In 1973, the US Congress passed the Hobby Protection Act prohibiting the importation or sale “of any imitation numismatic item which is not plainly and permanently marked COPY”. However the website www.CoinReplicas.com is doing business in Massachusetts selling fake/replica Ancient coins with no markings whatsoever! How are they allowed to openly violate US law without any sort of law enforcement cracking down like they do with Chinese counterfeits that get intercepted? Where do we go to report websites like this?
That isn't the point of the Hobby Protection Act. The Hobby Protection Act prohibits the importation or sale "of any numismatic item". Ancient coins are numismatic items. It doesn't say it only prohibits US legal tender currency. That's a whole different law.
And these fakes will show up on eBay being sold as genuine. Just like the nice replica Italian crown coins openly sold in Italy, they show up on American eBay by sellers who pass them off as genuine.
Easy. Like how it's hard to stamp out illicit drugs, this is not any different. If there is a demand, there will be supply for crooks to make money.
Their US copies are marked, but not in compliance with the HPA either. COPY is too small on the "coins".
The Anti-Counterfeit Education Foundation at this website. https://acefonline.org/counterfeit-alert/report-a-counterfeit/
Yeah but drug dealers do it discreetly. I guarantee if they set up a shop in the middle of town selling illegal drugs the cops would be on their butts like white on rice. Just look at Silk Road for example. It was shut down quick even though it was on the dark web which is more discreet than this fake coin shop on the normal web.
It doesn't matter where or how it's sold. As long as there are demands for such items, they just appear. Shutting silk road still didn't stop drug trade. It did dint supply but only for a short period of time. How are you meant to stop counterfeits if you cannot reduce demand??? Attempting to stop supply is like whack a mole moment.
See what I mean? How many people do you think would buy this fake aureus assuming it’s real? I am guessing a lot. Especially with no indicators it’s a copy sold for $15.
Well maybe so but that doesn’t mean we should just let them do their thing. There needs to be a strong message sent that we won’t tolerate it by closing down these counterfeiters and punishing them with stiff fines &/or jail time. Just like drugs will always be in demand but we still arrest drug dealers and drug traffickers even knowing that someone else will fill their place.
Yup pretty much. That’s why they need to be shut down or at least warned to put COPY on their coins somewhere. Who knows how many have already been sold on EBay. Fortunately since they are gold & silver plated lead a savvy collector will immediately notice a weight discrepancy or a size discrepancy. Gold is heavier than lead so they’ll end up making like 4.5 gram gold Roman aureus coins when they’re supposed to be 6.8-8 grams based on the date minted.
The laws are linked by specific reference. HPA was updated These are not numismatic items. I did mention "...or violation of the law...". A good source of this subject, is the NGC Boards. There is, as I recall, a 25 page or so thread with input from Federal and State and Private practice attorneys and a few that were involved in such cases, and including a lot of input by Mr. Carr on the subject. The actual laws that do (and don't) apply are linked and/or quoted and torn apart word by word. Very interesting. I recognize some members here that also participated. This thread will eventually head that way, I think.
Trust me. Even corner side dealers try to keep it on the DL. They don’t stand there shouting: “Get your drugs here! I’ve got coke, pills, weed, meth, and ecstasy!” They don’t draw attention to themselves.
I don't, nothing personal, but, that is pretty much exactly what happens in the Bronx, Bloods and Crips territory a couple of blocks away from St. Barnabas and bordering Arthur Ave. in Little Italy. The attention that is drawn is Legion.
Hence the reason the war on drugs has failed. You just concentrate on supply but the demand is still there. So the only result is an increase in the price encouraging even more supply for the higher profits.
