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 Replies: 12 / Views: 8,883 |
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Valued Member
United States
321 Posts |
Hi. I collect coins and like to buy graded coins. I try to stick with the top three, PCGS, NGC, and ANACS, but I sometimes go with others. In the past few months I've heard a lot about fake slabs and fake graded coins. I would like to know if there are any signs I should look for to tell if a slab is a fake. Also, what coins are "faked" more than others? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
NGC and PCGS both have serial numbers on their slabs. The first step would be to check their websites and confirm that the serial no. matches the coin.. Other than the companies you mentioned, the slabs are kind of worthless anyway, so if they are fake slabs, who cares ?
Generally people do not fake low value coins. Most fakes are of higher value coins. The best prevention for fake coins is education. If you are collecting a series, learn about that series, the characteristics of genuine coins and the tell tale signs of a fake.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4618 Posts |
Quote:
NGC and PCGS both have serial numbers on their slabs. The first step would be to check their websites and confirm that the serial no. matches the coin.. The problem is that the people making the fake coins use the data from NGC and PCGS for the fake slabs. Take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/coinforgeryebay/ This user has over 3500 photos and lots of information on fake coins found on ebay over the years. You may be able to contact him through Flickr and get more information about fake slabbed coins. Ben ANA ID: 3203813 - CONECA ID: N-5637 Clean a coin that may be worth collecting? Please DON'T! When in doubt, leave it dirty!! 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3453 Posts |
There are a couple of sites I have run across here that list diagnostics. The Black Cabinet is run by one of our members, it is an excellent source, IMHO. http://fakes.numismetrica.com/categ...abbed-coins/Byran1315 post this as well which is helpful, http://www.coincommunity.com/refere...Diagnostics/ Bottom line, buy the coin and not the slab. If the slab is fake, there is a good chance the coin inside is also fake or a switched out example of lower value. EDIT: Conder pointed out later in that thread that the About.com list is from the first generation of Chinese fakes. Bottom line: buy the coin and not the slab!  EDIT on the EDIT: Great site Yokozuna! Edited by CoinsKelly
02/03/2014 12:59 pm
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Pillar of the Community
872 Posts |
if you buy coins that are slabbed it is wise to have a similar coin type like anacs. weigh the slabbed coin and see if it is pretty close to what you bought next, do the magnet test to ensure the coin is not metallic - especially if it is supposed to be silver. I am sure there are subtle other things to look for, like bad holograms and such. in the past 2-3 weeks there was a post about someone buying fake slabbed CC Morgan dollars, and they arrested the guy, but he had an assembly line. How many more of these exist in the world....who knows = Edited by Collector-Corner
02/03/2014 2:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4618 Posts |
*repost of above* sorry!  ANA ID: 3203813 - CONECA ID: N-5637 Clean a coin that may be worth collecting? Please DON'T! When in doubt, leave it dirty!!
Edited by Yokozuna
02/03/2014 2:18 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5833 Posts |
These fakes are very good, it would fool most if you don't take the time to check.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
If youre really worried about it stick to PCGS secure plus slabs or the new ones theyre putting out now with the dupont holograms. Itll be a while before someone can counterfit the new ones if they can ever get that hologram right and the secure plus are the hardest to try and fake. CAC stickers are also another layer of protection. You can also check for old pictures of the coins on heritage and ebay and see if they match or if theres trueviews ect. Comparing them to real slabs you have also can help. Most slabs though are what they say they are and I wouldnt worry about it to much unless youre buying from shady sources trying to get the lowest possible price. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4594 Posts |
If you are ever offered something too good to be true, you should check AliBaba Express to see if your find is offered for sale.
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
Definitely be wary of off grading services. I found a seller on ebay selling MS=70 silver eagles, and uncirculated Morgan and Peace dollars, in slabs. I bought a few at great prices to make a quick profit, and found I was winning duplicates, so I took some to a local dealer. I especially did not like the lack of luster and excessive bag marks on one. He immediately bought it as a lower grade and cracked it out of the slab, saying it could not be sold in his shop as uncirculated. I agreed with him on the grade. I realized the better ones were not likely to grade where they were indicated, so I had my son break the slab. We do not like to sell in a misleading manner. Well, the slabs came apart easily, they were not glued. I was fortunate to break even, only because I won those that did not go too high. One mistake, and I will only accept PCGS and NGC as reliable. I learned about off slabs. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1666 Posts |
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Generally people do not fake low value coins. Most fakes are of higher value coins. Actually they fake common date Morgan dollars in high grades with the same high quality as they would for coins worth hundreds of dolalrs and up. Keep in mint it's still $40-$50 for less than $15 worth of silver and a tiny bit for production costs. Look at the coins listed here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/patriciardu...trksid=p3692The Morgans and Mexican 8 reales at the bottom are coins that most consider are "not worth faking" in solid silver, but in fact they are well worth it to the Chinese. |
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Valued Member
 United States
321 Posts |
A lot of good information here. I guess we live in an age where we need to be careful. Now with 3D printing on the way I'm sure we will have even more of these fakes. I still like buying slabbed coins but I don't think most of what I collect would be faked. I could be wrong. I'll use the information posted here. Thanks.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4618 Posts |
Here's a side by side of a Real 1955 DDO and a Fake 1955 DDO. Both are in PCGS slabs, but the label lettering is slightly different. An expert would spot the differences right away.  As for the coin, the fake looks like it should made of foil and filled with really bad chocolate. The problem is the people making these counterfeit slab and coins are getting better and better. This is an older fake, but I've read on the PCGS web site that some of the very rare coins that have been submitted lately are very close to looking like the real coin. It's like anything else. As the technology gets more advanced, the ability to verify a real coin from a copy is going to get to the point that most people will not be able to look at a coin and say for sure that it's real. I'm not sure how far in the future it will be, but it worries me. I only have a few raw variety coins with a high enough value that they will have to be certified before I sell them, but it makes every buyer think twice before they will buy high value coins and that hurts all coin collectors. Ben ANA ID: 3203813 - CONECA ID: N-5637 Clean a coin that may be worth collecting? Please DON'T! When in doubt, leave it dirty!!
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Replies: 12 / Views: 8,883 |
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Posted 02/03/2014 12:42 pm
