When the genius of the forger truly shines through...
Imagine with me, my dear, the following story: Some time ago, someone presented this coin to the American Numismatic Society to examine its authenticity… The condition is excellent, and it is known that this date without a mint letter is widespread (equivalent to about 350$ at a grade of 65), while with a mint letter S is very expensive (3600$ at the same grade!) – so it was natural for the assessors to examine the letter and the area around it before anything else. The area around it under the lens does not show any problems, and the letter itself is of the same texture as the piece and does not look like a letter that was glued onto the surface of the coin, as is the custom of counterfeit pieces that have been seen many times before. But if the area surrounding the letter didn't raise any suspicions, then what was the problem? The problem was that the shape of the letter S was different from the shape used in this particular mint. This was certainly not a variation or a minting error, so what was the explanation? The assessors were perplexed, as the entire coin appeared genuine, except for this mysterious letter. Upon further examination, the assessment team noticed some instability in the coin's chain, specifically in the area closest to the letter. The owner of the coin was asked for permission to examine it using a destructive method, and he agreed, as he also wanted to know how the coin had been counterfeited. Indeed, the association cut a section of the coin and exposed the part behind the instability in the chain's metal. The following was revealed: there was a circular cavity in the metal directly behind the instability. This cavity contained the mint's letter pressed from inside the coin to its surface. This meant that the counterfeiter had carved this tiny cavity and then inserted a tool resembling pliers, containing the mint's letter, into the cavity, and then covered the surface with leather or something similar to avoid leaving any visible marks. Metal!! The video will illustrate the idea better:
