How Can Chinese Counterfeiters Benefiet From Places Like This?

Have you ever thought that we may very well have Chinese counterfeiters in our midst here??? I'm not sure how many people have thought about this before. We are the people who they are trying to fool. What's to say they wont take a picture of their latest super counterfeit and post it for opinions to see if:

A) anyone catches it. Which we most likely will.

B) If someone with experience will give them an opinion of why their coin looks wrong and they can use this to improve upon their work.

The whole time they pose as an unknowing collector and draw absolutely no suspicion from us besides being another poor collector burned by the counterfeiters.

Now please don't get me wrong. I think that the work we do on this board to advance the hobby is keeping us ahead of them. But I think an air of suspicion is absolutely necessary in these times. It is painfully obvious that these people are hurting the hobby we love. This is something I have had in the back of my mind for a while but there have just been some post lately that I read from new posters and think "hmmm this could easily be a Chinese counterfeiter posting his wears to get opinions to see what he needs to fix and therefore make a better counterfeit"

So are we unintentionally collectively shooting ourselves in the proverbial foot??

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It could be possible however they've been doing it so long and I'm sure they rely on the real thing for perfecting fakes. If there are Chinese counterfeiter's posting here it's traceable through web stats. The CT site owner can easily view if a member is from China or anywhere else.

 

Agreed I was just referring to the comment LD made of posting photos and getting opinions of what looks off.

 

If they had no reason to suspect anything why would they check/care where someone was posting from?

They sell their coins by taking pictures of them. I definitely think it would be feeseable that they would post them for opinions/critiques of their work. Am I just being paranoid?? hahaha

 

It's a good point. I don't think there's anything anyone can do about it, so I won't worry too much about it. But, yes, I have seen posts where this scenario did cross my mind. In fact, one from today has me suspicious.
Guy~

 

I was about to say the same thing.

In the past, when it appeared a counterfeiter was showing off their wares, there were PM's going down on the side and we would discuss our opinion as to the validity of the poster. It's happened before and it's bound to happen again, so be vigilant! :thumb:

Ribbit

 

Yes. Also, who's to say a poster from China isn't legitimately collecting U.S. coins, or that they didn't acquire one of these fakes accidentally and want to learn more about it.

I've also wondered about the articles in magazines like Coinworl about counterfeit detection. They could easily use those to improve the quality of their counterfeits. You can't really stop educating people about it though. If it weren't for resources like magazines, books and Cointalk it would be even easier for them to slip their fakes past us.

 

I highly doubt the fakers are going to post here. They may look of course, but they have to slither in ignominy so they don't give themselves away. That said, it is unlikely they would even register.

 

Actually, aren't the Chinese already doing this for us, since they already censure themselves and the internet?

I feel no need to worry about how they behave so we feel the need to change the way "WE" behave.

 

Knowledge/HORDE IT!

I'm sure this is but one source for the fakers. Heck, they may have better examples than WE have and it would be nice if they DID post here.....with REALLY GREAT PHOTOS!
:whistle:

 

I don't know about HERE, but they do monitor the PCGS and NGC forums. That's one of the reasons I am reluctant to discuss specifics as to diagnostic features that identify counterfeits.

It's a catch-22 situation. If you don't publicize them you can't educate the collectors on what to watch for to protect themselves. But if you do publicize them you also educate the counterfeiters on how to correct their product to make them less detectable and more likely to defraud the collectors.

 

There may even be Counterfeiters who ARENT Chinese doing the same thing since people counterfeit coins all over the world!! Like Russia, Eastern Europe, UK, etc...

All the same, I think it is completely wrong minded to withhold information regarding how to spot fakes...or other information like how to properly treat a coin which people have claimed they withhold for 'people own good'...If coin collectors are a community, information should be shared freely. If a scammer comes here to learn, so be it...

 

For Real

http://copywritingbreakthrough.blogspot.com/2007/07/p-l-barnum-is-probably-greatest-showman.html

Should I buy this book?

 

reread

I need to re-read Catch 22.

I tried to ponder the response of the fellows that are presented on my coinage...what would they think?

I guess only Ike would get it. (Is Patton on a coin?)