One of the most common sentiments expressed by collectors with regard to counterfeits is the misconception that only rare or valuable coins are forged today. That is an error that causes counterfeiters to flourish. A counterfeiter will make anything which will allow him to make a profit. Depending on the individual the margins vary widely. Many of the Chinese forgers are still content with a margin of $1 per copy. Some, especially the guys who have started striking fakes in silver, want margins of $10 or more. But the idea that they need to target coins worth hundreds of dollars is simply wrong.
I have related the story about the counterfeiter making US quarters in 1999 to pass into circulation. His margin had to be no more than a few cents each. In earlier times, smaller denomination circulating coins were targeted - 5 cent coins in the 1950s and 1 cent coins in the early decades of the 20th century. In the 1800s, the 1/4 real (worth 3 cents or so) was a target up to the time of the Civil War. In the US, one of my favorite forgeries is the German Silver copy of the Star
Three Cent piece struck from crude hand engraved dies. First published in 1970 by Hancock and Spanbaur it was initially thought to be a single die pair emmission, but in 2001 I discovered a second but very similar die pair in the inventory of a North Carolina dealer.
Just yesterday I received the following counterfeit in the mail:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...m=8420064479I bid on the coin because it has odd lumps covering the surface. I wondered if they were simple accretions attached to the surface or if they were part of the coin. In person they are clearly created by damage in the mold surface. The coin is the product of a transfer die. It is a casting that has been edged with an essentially correct edge design on a two die edger. The mold surfaces look like a fine grained "Plastic" was used to make the transfer, but the forger did not allow sufficient time for the matrix to set fully.
I point this coin out because as a Numismatic item its value is minimal. This is essentially only a silver bullion item and in most inventories it will hardly warrant a second look. That is how it slips by.
I have yet to hear back from the seller, but I suspect it is a Chinese product. Based on the seller's
ebay name and other items he sells, I think he imports misc. items from China and is a reseller on
ebay. These sellers are passing many forgeries into the market place possibly without knowing they are doing so.
Posted 05/26/2006 8:25 pm
