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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,740 |
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Valued Member
Guatemala
357 Posts |
Hi folks, It's been a while since I've been around, but life has been crazy since the move to Guatemala. I just wanted to let anyone considering buying coins from street vendors in Central America to be very, very careful. I've caught 3 street vendors in the last week selling counterfeits that looked good, but didn't pass the magnet test. The coins involved included colonial spanish coins, old Guatemalan coins, old Mexican coins, finca tokens, and 3 US coins. The prices asked ranged from Q150 to Q200, or about $18-25 USD. If I had negotiated, I'd have paid about half. When I told the vendors the coins were counterfeit, they all responded with the answer "Well, the guy in Zone 4 said they were real", or a variant of that. Zone 4 is a section of Guatemala City known for the Mercado Terminal, or "Thieves Market". Buyer beware! |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
reminds me of trips to China (PRC).
After sunset, "nightmarkets" take up space in the streets that are a little less busy than in the daytime.
The have quite and array of crafts, books, bric-a-brac, antiques, and junk.
There are always a few people selling coins - invariably recent fakes.
They'll ask $100, in the faint hope of getting lucky. When I offered $1, most accepted without hesitation. Makes me wonder how low they would have gone ...
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Moderator
 United States
187950 Posts |
 back, JMerrick! It is good to hear from you.  |
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Valued Member
 Guatemala
357 Posts |
Thanks JBuck,
I moved down to 'retire', so now I run 3 businesses and have two 'jobs'. And, since I'm the only producer of consumer packaged "corn meal" in Central America, I'm usually kinda busy these days. I gotta remember to stop retiring. This is like my 4th attempt... :)
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Valued Member
United States
426 Posts |
Wow your'e in a prime position to get a central american 8R. Do you ever see any around down there?
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
Quote:
I gotta remember to stop retiring. This is like my 4th attempt... :) Do not bother. You are not the first person to (repeatedly) try and (repeatedly) "fail" at retirement.  Just keep enjoying what you do. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
It almost makes me want to buy only certified coins....but they are faking them also.
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,740 |
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Posted 03/22/2012 11:58 am
