| Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,625 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1308 Posts |
I've been saying for years, that the Chinese fakes were going to mean the end of coin collecting as we used to know it. If they can now fool the grading services, how is the general public to defend themselves from such? I always hear & see stories of collectors/dealers telling us to learn & be diligent, but we can't stay this up to date on modern counterfeits. http://www.numismaticnews.net/artic...rs-warn-fake |
|
|
|
New Member
United States
37 Posts |
I don't know the answer, but this kind of thing does scare me. I can only hope the coins I collect are not worth counterfeiting (I don't have the money for the more expensive coins).
|
|
Valued Member
United States
344 Posts |
I've recently started building a little collection of counterfeit coins. I use them as examples to determine authenticity of other coins and also because they are kind of interesting.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
467 Posts |
I agree that it might be another one (of several) things that end coin collecting as we know it.
I actually got chose not to collect classic commemorative half dollars, something I really wanted to do at the time, because I could see that I was not very good at identifying fake coins. At that time, I was seeing a lot of fakes on that particular type of coins. I did not trust myself, so I just moved on to another type of collecting.
I also have learned to get pretty good at identifying fake coins in the area I have chosen to collect. Most of the time with world bullion, it will be either the real metal or not. Things are not so date dependent (to fake the date or mintmark) and when they are date dependent, frequently the obverse or reverse changes every year- and that is harder to fake. Even so, I am very careful.
But if I had been new and been burned a few times, I might have just given up on the whole thing. And stopped collecting.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
1308 Posts |
I keep leaning towards selling my key coins, before the bottom drops out of them. The lack of new collectors, and the influx of Chinese fakes, I'm afraid that coin collecting will go the way of sports cards & stamps.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
404 Posts |
Sports cards got destroyed by newer cards, they started including autograps and actual memorabilia on the actual cards like pieces of jerseys. The whole pack scheme changed too, now so,etimes people spend $500 on 1 pack, hoping to get a 20-50k card... These cards destroyed the value of cards that arent truly rare or special. However, the hobby is still going strong, the collector base has changed out of the hands of everybody into the hands of the few that can afford it...
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
757 Posts |
The general public probably doesn't have a clue as to counterfeit coins. I have been seeing more and more reports of people getting arrested trying to sell fake gold/silver though. That is definitely a start. If more people become aware of the counterfeit problem (and where it's being produced) maybe the elected officials could start doing something about stemming the problem. The counterfeit problem is really nothing collectors can battle themselves. Maybe the ANA should get some lobbyist to go to congress and show them the effect fakes are having on people. Without some sort of Governmental assistance upset collectors are going to get nowhere. While I'm holding my breath waiting for that to happen though, if you want to be safe from counterfeits you are going to have to do your homework. If that means you can only collect one series of coins so be it. Know the coins and their diagnostics. If you are unsure skip the purchase. I have gone a little farther than most people and purchased an xrf scanner and if the coin "just doesn't look right" I scan it. I have yet to find a counterfeit with the exact same metallic composition as the original. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
I keep leaning towards selling my key coins, before the bottom drops out of them. The lack of new collectors, and the influx of Chinese fakes, I'm afraid that coin collecting will go the way of sports cards & stamps Possibly might just happen. It appears that there are always some one out there that just has to ruin a hobby. I too remember when my Son was all nutty about sporting cards. Then we found you could buy them by the box of 500 for practically nothing. Then too he was into Hot Wheel cars looking for the Red Walled ones. Those too sort of faded into nothingness. Remember the Beanie Babies? Postage Stamps? So many hobbies come and go but coins have been around for a long, long time. I wonder sometimes how many people have fakes in their collections and don't know. |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
5239 Posts |
I am afraid that collectors can expect to see more and better fakes. There was a recent news report of some dealers taken in by fake Swiss gold bars (in fake packaging). So it is absolutely essential that we collectors learn more than the fakers.
I don't see such things as faked circulated common wheat cents anytime soon, but should that happen, it would surely mean the end of collecting as we know it.
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
I don't think we'll ever see an end to counterfeiting coins unless the Federal Government's counterfeiting task force comes down hard on fake coins like they do on currency . < Alex12780 > You might think you have a good reason to buy known counterfeits ,but if you keep buying them ,they will keep making them .Might want to buy illustrated books on the subject .
|
|
Valued Member
United States
344 Posts |
Heres a good article that pertains to the future of counterfeits. http://www.coinweek.com/opinion/cou...-the-future/When it comes to TPG imo I think imaging should be included for all slabbed coins. This would greatly reduce any chances of somebody buying a counterfeit coin in a counterfeit slab. |
|
Valued Member
United States
97 Posts |
The fake slabs have been around for a while and I've seen a few on ebay while browsing. If you look at enough slabs you get that sense when something is off with the fonts or security marks. I agree that pictures of slabbed coins tied to TPG numbers would help so long as the coins in the holders don't change too dramatically through toning (no info on that since I'm only a year into collecting). Actually, that project could help with another problem and that is the overinflated population reports arising from multiple submissions of the same coin for upgrade. I'm sure a member of this site would take that on using image analysis software! Just as with any valuable education is the key. TPG make mistakes in grading and authenticating coins as will I on occasion. Risk is part of any investment. Community members like the ones here help serve as a bulwark against fraud and that does give me hope! |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:The fake slabs have been around for a while and I've seen a few on ebay while browsing. The first fake slabs (ANACS)showed up back in March of 2007. NGC in August 2007, and PCGS in Feb 2008. |
| |
Replies: 12 / Views: 1,625 |
|
Posted 01/09/2017 9:11 pm
