Experts Warn of Fake "Godless" Dollars Online

Rare coin experts are warning that 2007-dated Presidential dollar coins, deliberately altered after leaving the United States Mint to remove the edge lettering including the motto, "In God We Trust," are being offered to unsuspecting buyers in online auctions and swap meets.  The Professional Numismatist Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of the country's top rare coin dealers, has issued a consumer advisory about the altered coins being sold as genuine errors.

The Mint mistakenly released for circulation thousands of genuine coins without edge lettering, but the PNG cautions that worthless, fake versions now are appearing in the marketplace, especially Internet auctions.

The edge lettering on some perfectly-made coins is being intentionally removed in machine shops to fraudulently make the coins appear to have a plain edge without the date, without the mintmark and without the mottos, In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum.

Unless you know how to determine authenticity, the coin should be certified by a nationally-recognized authentication company or you should know the reputation of the professional dealer you're buying it from.

The normal weight of the United States Presidential Dollar coins is 8.1 grams (125 grains) and the diameter is 26.5 millimeters.  Any plain-edge coins weighing less than 8 grams should be viewed with skepticism.  They may have been deliberately trimmed to remove the edge lettering.

The altered coins are deliberately machined down until the lettering on the edges disappears.  It is also possible for the incused lettering to be filled in, then re-plated or re-colored, and then the altered coin is deceitfully sold as a genuine Mint-made error.

Consumers should also be wary of sale pitches for so-called "upside-down" lettering errors.  The relationship is random between the edge lettering and the "heads" side on the Presidential dollars.  Some coins have the letters reading "up," and some are "upside-down" when you view the front of the coin.  These are not inverted-lettering errors, only a random method of placing the edge-lettering on the coins.  Half the coins will have the letters up, and half will appear upside down.