I just recently got into collecting and am still looking for the niche that I'll concentrate on, trying a few things, going to shows, reading this forum, etc. But I'm curious how hard it is to detect fakes now that the Chinese have become so sophisticated in reproducing sizes, weights, alloys, and strike techniques in everything from old Spanish Colonials, foreigns, and even new Silver Eagles. They even fake NGC slabs. The following article is especially disturbing: http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/index_t.htm It's not clear to me that even the NGC with all their experience can continue to detect fakes with 100% certainty. How can a poor dumb slob like me have any hope of not dying of ulcers worrying about everything I buy. Maybe I'll just collect fakes and not worry.
The only way to be safe is to only buy that which you know, so that means you have to educate yourself well on the coins you want to buy/collect and only buy ones you can clearly see all details on the pic, because the most common tool used by the counterfeit sellers is poor pics so stay away from poor pics, unless you have money to burn. Ribbit
Ahearn, Great question. I would strongly suggest buying reproductions and obvious counterfeits off of ebay and studying them. You will be spendind money on counterfeits, and not on coins for your collection. But having these coins in hand to study with a magnifying glass, will teach you more then any topic online ever will. Of course pictures and topics here are extremely educational and teach you what to look for in a counterfeit. But nothing beats a cold hard fake under your magnifying glass.
The chinese are getting better at counterfeiting, and it scares me. They are making MS70 morgan dollars right now! Also, beware of FAKE NGC SLABS... http://ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=954 If you are buying a rare coin, and you have the money for that coin, buy on heritage. If you are buying a rare coin on ebay, use the pics, and look at them closely. Make sure the slab is real. If you see anything that looks weird, and you can't tell, just post it here, and we'll be more than glad to say if we see anything Of course this has been said many times, if it is too good to be true, it is... 1804 DOLLAR, with 10 seconds left, at 10 cents with no bids? OBVIOUSLY FAKE... Now, also, when buying raw coins, make sure you know what the coin is supposed to weigh, when you get the coin, weigh it, and see if it matches, also, do a magnet test, if it sticks...You have a fake Look for tiny writing on the coin that says replica and fake, a lot of them have been smeared off, but some can still be seen, so if you are not sure, ask for better pics, if the seller refuses, simply do not buy the coin
