Beware of people selling coins at flea markets. Lots of counterfeits.

I was passing by a flea market today and there was a booth selling tons of mixed coins ranging from half dollars to Ikes, Peace and Morgans. From afar these coins seemed alright but once you pick them up you can feel they were counterfeit. Of course when I inquired about the price I knew it wasn't real either, the seller was asking $5 each. Now these coins were mixed with foreign coins which was known to have been made in silver and the seller had tons of coins at their table, some were real too. The funny thing is, on the side they have real silver dollars which they were asking a pretty high price for. So next time you pass by a flea market watch out for these kind of sellers.

 

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A magnet would come in handy at a flea market.

 

Yes Hobo, but more coins are nonmagnetic than are magnetic any more. Those Chi counterfeiters figured that part out darn it.

 

I just avoid flea markets altogether.

 

The Chinese have been getting smarter at making fakes, even going to the point of buying coin dies previously used at the mint.

I've even seen sites selling fakes in NGC/Anacs/PCGS holders, complete with the decal, serial number, and holographic sticker.

The Chinese call them "historical reproductions".

Well if they are reproductions they need to be stamped "copy" but a lot of them are not.

I hate the Chinese for this.

They are trying their best to make coins the same size, weight, color, texture, toning, etc.

We really need to put our foot down and increase measures to make sure these don't end up in the country, and to shut down manufacturing facilities that are making these coins, even if it requires military force.

 

Well, I don't approve of counterfeiting anything. But not all chinese people are like that.

 

There are millions of websites from Chi people that will sell you anything counterfeit. So correct that to MOST CHINESE.

 

We actually have a few Americans that do that here in the states, but they are praised for it.

 

Most Chinese are peasant farmers, and I doubt that they counterfeit rice.

Chris

 

Really? What do they do, look in the mint dumpster? I can't see the mint throwing out dies without completely defacing them. A few years ago the mint offered cancelled dies for state quarters. I never bought one, but from the look of the offering the dies appeared to be unusable.

 

That's right. If my memory serves me it has been over 150 years since the Mint has knowingly sold or discarded dies that have not been defaced.

Again, if my memory serves me, the faces of those dies were completely ground off. But the Chinese counterfeiters bought a number of those defaced dies, ground the faces of the dies down smooth and made new dies which they used to strike their counterfeit coins (US coins primarily). That was a bad move by the Mint because what the Chinese counterfeiters really needed was good die steel. What better die steel than defaced dies from the US Mint? That's one of the reasons the Mint no longer sells defaced dies.

 

Here is one of the thousands of fake coins for sale on this site.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/486608830-Wholesale-1849-Seated-Liberty-Dollar-wholesalers.html



Here is a 20 dollar gold piece in a fake pcgs holder, many fake slabs on there.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/440036262-1892-GOLD-20-silver-Dollar-Early-PCGS-COIN-COINS-Christmas-gift-Morgan-dollars-wholesalers.html

If you look up the registry number it's a dead giveaway.

Here is a 1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar in a pcgs slab.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-f...Metalworking-US-Flowing-Hair-wholesalers.html
A 1909-S VDB in a pcgs slab.
http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/906271/210961634-440032412/1909-S-VDB-silver-Dollar-Early-PCGS-COIN-COINS-Christmas-gift-Morgan-dollars-Morgan.html

Even has the right serial number.

I emailed PCGS about the fake slabs.
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I found a company on the internet selling fake coins in fake PCGS slabs. Here is a link with a coin even using the actual serial number from the same type of coin.


This company should be legally prosecuted for selling counterfeited coins, and it is also a insult to the numismatic community,


I have a provided a link for you to view this coin, and many others are view able from that page.
-----------------------------------------

I hope to get a response from them.

 

If the Chinese get out of hand with counterfeiting then it could spark a paranoia in the numismatic community.

People will be buying slabbed coins and resubmitting them to make sure they are genuine.

 

:smile i think thats great that you told pcgs, but i think they will tell you its another country an they can not do any thing

 

Most Chinese? There are an estimated 1,337,798,957(that's one billion, three hundred thirty seven million, seven hundred ninety eight thousand, nine hundred fifty seven give or take) people in China and you are saying the majority of them are counterfeiters? give.....me....a.....break




[h=2]CHINA POPULATION DATA:[/h]Mainland China: 1,330,141,295 (July 2010 est.)
Hong Kong: 7,089,705 (July 2010 est.)
Macau: 567,957 (July 2010 est.)
TOTAL: 1,337,798,957
[Source: CIA World Factbook, Jan 2011 ]

 

Why hasn't the Secret Service shut down these sellers? This is ridiculous. Copying actual certified coins in holders. And on the comment earlier about using military action to stop this, yeah, let's start WWIII over counterfeit coins. Great idea!

 

Greed is a major factor that these are entering North America. Not just greed on the producers side but greed of the buyers of these who buy them cheap and sell them here to unsuspecting collectors. If there was no demand here for them, there would be no market for the producers of the counterfeit products. No different than fake Rolex watches, Prada handbags, Louis Vuitton luggage etc.. People want the look but don't want to pay the price for the real deal. With coins, unless you're a knowledgeble collector, you'll buy the coin thinking it's a steal of a deal. Who wouldn't like to score a key date coin for cheap?

 

I've heard some ridiculous comments when in comes to the paranoia generated by our Chinese friends and their counterfeiting capabilities, but this one takes the cake. All I can do is shake my head and wonder how we get our priorities so mixed up.

 

Here's a scenario for ya:

"Dealer" sets up a small table at a flea market, displaying some key date Morgans, bust halves, etc. "Buyer" comes along and asks for pricing. "Three bucks each" the seller replies. The buyer, somewhat taken back by the low price, asks if they are genuine. Dealer replies that the coins belonged to his recently deceased father, and he just wants to liquidate them. He states he isn't sure if they are real, but assumes they are. The buyer says he'll take a chance and purchaes six pieces for $18. Three hours later the buyer returns and demands his money back, stating that he had taken the coins to a B&M and were told they were counterfeit. Dealer says "OK, give me back the coins and I'll return your money." Buyer says "I don't have them, I was so upset I tossed them in a dumpster. I hate being ripped off." Dealer replies "Since I know nothing about coins, how much would they be worth if they were genuine?". "Thousands" the buyer replies. The dealer, not wanting to create a scene, returns the $18 even though buyer does not return the coins.

Who is "ripping off" who in this scenario? The dealer, who is selling fake coins for a reasonable price, or the buyer, who thinks he has found a seller ignorant enough to believe his "rare coins" are worth only three bucks?

 

The Secret Service has no jurisdiction in a foreign country.