Funny Stuff

A bank teller showed me a counterfeit $50 bill about 5 years ago that had Grant in the water mark winking.[:0]

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Originally posted by national dealer

Kyra please tell us all. I am one of a few dealers in the area that works with the local law enforcement on counterfeiting. When I give seminars I love to bring the large denominations and obsolete bills to throw everyone off. The best counterfeiting case that I have heard of is the one from Texas a few years back. The gentleman was washing $1 bills and printing $20 over the cleaned paper. Of course the detecting pens would show legitimate bills. His downfall came when he shared his working knowledge with another person who then turned him in.

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I've been closely following both threads on counterfeits and find the subject fascinating, mostly 'cause I know so little about it, especially with paper money.

ND, one query: why would any reputable dealer NOT want to cooperate with local law enforcement with regard to counterfeit money? Seems to me it's in their best interest to educate themselves, keep current with counterfeiting technology, learn what counterfeiting activities might be happening locally, detect such fakes, and report them. It follows that a dealer could become a victim himself without this knowledge and l/e cooperation: it would be logical that a fence would try to buy rare coins with bad money for high-gain "investment"; further, potential customers could become suspicious of items he sold if it was learned that such a dealer was perceived to be on the wrong side of the fence. What have I missed?

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Originally posted by national dealer

What have you missed? The simplest form of a given person. Laziness. Most dealers are like any other person. They want the best return for the least amount of effort. I know of many dealers who still get burned on simple fake coins. They do not wish to take the time and effort to learn. If for some reason they accidently learn something, they will guard that information like a national secret.
In the past year I have repeatedly asked many dealers to join in on the forums and help people learn, and have yet to see any. There is a certain advantage to having more knowledge than most, but personally I see an educated customer as the best customer. They spend more money, buy better material, and stay with you longer. I guess that some dealers need to feel special and smart. If they shared what little they actually knew, most would avoid them like the plague.

Please let me know if that is too subtle again

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Oh. A people reason. I thought there might be some sinister underlying reason such as a suspicion of local law enforcement personnel or a dealer's hidden agenda (e.g., he's a closet counterfeiter or he's somewhat less than ethical and doesn't want his guilt to be observed in the company of his peers) or some sort of antiestablishment mentality at work. Laziness is the singlemost reason for peoples' failures: failure to study hard enough in school because it's too much work keeps people out of college; failure to work hard enough because it's too much work keeps people from being promoted or a business from expanding; failure to love hard enough because it's too much work keeps people unhappy; failure to strive hard enough because it's too much work keeps peoples' lives mediocre. And now failure to continue to educate oneself and pass along hard earned knowledge because it's too much work not only cheats themselves, but it also cheats the paying customers both short-term and long-term by denying them this knowledge so they themselves would not be cheated.

VERY Interesting topic Kyra. Why don't you write an article and post it in the article section about it. I would love to have the information.

catman

Kyra

Great.... I will look forward to it.

catman