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 Replies: 18 / Views: 2,299 |
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Valued Member
United States
108 Posts |
Hi All, Can you help a newb out and post a few tips about how you cull the pseudo from the real in your coin hunting? I am really trying to not be discouraged, and I get that to really arm myself I need to learn more. I plan on picking up a loupe, and a scale (pls make a recommendation for a >$50 digital brand?); any other items I should consider? A few 'fake coin alarms' I have gleaned in my reading of the internetz: magnetic check 'ring' test coin weight/thickness/measurement bubbles in fields or general 'fuzziness' (indicative of casting, unless known dug coin) faint or 'sandwich line' in reeding poor denticles 'off looking' dates (compared against known good) Always purchase from a trusted source Any other sage wisdom you can offer for a guy like me looking to hedge himself from the scammers? I will offer my 'Gracias' in advance  -Jay |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Just some general advice but if its too good to be true it probably is. If you stick with reputable dealers you shouldnt have much of a problem if at all. If your buying on say ebay stay away from all sellers from China and personally I only buy from US sellers. You can also buy slabbed coins if for nothing else to know theyre real especially for key dates. If you dont like slabs you can at least look at slabbed coins as a comparison to weed out poorly done fakes. Finally if you have any doubts either pass on it or post pictures/get more opinions on it. But dont be scared to let a coin go you arent sure about. |
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Valued Member
 United States
108 Posts |
Thx baseball! As my tooth gets longer, I am learning how to walk away more and more. I have learned to hate the impulse and emotion buys!
-Jay
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Hopefully that helps. I should add too that a few people here and a number of people do actively collect fakes. Theres nothing wrong with buying fakes if you know thats what your buying for a lower price of course and you can use those to see what to look out for
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4337 Posts |
your best bet is to google hard and the china sites to buy counterfeits will appear. They cost $2 for a $500 coin if it were real and if you build as much of a type set out as you can of those you will have your in-hand reference. I have 30 or so modern day chinese fakes that would blow your mind away.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
The lesser value coins are really not worth counterfeiting. When you get into the key dates and more expensive coins, that is when you have to start being more careful.
Best rule of thumb to start off in those cases is, as mentioned above, " if it seems to good to be true, it most likely is " ........... or at the very least it deserves a lot more due diligence.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
Quote:
The lesser value coins are really not worth counterfeiting. Sadly, that assurance evaporated back in 1954 when Francis Leroy Henning started counterfeiting nickels. Just plain, average, old nickels. I get hundreds of common-date fake silver dollars across my desk in the average year. Even fake silver in fake PCGS and NGC slabs. They're ubiquitous nowadays, playing off of the price of silver. The only way to avoid counterfeits is through education and knowing the details of genuine coins. Repetition is the key to education is repetition. But aye, "if it seems too good to be true" it *always* is. :-) Edited by SteveCaruso
04/03/2013 10:19 pm
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Valued Member
United States
108 Posts |
Hi Steve, Thanks for the reply; I read a post on another coin forum where folks were talking about buying a small lot of fake junk ag from China that really got my interest piqued. I really couldn't believe that the counterfeiter folk would bother with a margin so small (but I guess it all adds up). I found the link I was looking at. Hoping sharing it is not a violation etc (please advise mods?): http://realcent.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22539 On a side note, any scale/MM gauge tool recommendations? Will harbor freight stuff work just fine or is it worth spending a wee bit more for better? Thank you, Jay |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
The margin is actually quite large. 50¢ worth of scrap copper, plus ~15¢ of silver electroplating can be made into a convincing enough non-magnetic silver dollar which weighs to spec that can easily pass as genuine for $30+.
Any scale that measures to 1/10th of a gram and calipers that measure to a 1/10th of a mm should be fine for detection purposes.
Edited by SteveCaruso
04/04/2013 8:29 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
You've got a pretty good generalized start on things. Scale: Needs 0.01g accuracy. This is the one I own and trust through experience; note - I just found and linked the first auction showing it, and I've no comment either on price or seller quality: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DigiWeigh-D...em27d1772453With that said, another strong possibility is a scale designed for gun reloading. A reputable reloading scale deals in drastically smaller increments than necessary for numismatics, with the user's life on the line depending on the accuracy of the measurement. Much more expensive, but unquestioned accuracy. Loupe: Use a double-lens, switchable product offering, say, 5x + 10x + both. "Cheap" hurts less than "expensive" here by comparison to a scale; the tradeoff is in smaller optical "sweet spots" and a little eyestrain. But you need variable magnification. I own this one (same caveats as the link above): http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-US-BAUS...em27d16cdc96It does all I need from it. Next step: Specialize. Counterfeit Detection is a very knowledge/experience-intensive occupation. Aside the generalities you (accurately) state above - and mind you, these generalities require a whole_lot of experience to apply with confidence - start small. Choose the issue which appears attractive, the thing you want to collect (don't generalize while you're still new), and learn who does what and when with that specific issue. Point being, contemporary counterfeits of Classic issues have a cachet and collectability of their own; the fact that you see a counterfeit Bust Half doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. It's clear that your head is straight and your thinking clear on the subject. Proceed in the direction you're headed. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1888 Posts |
Note regarding S-D's scale sale link above: Do NOT pay the 29.95 asking price. I just bought one using the 'make offer' button for $25. I have no idea how low the seller is willing to go, but my offer was instantly accepted.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
May I invite you to the World Coin part of this coin community where we have incredibly in depth discussions on Counterfeit Detection. Counterfeiting is a very big problem on the "dark side" and we have been helping each other for years to learn to detect problem coins. Here is an example of a current thread still evolving on the World Coin page https://goccf.com/t/138487 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4337 Posts |
Quote:
on the "dark side" what's the dark side? |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1351 Posts |
It is reference to foreign coins by US collectors and vice versa...we call US coins the dark side as well. |
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Valued Member
United States
108 Posts |
Thank you all! You've given me some excellent fodder. Now to ruminate!
-Jay
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Replies: 18 / Views: 2,299 |
Posted 04/03/2013 6:29 pm
