China is minting fake us coins by the thousands. Fake $20 gold pieces, morgan dollars, etc. They are also making very real looking coins in PCGS and ANACS slabs that could fool anyone without the use of a microscope. Many coin collectors are finding these fakes turning up at auctions and sales. I think a stop needs to be put on the Chinese minting fake us coins.
OK. I think raising a consciousness of the fact that there are many fakes coming out of China is about the extent that can be done. The Chinese are certainly producing an large number of the fakes that are on the market, but they are not the only ones.
Not gonna happen. US laws do not apply in China. And in China it is perfectly legal - even practically encouraged by the Chinese government - to create counterfeit coins PROVIDED THEY ARE DATED PRIOR TO 1949. And I don't forsee any retaliatory action taken by the US against China to stop the flow of Chinese counterfeits into our country. If we upset China they may not buy any more of our debt. Yep, this has been discussed here scores of times. BTW, welcome to CoinTalk.
Unfortunately, coins are just one of many items being faked. Luxury goods, tech devices, software, DVDs, have been counterfeited for many years, on a much larger scale, for much bigger profits. If Microsoft, with the best lawyers money can buy, can hardly make a dent, what chance do coin collectors have of stopping fake coins. Coin collectors have the ANA with a peashooter legal budget in comparison to MSFT and a few grading companies with not much more. So mostly it falls back on the collector to avoid the fakes. Some fakes are crude, some are better, some are really scary. Don't let the crude fakes give you a false sense of confidence. There are also fake slabs, sometimes with a real coin inside. Don't think that it is only expensive coins being faked. Fakes of relatively low cost items such as foreign minors and common U.S. Civil War tokens have been reported. For every online report of a fake there are likely a thousand fakes crawling around various venues.
China is minting coins after 1949 because I was on one china site and they had 1955 double dies for sale. http://www.aliexpress.com/product-f...-Copy-95-coper-manufacturing-wholesalers.html
Since it is not illegal in China to manufacture replica US coins, just how do you propose to stop them ? The mint in Shanghi has opened it's doors to reporters who have shown pics of the coins and the minting process. That same mint even showed the differences in their fake slabs compared to authentic ones. Really about all we can do is become educated buyers. I sure don't see anyone in an official capacity that can make demands on the Chinese. IMHO gary
You are absolutely correct. The counterfeiters are skirting the law. But Chinese authorities are much less concerned with someone making post-1948 US coins than post-1948 Chinese coins. I know - there are counterfeit modern Pandas coming out of China but apparently Chinese authorities turn a blind eye so long as the counterfeits are sold to unwary Americans and not Chinese citizens.
I just looked at that web site and that is a scary place. It would be nice if PCGS could do something since it is their slab being counterfeited as well.
Don't worry we are hurting them plenty devaluating the dollar with them holding trillions of treasury bonds. Their nearly free slave labor helps plenty make up for this kind of crap.
