A List Of Counterfeit Coins That Are Being Sold

I am thankful for the list of what you posted here, but it also scares me to death. I recently have just started buying off ebay and it seems (to me at least) almost impossible for me to determine from the pictures that are listed sometimes to be able to determine accurately. I plan on not buying any coin off ebay over 100$. I hope if any of you out there have any "copy" coins, like the pictures (Like the ones Nickel Guy posted) please put them up for us to look at. I don't have near the knowledge that some of you do so the more I can learn the better. Thanks for the posts. PS, Nickel Guy where did you obtain that list you posted?

I would not say because the list came from a very pleasant person from ASIA and while the fakes are illegal to sell in the USA that seller adds COPY or REPLICA to them when he sells them to the USA buyers on auction sites, so I am told.

I bought them for my own collection and so I could learn from them so I could avoid getting ripped off. I personally would NEVER sell these and the holders I have them in say counterfeit copy should they end up in my estate when I am gone.

It is not difficult to get these but I will not promote it in any way. Some people may go and use them for dishonest resale. The seller opted to not stamp the coins with a punch that says COPY but I did not get them by auction.

There are many places to get them, I have mixed feelings about being part of the problem by supporting this practice when I bought them but then on the other hand what I have posted is for the good of the hobby and therefore I don't lose any sleep over it.

Please, be careful with how you present any of these fakes should you acquire any.

As for being nervous about buying coins (anywhere) I suggest what the old-timers told me when I first got started collecting. Pick a series that you like and study that series. I chose Jefferson nickels since they were readily available for a nickel a piece and after awhile, I could tell what was typical for each and every date and mint and grade in the series.
I then kept those that were above average for each date. I soon learned that certain dates had weak strikes or were from worn dies and when I found one that looked as if it was well struck with lots of sharp lettering and full steps for example, I knew I had something a bit more special. I saved all the better ones even if they were as common as a 1963 D. A typical 1963 D Jefferson in MS65 might be bought for $5.00 but find an MS65 with sharp details and 5 steps and you have a very scarce coin worth hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars to a collector of full step nickels. There are a lot of other specific coins in the series that have similar circumstances.
It also goes the same for Mercury dimes with full split bands, Franklin halves with Full bell lines, Standing Liberty quarters with Full heads and on and on. Then there are varieties with doubled dies and re-punched mintmarks. Lots to learn.
If you held a FAKE Jefferson 2 feet away from me now I think I could tell that it was not right.

You can pick any series and the experience of studying them will pay off. Once you are pretty good at one series, the lesson you learned will help with all coins.




I also agree it would be great if there was an inexpensive service to certify authentic coins. The holder could be inexpensive like the Canadian coins are with ICCS and you could grade it yourself.
I don't think I would go with SGS though.

Your kidding of course. China has no such thing as a only make expensive stuff fakes. They make all kinds of things that are fakes and sell for a few dollars or less. My favorites are batteries. I haven't the slightest idea of how to really spell that Duracell thing anymore. I've seen Dinocell, Denocel, Danocell and many, many more. And even some with the correct spelling whichever that is. And those all sell for pennies. So making a coin that sells for over a dollar is well worth it for them.

Prethen, how about that 1885 3CN he posted earlier. Yes I know it wouldn't fool you or me, but I bet it would fool a fair number of collectors and even some dealers because they DON'T know the series real well.

Here is an older thread I started showing how some of these have a porous surface. This is one of the Chinese fakes from one of the buyers that was the largest on ebay until they kicked him off.

https://goccf.com/t/88814

Read further down the thread and you will see where I also got a 1799 silver fake from the same guy. It would be very hard to tell it as a fake except the front die and back die belong to two different coins.

Thanks, fcrazo....whoever has put together this flickr stream has done collectors a great service!

I'm kinda speechless with the amount of fakes out there. I thought the reales coins were heavily copied but it appears all is fair game.