Feeling A Bit Squeamish With All The Fakes...photos To Show

It is only a matter of time before local craigslist posting, auctions, antique shops, and pawn shops are saturated with this stuff and it is going to cause a lot of collateral damage to the hobby. If a newbie (or experience collector) keeps getting burned they are less likely to continue collecting. I know that I'm much more cautious when purchasing coins, currency, and bullion now. It is unfortunate, you shouldn't need to be an expert in counterfeiting techniques to enjoy the hobby.

It is alarming. I also feel like I may never know enough to be able to spot the fakes.
As I get better-- so do the fakes!
I am also concerned that if it does drive people from the hobby, my collection will lose value. It isn't like I am ever going to be rich, but I hope one day to sell it for the then value of what I am paying now to enjoy my hobby (minus the lost interest I could have had if I put it away in something other than a Dansco album).
But seriously, it makes me consider whether I just want to sell it all now and take up learning Spanish or jogging as a hobby instead.

Yes it is definitely scary going forward. I like the comment about as we get better at spotting the fakes, the fakes get better.

I usually cannot spot a fake just by looks. I need to measure and weigh it, usually those two numbers will tell the truth.

I am more scared about fake PCGS and NGC slabs.

Its a sad reality, and it's the reason why I rarely buy coins anymore, and I don't even bother with higher end coins because the amount of research needed to identify fakes plus the risk of buying a fake just isn't worth it for me. That's an extremely depressing reality for a collector like me, and I think it will eventually lead to the ultimate demise of coin collecting, well before the last coins are minted by various governments around the world.

I don't have any that weighed correctly, though I am waiting on one that is fake to arrive in the mail now so I can send it back. Maybe it will weigh correctly, who knows?

I have a couple fakes that I bought knowing they were fakes because they were in an album that I wanted. The seller was clear they were fakes and I thought it would be good education. They scared me a lot. It was a fake of every dollar you would use for type all the way through up to the peace. I only was able to pick one out with my eye as fake and one as looking off. They all passed magnet test. They were all off on the weight a little.

I do worry about collecting and have put my type album on hiatus for a while. I was going to start a commemorative circulated set because that thread in the commemorative section was amazing. But not now. I am thinking about selling most of my stuff off except circulated silver sets of the current and recent regular denominations. I feel okay with circulated franklin, walking liberty, barber half, roosevelt and mercury and Washington quarter. Execept that pcgs (my 16-D dime) is going to have fakes soon and ruin that investment.

How will I feed my collector bug in me? I don't know. Keep putting together circulated roosevelt and washington sets? Except even a 1932 D quarter is on your fake list.

I am really at a crossroads on whether I want to sell it all before the hobby becomes like stamps. Maybe for a different reason than stamps did, but still. If there are no buyers, then I have very expensive pocket change in my safe when the time comes.

Could you post some pictures of these?

I have about 30 counterfeits from the no-no site. Do you guys want me to post pictures of all of them?

@ the mods: where would be the best place to post them if there is a resounding yes to the above question?

I would like to see some pictures, so I know what I'm (we're) up against