What exactly is a counterfeit coin?

But these are laws to prosecute people with. Therefor, it has to be describing the ACT that could be PUNISHABLE. Big difference between that and what I am asking about.

I guess I am not trying to ask what legal case we could build, but what others classify coins as. Personally I am with Hontania. I recognize various types of coins;

1. Original
2. Contemporary counterfeits, (made at the time to be spent, collectible today)
3. Artistic reproductions, (Paduan replicas, the mint in AR that used to strike coins)
4. Counterfeits. Everything else, made to fool collectors.

This is simply the definitions I, and many others, use. I just wanted to talk about it and see if I was simply losing it, since in some discussions this definition seems to have been foreign to many.

Now, if someone wishes to argue that something is an artistic reproduction versus counterfeit, then I am open to that. It was simply the definitions that people were throwing around of what constitutes a counterfeit coin. If people disagree with this classification I would love to hear about it.

Chris

Btw, I am not ruling out the idea that someone could immune from the verb counterfeiting, and still be creating a counterfeit coin. They could be two different things.

 

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With all the legal cites being offered throughout this forum, please remember not to place too much weight on them. The cases really need to be shepardized.

 

A counterfeit is merely anything made with the criminal intent to defraud, otherwise it's simply an art piece (which covers reproductions, fantasy pieces, etc.). This does mean that a counterfeit's legality can come into question as many times as it changes hands depending solely upon the moral fiber of its most current bearer.

That said, the only people who are responsible for marking their products with "COPY" under the Hobby Protection Act are either 1) manufacturers of numismatic replicas living in the US for the distribution or introduction into commerce or 2) importers of numismatic replicas into the US for the distribution or introduction into commerce.

If you buy a coin press and start punching out reproductions of pennies in aluminum and distribute them in an effort to raise awareness about alternate metals for currency but fail to mark them "COPY" you're in trouble. (In that scenario, you're a manufacturer.)

If you purchase some unmarked replicas from China and sell them as reproductions (with full disclosure) without stamping them, you're in trouble (*cough!* eBay!). (In that scenario, you're an importer.)

On the other hand, if you come across a counterfeit "in the wild" you are not legally compelled to mark them with anything (although, I'm not arguing against it being a good idea) and they are perfectly legal to own. (You're neither the manufacturer, or the importer.)

The only thing that is compulsory for a collector under the law is being honest about what you're offering for sale or barter, otherwise you commit fraud.

 

to me, a counterfeit is intended to fraud in commerce. everything else, whether marked "copy" or has a date that never existed, is a fake.