Regarding Fugazzi Paper Money - Coin Community Forum

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Silverskunk Pillar of the Community United States 745 Posts	Posted 12/23/2025 3:58 pm Ive been retired 9 years now and its been maybe 16 years since I left the midnight shift I spent most of my career on. We used to get a lot of fugazzi $20, $10, even $50 and $100 bills we were called on. It amazed me how good some of these counterfeits were, how real they looked, how real they felt. And all made on retail equipment anyone could really buy. Some were so good I'd bet foreign Govt.'s were involved and only got spotted because some kid working a gas station had done their home work on spotting them. We had classes with the Secret Service about all the little ways to spot fugazzi money and how good the counterfeiters have got. I forgot the ways but there were a lot of them. Anyway it got me thinking that along with the incredible run precious metals have been on I'd bet anything there has been a parallel effort and sophistication in criminal counterfeiting of gold, silver, and even other PM's. The higher the worth of the metal the more we have to stay vigilant and even honest houses and LCS's can let one slip from time to time. Anyway thats my thought for the day. I really dislike thieves. Report this Post to the Staff

livingwater Pillar of the Community United States 2213 Posts	Posted 12/24/2025 06:15 am People started counterfeiting money not long after coins were invented in anceint Turkey about 600 BC. I have a fake Athens silver tetradrachm from about 200 BC, it's silver plated but inner core is cheaper metal. We do need to be careful, there's a lot of fake modern coins. For example, in China there are severe penalties for faking their own coins/currency but none for them to make fake USA coins. In China many fake Morgans, Peace dollars, fake ASE have been made. People not aware buy them online, they think they are getting a good deal buying a silver eagle way below melt price. There's also fake gold eagles etc. In Europe fake USA coins have been made, pre-1933 gold, etc. It's always wise to buy from well known online dealers and good coin shops. I don't know if the recent surge in silver/gold prices will cause more counterfeits, it sure could, fake coins, fake bars, fake jewelry. Sadly with newbies starting to buy silver/gold they may get cheated. There's Youtube videos of collectors showing fake coins, interesting to watch. For myself I use a weight scale, caliper, magnet, ping tester and if need be my local coin dealer has an XRF and Sigma, he tests coins/bars for free. He has people come to sell stuff, some test as fakes unfortunately. Edited by livingwater 12/24/2025 08:43 am Report this Post to the Staff
oriole Pillar of the Community Canada 5238 Posts	Posted 05/31/2026 9:06 pm Sigma testers aren't cheap, but in my LCS it has paid for itself many times over. If it detects one fake 1/4 gold, it has more than paid for the cost Report this Post to the Staff
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