Is coin counterfeiting that rampant?

I see a lot of threads here asking if a certain coin is counterfeit. Is counterfeit coins that much of a problem in our hobby? I understand the concerns over the Chinese, but what about older coins? How many counterfeit 1909S VDB coins are there? Is there that much of a chance you could get a fake one? What about other coins that aren't that valuable that are minted? Are they worth counterfeiting? How hard is it to counterfeit a coin? I don't know anything about this. That's why I'm asking you guys. To me it just seems a little overblown to worry about buying a counterfeit coin.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

There's an extremely good chance. I bought (and luckily was able to return) a counterfeit VF-30 1795 Capped Bust dollar that was good enough to fool not only the dealer who sold it to me, but 2 of the other 4 dealers I showed it to before getting my money back. Had it not been a reputable dealer and had I not sent the coin to be certified, I would have been out thousands of dollars.

That episode has changed how I buy coins. Now, I won't give into an impulse to buy what appears to be a great deal unless the coin is certified or I know the dealer or individual very well (and have the ability to return the coin if it turns out to be a Chinese fake.)

 

Well it really depends on how you define rampant Better than 99% of all the coins you come across will be genuine. But the number of counterfeits, even of common pieces, are probably an order of magnitude, possibly two orders, greater than what it was even ten years ago. And the number of counterfeits of key date or expensive coins is probably even worse. You asked how many fake SVDB's there are out there. Probably at least as many as there are genuine coins. And for things like Seated Liberty dollars or trade dollars if you are looking at a raw coin chances are probably 75% that it is a fake. If you are looking at it on eBay that percentage is probably better than 90%. Counterfeits of the popular key date coins in the popular series are available by the roll. And although I said that 99% of the coins you encounter will be genuine, that is changing. They aren't making any more of those old US coins at the Mint, but the counterfeiters are. That means that as time passes the percentage of fakes will keep increasing, and their quality will keep improving..

 

More 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cents and 1916-D Mercury Dimes sit in collections than were minted. And more are made every day. Counterfeiters not only counterfeit key dates; no coin is immune to their skills. If your authentication skills are not good you should stick to buying slabbed coins (from the Top Four TPGs) or buying raw coins only from trusted dealers with a good return policy.

 

PCGS has on its website an old archive about the 1916-D Mercury Dime: 250,000 Struck, Half a Million in Collections.

You can buy a blind horse from an Amish farmer.

If you do not know your coins, know your dealer.

Buy the book before you buy the coin.

Keep your powder dry.

One if by land; two if by sea.

Tippicanoe and Tyler Too.

Remember the Alamo.

Remember the Maine.

Remember Pearl Harbor.

Brush after every meal.

... and watch out for fake coins...

 

"
"Is coin counterfeiting that rampant?"

It onlyseems that way if you spend a lot of time reading hysterical posts about ebay madness.

 

you make me want to go check my coins now if there real or not Oo are Are most counterfeits attracted to magnet?

 

Three basic things you can do to protect yourself from getting ripped off/stuck with a fake coin:
1. What I do to protect myself is buy only slabbed/certified coins if they are key dates, or exceed a certain dollar threshold.

2.The other thing I do is to arm myself with knowledge. There are many books out there that will show you the correct diagnostics for expensive, key date coins, you should read these, it will help you to be able to eliminate fakes yourself.
My concern is that these books are public knowledge. How long is it before the counterfitters include the minor details that distinguish authentic coins from fakes in their counterfeit examples?

3. Here's where a trusted dealer comes in. Find one, and they do exist, who stands by his or her product. Many will state that they guarantee their coins to be authentic for life. What that means is that if you buy a coin from them, and it is determined to be fake some time down the road, they will give you a full re-fund.
Much like in life, there are land-mines in this hobby. By following the three steps above, you greatly reduce your chances of stepping on the "fake coin" land-mine.

 

Well, they use to be. However, most replicas coming out of China are now being struck on non-ferrous planchets, and in some cases, the alloys are correct. So the "old magnet test" probably won't help much in determining whether your coins are genuine.

 

I have to disagree. I think it all depends on how much time and effort you put into it. I do a good bit of research before I buy any coin and am 100% sure all mine are genuine and unaltered (although I used to have a fake nickel, but that doesn't count because I knew it). If you are an impulse buyer than yes, you probably have a fake one or two, but the collectors who take their time and know what they're doing probably don't have any fakes.
Thanks,
Tyler

 

If weight and size(L,H,W, Diameter) match what are the chances of a very rare coin being fake. Notice I left out diagnostics which I believe are the final test of coins. You know what I mean: die wear & die scratches in exact locations, color etc. zeke

 

I agree with Doug. I have fakes I know about, and I am sure I have fakes I do not know are fakes yet. I may never know. As long as coins have been worth more than melt value, there have been fakes of them. If you own raw coins, (or slabbed ancients), and you do not think you own fakes you are probably deluding yourself. I will preface that with size. If you own 50 coins there is a good chance you do not have a fake. I own somewhere around 25,000, not including wheat pennies, so I know some are fakes, just not sure which ones.

 

If your trusted dealer can make mistakes, what's to say some of these slabbed coins are fake?

 

I never saw a fake (other than a copper plated 1943 steel cent) that was magnetic until about three or four years ago. And for the most part the Chinese counterfeiters got away from the magnetic alloy within just a year or two. So the magnetic fakes are just a minority of the fakes but everyone keeps recommending that as a test.

Even back when they didn't have a written guarantee of authenticity.

 

Just be careful when you're buying coins, whether in person or on ebay. Make sure you know the features that distinguish real ones from counterfeits. I used to think early on that "oh, the chinese will only fake the coins that are worth it, the ones that are more expensive" but then you go on ebay and see what they're producing. I personally collect Russian coins, not US ones. I have seen $2 BIN listings by Chinese sellers of replicas of Russian coins that would cost you $15-$30 genuine. Scary, but if you know the dinstinguishing features it makes it easier to get by. And whenever you're not sure, post a photo and ask people who are more experienced to give you an opinion instead of taking the risk and getting burned.

 

Let me put it this way, there are way more counterfeit 1909-S VDB Lincoln cents and 1916-D Mercury dimes than authentic. If I were buying any of those coins, I would buy them in a PCGS or NGC slab from a coin show or dealer. Never off the internet.

 

Great minds think alike.