how the denticles fade away at the lower right on the reverse, and how they change character around the obverse. Odds are very good that you'll find this coin way underweight. It may even be attracted to a magnet. Where did you find it?
Check its thickness, then. I've also received at least two counterfeits that weighed correctly, but were ~10% thicker than a normal coin.
Actually, I should also suggest that you compare its thickness to a lightly circulated half-dollar, not another Barber half. A well-worn Barber half will be thinner than a high-grade one, because the rims do wear down. If your half is the same thickness as, say, a 1964 Kennedy, then this is back to being more of a puzzle -- I've seen quite a few coins with these suspicious features, but I haven't yet seen one with these suspicious features that was actually the proper weight and thickness. It could be struck from coin silver, but I doubt it. If it is thicker than a new half, report it to eBay right away, pointing out that the letter and star (mis)features are common indicators of fakes, and that it's too thick (implying it's not silver). If you haven't already, check it with a magnet -- but if it's thicker, it's probably silver-plated copper, and that'll behave the same way as silver with a magnet. You could probably nick it and expose copper, but I wouldn't recommend doing that yet. In my experience, if you file a Significantly Not As Described case, eBay will allow you to return it, and give you a refund including any shipping costs. If you call them on the phone instead of filing online, they might let you keep or destroy the fake instead of returning it to the seller (who could then sell it again). Please let us know how this works out.
Its not magnetic but runs down my silver slider a bit quicker than my old barber half but slower than a clad coin.Might have to nick the coin to clear it up once and for all. If it's a fake ..its a very clever fake
I agree that this appears to be a fake. Stars look mushy and wrong, and the wear on the face seems weird and also intentional as it’s uniformly uneven. If that makes sense. Makes me think someone tumbled it in container to cause the marks. Here’s PCGS for comparison:
Do you mind sharing (even privately) from where in Germany you bought it? I live here in Germany and would prefer to avoid that seller, and/warn him/her.
Hmm. I can't really tell from the latest photo how the thicknesses compare. It's possible that they got the rim height correct, but messed with the relief on the rest of the coin, but I don't think they could manage that without more visible distortion. This may not be the same class of fake that I've encountered. Based on its visible features, though, I'm still 100% sure it's not real. This would be a $100+ coin in this wear state if it were real. But I wouldn't risk even $5.50 melt value on this one -- and I love gambling on underpriced listings.
