|
Today is the last day for my five day detection of counterfeiting course. It has been the most informative and intense of the classes I've taken. While the Chinese counterfeiting course described by Hobo above deals with the modern advances in China, my course dealt with the traditional fakes and counterfeits that show up in dealer shops every day. We spent the few days looking at slides, hundreds of slides, for every often seen contemporary counterfeit, fake, and alteration in US coinage. We learned all the methods of faking coins and the ways to evaluate which method was used on particular fakes.
Yesterday Bob Campbell gave a very interesting talk on toning, its affect on the market, and most importantly a great amount of detail on how to differenciate NT from AT. There was plenty of fascinating history in this talk, some controversial to say the least.
Also we went to a lab to see how to construct a balance for determining specific gravity, and watched XRF at work (x-ray fluorescence), which can be used to determine the chemical composition of objects such as coins.
The rest of the class has been to look at fakes and alterations, all that is contained in the ANA library, and get a feel for each series, the types of fakes that are found, and the fastest methods for evaluating each. The gold is especially interesting, since they tend to be the most deceptive.
__________________
'The vanquished always seek to imitate their conquerors in their dress, insignia, beliefs, and other customs and usages...' - Ibn Khaldun, c. 1380
| 
