Warning! Lincoln Cent Collectors

My latest Numismatic News arrived today and there was a very surprising article in it. At Summer F.U.N. two very senior TPG coin graders discovered two Chinese Counterfeits that are very surprising - not an S-VDB, not a 14-D but a '12-D and a '24-D. This is a disturbing change of tactics - targeting coins that none of us would ever consider for authentication. We are all going to have consider the authenticity of S and D mints from the teens and twenties. Buyer Beware!

 

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Thanks for the heads -up RiverGuy. This counterfeit stuff is really getting serious and disgusting. Pretty soon a collector will be questioning nearly every coin he's considering buying. Makes me thankful that I collect something that's rarely counterfeited...so far.

Bruce

 

Not really sure if this is a change of tactics... Chinese counterfeiters have been replicating just about every Lincoln cent for a number of years, as well as every other denomination. Here's a current example of the '12-D (10 for $18.88) and the '24-D (same price):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wholesale-1912-D-Lincoln-Cent/575403433.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wholesale-19224-D-Lincoln-Cent/925134126.html

 

That is very weird.

 

They don't even say that it is an duplicate.

 

I sincerely doubt this is limited to Lincolns. I saw a site selling circulated 57 & 58 Lincolns. I don't remember the price for sure, but I think it was 99¢ each. And, yes, I mean the ones you can still find in circulation.

 

This is bad. I wonder if eBay people ever sell these fakes. They could put a 1909-svdb in every 10 rolls and have nice feedback for the people who didn't know the difference.

 

You mean "COPY"? The Chinese never mar their replicas with the copy stamp. I believe if you want your fakes properly marked as such, you must pay extra, lol.

 

I mean at the store that jloring was talking about.

 

Well, if you want to buy a set of sixty-five Lincoln cents (includes the '57 & '58), it'll set you back $144 (unless you go for 12 sets or more... then it's only $137):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE...t-COPY-100-coper-manufacturing/464654277.html

 

Latest CW reported on a fake CC Morgan.
But it was consistent.
The GSA holder was fake too.

 

It's not a "store". This site is full of Chinese manufacturers that specialize in fakes... not just coins, but everything else you can imagine. It's like the eBay of the "counterfeiting world". They DON'T stamp any of their coins to comply with the HPA, and they don't have to. Sad but true.

 

Weird how?

I must agree with Mr.Loring in that this is not at all a disturbing change of tactics, but at most a slightly less obvious path to the same result. This really should not surprise anyone and is all the more reason to either invest in obtaining a comprehensive knowledge of what you collect, or to connect with a reputable and experienced dealer offering an absolute guarantee. Nearly every day on this very forum there are posts from people blindly buying on ebay/craigslist/in-person/wherever who do not yet possess the ability to identify a problem coin much less a quality counterfeit, and in almost all cases the reason for choosing this route is price. The "deal mentality" is one of the biggest problems in this hobby, and one of the biggest boons for less than respectable sellers. The small premium one may have to pay a worthwhile dealer is really nothing more than cheap insurance. Counterfeits can and should be of great concern, but there are simple and easy ways to avoid them.

 

no biggie, soon they'll be doing the 2010's in MS-70

 

They are also producing silver and gold fakes that might not even be made of silver or gold.

 

Jon... fakes are produced in a variety of non-precious metals, and often plated to simulate either silver or gold. However, there are also many fakes that are struck on genuine planchets.... and in every denomination. Once a counterfeiter produces a fake so perfectly that it's indiscernible from a genuine example, then, for all practical purposes, it is genuine.

 

At least the Omega counterfeiter used real gold. I don't think they ever caught him either.

 

Reading all the responses this morning definitely has expanded my original concerns. I thought there were only 2 none key Lincoln out there. Now its whole sets Thanks jforing, for the info. W. It's going to make buying raw Lincoln Wheats on the internet very difficult. How soon will we start to see them on Ebay not stamped copy?

 

Wow....not good.

 

About 5 years ago!