You're the director of the one of the Top Three TPGs in operation. What actions would you implement inorder to address this counterfeit slab/coin problem looming now? Money is no object at this point and you have the support of every other legitimate TPG which would be (potentially) affected by this scourge. They are looking to you for leadership. What do you do...?
Since this is an issue that contacts ALL legitimate TPG, I would contact my peers and establish some sort of committee to work through ideas and solutions. That is the first step. I would focus some sort of copy protection schemes (they all get broken sooner or later) Public awareness and education And pressure from US Government to prosecute the guilty. I am sure there would be more Or, I could try to come up with the ultimate solution on my own and use it to crush the competition. Of course if I am wrong, they could crush me.
You could establish a "private key"-type system. Future coins sent in for authentication are provided a private registration number that is separate from the certification code on the slab itself. Current slabs could be sent in and, after re-authentication, sent back with a private registration code. Before selling a coin, the owner and holder of a private registration number validates the certification using the certification number and the private registration number at the TPG site, receiving in return a short-lived temporary "certification validated" code that any potential buyer could view the details on by calling or checking online. It would not be necessary to take names and locations, although extra information would be optional and helpful (such as location). On buying such a coin, the buyer would then receive the private registration number from the seller and could then petition the TPG as a new owner for a new private registration code, deactivating the previous one. One weak spot would be in the passing of the private registration number (making sure it's the right one - could be done immediately before the sell, and if the buyer backed out the seller could simply immediately request a new one), not to mention all the extra work involved by everyone...but it would certainly add a layer of verification to an individual coin.
Every slab would have a secure token embedded in it with an ID code that changes every 15 seconds. The owner would be able log onto a website, type in the code, and immediately see a close-up photo of the obverse and reverse of the coin so that they could compare it to the one they bought. Every coin slabbed would be on the website. Slabs could be returned for free token replacements when the battery went dead in case they wanted to sell it to someone who also wanted to verify the authenticity of the coin.
Perhaps the mass slabbing of 'EveryDay Pocket Change, Modern Coinage' should be curtailed. Maybe only high dollar/rare coins should be considered for future encapsulation. These coins could then be tracked by various means thus providing somewhat of a pedigree trail for each. Ben
Look, coins were faked before Now we have slabs, and they are faked as well. You just have to learn to tell the fake coin from the real one, and if you haven't yet, don't buy exspensive coins off Ebay -buy from a major dealer...
If we all educate ourselves and learn to detect fakes, there wont be a need for TPGs! Its best for them that we trust others to know these things and pay extra for a coin to have some guy look it over, god knows who and what they know. Anyone can be fooled by a real good fake, major dealers, expert collectors...it wont change. In ancients...hammered...dont get me started.
All these sound like good solutions to a complex problem. I think the electronic ID chip type technology will eventually be the answer with slabbed coins. Technology is soooo sophisticated nowadays that it'll have to take sophisticated +1 technology to do this right. If you don't do TPGs then: Education is mandatory to be able to buy and trade in the comming years. If we're to be flooded with an assortment of fakes, we have to be prepared to ID them singly or as a group. We cannot hesitate or be afraid to count on our fellow collectors here on CT to help us discern the good from the bad. Post your coins that you want to buy and ask for opinins. Raw coins are usualy less expensive that Slabbed ones. Bruce
Go and install some microchip tag like what is done on pet animals. So far that hasn't been cracked *yet*
HeyHeyHorrah, just back from Qatar//:hail: Listen close GDelmonteJMSP, the solutions you profess are flawed by virtue of the classic Peckinpah Conundrum. Things change when one player is not paying attention or absent or dead.
Maybe a start would be for Ebay, because it is probably the most used site for coin buying, to have a list of the most "popu;ar" counterfeited coins pop up on the screen everytime someone goes to any of the coin listings. This is not a solution but will help the uninformed get some knowledge pertaining to this huge problem. Education seems to be the only answer at this point. I think the TPG's would welcome this as a start. IMO. John
