Counterfeit Canadian Coins!

Hello,
I have some interesting pictures about 1948, 1947 and 1945 Dollar forgeries. BUT it is very questionable if they are from China or from Lebanon.
HHB

will try and do it during the weekend. I know it will cause quit an issue, as one was sent 2x to ICCS and both time came back as authentic.. However, the kings nose is much shorter......
I have to be careful here as not to accuse someone with this specific coin...so I will use my others. the issue of dollar forgeries is very touchy. I was personally involved in Europe dicovering at least 4 ( four 1948 forgeries, two of which were followed up by German Police. surprisingly, they confiscated the coins and had them checked with the German Federal bank-forgery section. They came back as: the coin is authentic, but the date is manipulated....beats me....
pix on the weekend... I have to assemble them...
and more stories about this...
HHB

Some maybe, but from everything I've read and seen they are expertly made using computers and laser carving, and even period presses. The coins have been sold to experts in the field in many cases as genuine. I cannot stress enough, these counterfeits are dangerous. They are not like contemporary counterfeits that have obvious mistakes, they are die struck and extremely well done. In most cases reported, the only way to be positive was to weigh the coins as these Chinese manufacturer's have had a difficult time acquiring high grade planchets to use in production, but even that may change. Don't underestimate these modern fakes. Those who do may regret it later, but by then it may be too late. The numismatic community unfortunately will be dealing with this problem for generations to come, and right now, there's no end in sight. ~ Jim

Zonad,thanks for having this seller removed.He'll probably be back with a different name,ebay makes this so easy to do.You probably had your emails ready to send before you bought this coin,you knew it would arrive unmarked.I think that 99% of the buyers of these coins also know exactly what they are buying and won't leave negative feedback because by doing so they would be publicly admitting they have illegal items.Buyers are as as much to blame as the sellers,no demand no supply.While the current crop of chinese fake Canadian coins are generally easy to identify,demand for them will lead to new and improved versions and an even greater problem for this hobby.

This operation in China is really minor compared to what has happened and what is happening in the world today. There is a large number of $2 counterfeits in circulation in Canada right now that few people can identify. There are millions of counterfeit £1 British coins in circulation, and probably millions more counterfeit coins from other countries as well. There are even very high quality gold counterfeits out there made decades ago that few folks would be able to identify - all with exact weights as well. You can bet there are counterfeit gold 1oz Maple Leafs out there (but probably not of the right weight). And in fact, it would even be profitable to counterfeit 1oz Gold Maple Leaf coins even with the correct weight, given the premiums the market is willing to pay at this time. None of these counterfeiters are interested in selling on ebay, so whatever ebay does will not stop them. And these are the ones that need to be stopped. Bottom line, the best way for anyone to protect themselves from counterfeits is to understand how they are made and how to identify them. And the counterfeiting is not limited to coins. It can be found in name brand watches, clothes, tools, and so on - which has been going on for decades now. The counterfeiting of US collector coins has been a problem for decades now, but the US market has managed. TPG grading came in as a result of this.

I agree with almost everything stated except "This operation in China is really minor compared to..." It is not minor in any way shape or form. It is a major and growing problem and should not be underestimated. Minimizing this problem in any way just adds to it. Certainly counterfeits have been around as long as coins have been. That said, never has there been a counterfeiting operation that used computer and laser technology to produce coins that are virtually perfect copies. These are not the cast counterfeits of bygone days. They are not the hand carved dies produced back in the 1920's. These modern counterfeits have been purchased as genuine by major coin dealer's and experts in the hobby. They are more than good enough to fool the average collector today and in the future. ~ Jim

"Without the ebay connection do you see thousands of these unmarked copies making their way with one of two people into North America and being sold to thousands"

Actually, there is quite a few of this type of coin being sold in San Francisco's Chinatown right now. Millions of tourists go there for a visit, and presumably a few of them buy some. Not sure if they have Canadian reproductions at this time since its been over a year since I was last there. I understand that coins like this are sold in shops throughout Asia.

"These modern counterfeits have been purchased as genuine by major coin dealer's and experts in the hobby. They are more than good enough to fool the average collector today and in the future."

These are the counterfeits I am worried about - the ones that can fool an expert - and they are there. A URL to a site was posted earlier of some high quality reproductions of Canadian $1 coins - 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1948 (if I remember right). These were made some time ago, and look very good. Supposedly, there are also good quality reproductions of gold Canadian coins from 1912, 1913 and 1914 and 1967. Those too are ones that concern me - along with counterfeit 1oz Maple Leafs. So you need to check every gold coin you purchase. For USA and UK coins, there are many convincing counterfiets out there that also are of a serious concern. I collect some coins from the USA and UK, and will likely expand more so into this area in the future - aways watchful for counterfeits of course.

"never has there been a counterfeiting operation that used computer and laser technology to produce coins that are virtually perfect copies"

Do you have a URL to the article on this? Making a quality image on a die requires specialized equipment - a reduction lathe - and from what I have read, it can take about a week for the reduction lathe to copy an image from a moulding onto a master die. The reproductions from China that are being sold on ebay are made from cast dies, and they are easy to spot in hand, and usually even easy to spot on ebay.