A New Way To Deter Counterfeits?

We ought to start using things like that.

Buddy - it seems the consumer only requires a smartphone which I believe a fair number of us do own one. Sure it's not necessarily cheap but prices are coming down.

The biggest challenge that I can see is that if this technology does work as what it claims, counterfeiters would have no choice but to hire hackers to modify database and upload their data instead. The whole idea is to make their jobs a lot harder.

...this could potentially put a stop to people selling their prescriptions illegally on the streets,
which would save a lot of lives!

Might just work. I wonder how this would work at a coin show where you could just scan any coin you were interested in.
And as already noted, I too think hackers would jump on this.

Basically the "new" technique is to look really closely at your coins and compare them to previously made images Kind of like NGC's photos, or to use a computer to do a "digital fingerprint" and compare it to a previously made one. (kind of like what PCGS did back in 1991, and does currently with Secure Plus submitted coins.)

There has been a huge leap in new technology. Take for instance cellphones and computers made in between 1991 and 2015. Huge changes.

I found this video by 'coin'cedence. Let's look at this technology used in Japan mint. This is used to reject defects at 750 coins per minute. The way it works is that it compares its database of acceptable coins and culls anything that is different. Japanese mint error coins are actually VERY hard to come across. I've seen a couple in hand but that was it. The technology does exist - it's only a matter of how feasible you can bring the cost down and make it applicable.

Note - fast forward to 2:17. I can't figure out how to post the video at that time frame.



Inevitably, there is a need to look at newer technology to thwart counterfeiters. Unlike banknotes where you can keep adding new elements and make them harder to be counterfeited, the same cannot be applied to coins that have already been struck.

With slabbed coins - the last thing I want to know after paying a fortune is that they end up in a list of blacklist a few years down the road due to counterfeiters bluntly copying serial numbers. You may struggle to sell it as its difficult to prove that yours is not one of the counterfeit slabs and end up having to send it for regrading again. Not widespread yet but I dare say it is a matter of time.

The problem with trying to use this for raw coins is twofold, first the owners of raw coins need to know this technology existed and secondly those that do are willing to take the time and effort to photograph their coins and submit them for entry into the data base.

I can't imagine too many coin dealers with large raw coin inventories taking the time to do this. As for collectors, they already own the coin so they would think it does not matter to them since they are not interested in selling their collection anytime soon anyway.

I photograph each new acquisition to my collection upon receipt and I doubt that I would send my pictures for that database. I do not want big brother knowing exactly what I have because they will keep a record of who submitted what even though they "officially" say they will not.