Fake Coins/Slabs/Cert # The Birth Of A New Buisness Awaits

One problem with Buckeye's suggestion is it would have to be something that can be verified easily without serious equipment at coin shows and shops and in digital images such as on ebay. If it isn't then it doesn't really provide protection against fake slabs. it might protect the TPG but not the collector if he still has to buy the slab and send it off for testing to find out if it is real or not.

Photographing all the coins you grade so people can compare the coin to the photo is good (That's why the TPG's originally used photocertificates). NGC has done well with this, but you still have the problem that 1.) They have only been doing so for about 5 or 6 years and there are 28 years worth of slabs out there. 2>) They see to be more interested in pictures of the slab than quality images of the coin in the slab. 3.) Screen resolution will never allow you as good an image as you can get with an actual photograph.

The real key is old fashioned education. Back in the "bad old days" before the TPG's education was what protected the collector from getting ripped off. The TPG's were to allow you to avoid getting ripped off without having to go to the bother of all that education. But today it is that old fashioned education that you need to keep fro being ripped off at a much higher level because of the fake slabs.



I hate to tell you this but there are a lot of dealers out there that can buy and sell based on slab labels and graysheets, and they may even be able to grade well, but they can't identify counterfeits. And they definitely can't identify fake slabs.

I love going to the GSNA yearly show with a fantasy date Morgan or two in my pocket and ask around for how much they're worth. Some dealers will flip through the Gray Sheet three or four times scratching their chins where far too few will look at me and say, "That's a good fake!" or "Nice try!" :-)

When they see the binder of counterfeits from The Black Cabinet's stacks I usually carry around, eyes widen and some don't believe some of them are fake until they notice the COPY stamp on the reverse.

Even the seasoned dealers get caught when a few fake slabs are mixed in with a lot made up of of real slabs.

I have to say that I have come to LOVE the TrueView imaging offered by PCGS. I am very tempted to sign up and send in some of my toned Morgans and have them TrueViewed. I honestly think that NGC's slab photos are sufficient for the purpose of comparison. At least with the NGC coins I own, so far, there has always been some "marker" on the coin to go by. The photos expand to a decent size too, so that helps.

Yep! Quite large, in fact. It took me awhile to realize you could expand the photos, but I'm really glad I eventually did.

You gotta know the coin in the holder, IMHO. Know the features that signify an authentic coin and know your grading. Education is key.

For example, when I get a new Bust half, I very quickly pull out my Overton book to verify it.

I downloaded that and just got around to trying it out on some of my slabs. It works really well, but it only has an option to scan PGCS slabs (not NGC or ANACS). So, I looked at the app store and found another app from NCG that will scan their bar codes. That one also works very well, and has the advantage of displaying the images of the coin from the NGC website.

All of my PCGS and NCG slabs scanned in as authentic, except for one NGC slab whose bar code couldn't be read. It's in an older NGC holder and the coin doesn't have an image on the NGC website, so that may explain it. What worries me, though, is that the bar code itself looks a bit funky. The coin itself, however, seems perfectly legitimate:





This was not a cheap coin, but I bought it from a reputable dealer at a large coin show and am really hoping it isn't a counterfeit...

@barryg - The barcode scans properly for me if I use any other barcode scanner *but* the NGC app, and it matches (i.e. the proper information is stored in it). :-) NGC's app simply seems to use a crappy barcode algorithm.

@Joe2007 I feel same as you, one of my brothers had a decent collection of coins/currency and whatever he packed away in the last 30 years but sold off all his stuff said the fun is out of it for him maybe the younger crowd can deal with the extra steps we older guys need to take in educating ourselves that involves time and money that would be better spent doing what we enjoy not having to worry if we have been ripped off. There are members on this forum who are going to try and create more awareness to the problem of counterfeiting and at least its worth a try.