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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
About the acid... isn't it a bit risky to use it? I mean, if the coin turns to be authentic it will be burnt. Not risky per se, but I'd like to smack the idiot who tested a clearly marked and serial #ed .999 silver proof oz with COA. |
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Valued Member
 Spain
134 Posts |
Quote:Now, this is a Russian silver 20 Kopeks from 1914. I got various of these coins (also of 10 and 15) and most are off weight -off by 5% to 10% less than they should-. They also show this strange field, which I never saw in any other coins but these Russian ones.  I asked other people, and without even seeing the coins, they told me that there are a lot of Russian fake silver coins around. What do you think? I'm still having a lot of doubts about these Russian Silver Kopek coins. First, they are sold quite cheap on ebay -they were about BV last year, but now they went up a bit- when its catalog price is considerably higher; second, most are in quite high grades (EF, AU, UNC); third, most come from Eastern European sellers with few points that mostly sell only this type of coins; fourth, the weight is usually off by more than 1%, though it is true that the weight of these coins is quite low -from 0.90g to 3.60g-; and fifth, the field just doesn't look right to me. Anyway, I was nearly convinced they were all fine, but just today I bought another lot, and look what came in... I mean, do you think this can be a genuine design or minting error on this 1862 20 Kopeks?   Edited by silvermaniac
04/03/2012 7:42 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
You point out an obvious problem, which "could" be the way it was designed, but gubmint mints seldom allow such sloppy work. Now look at these three images:    The first is around 10 o'clock, the second is the same area, inverted to compare to the opposite side of the coin. It might be the lighting, but they don't even look similar to me. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Around 10, they change from UUUUUU to VVVVVV.
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Valued Member
Spain
134 Posts |
Thanks Fred; just checked that out... it seems like it was the light; they are Us all around the coin.
I did further tests on all coins:
- Silver content seems to be fine.
- Diameter and thickness, also fine.
- Weight... well, apart from some of them underweight -probably due to wear-, and 1 that is 4% overweight, nothing else special.
- Checked out the design in photoshop against another coin of the same type from a numismatic catalog... an exact match... without the mistake on the top right corner, of course.
- Even checked the ring tone... all the same -for all the coins from different sellers-.
I just don't know... I think I'll never be convinced either way; nor will I buy any more of these coins, no matter how cheap they go.
Edited by silvermaniac
04/07/2012 8:58 pm
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Valued Member
Spain
134 Posts |
A question, and thought...
Do you think there are fakes that are so good that it would be practically impossible to detect it?
If so... would it matter? I mean, if it can't be detected, would it matter if it's a fake or not?
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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Do you think there are fakes that are so good that it would be practically impossible to detect it? Absolutely. Quote:
If so... would it matter? I mean, if it can't be detected, would it matter if it's a fake or not? It matters as soon as better detecting abilities are available. |
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Valued Member
Spain
134 Posts |
Wow, I wasn't expecting that answer... I thought there was always something that gave up a fake. Do you know of any infamous case of nearly perfect fakes being discovered?
I also thought counterfeiters only bothered with valuable coins, but just the other day my friend bought an really inexpensive copper fake. Why would anyone bother in faking a $2 copper coin?
Edited by silvermaniac
05/04/2012 04:38 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
Do you know of any infamous case of nearly perfect fakes being discovered? Omega gold, Henning nickels, micro o Morgans (even got their own VAM listings, they were that good). Quote:
I also thought counterfeiters only bothered with valuable coins, but just the other day my friend bought an really inexpensive copper fake. Why would anyone bother in faking a $2 copper coin? If you can make 1000 $2 coins that no one is likely to look at, you made $2000. How much did you make this week? |
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Valued Member
Spain
134 Posts |
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If you can make 1000 $2 coins that no one is likely to look at, you made $2000. How much did you make this week? They could be making easier stuff that sells for $2; and also much easier to sell... how do you sell 1000 bad copper fakes in a week?  Edited by silvermaniac
05/04/2012 12:16 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
how do you sell 1000 bad copper fakes in a week?
Why do you want to know?  |
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Valued Member
Spain
134 Posts |
You caught me, I spent all week making cheap fake coins, and now I can't get rid of them...  |
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Moderator
 United States
189120 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
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how do you sell 1000 bad copper fakes in a week? You make about 100 of 20 different ones and put them up on ebay under a dozen or so different accounts. Vary it around a bit, keep increasing the range of coins you are making and vary the values from the $2 to the $20 range. You will be able to move a ton of fakes that way. |
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Posted 03/10/2012 2:49 pm
