I was reading the the NGC article (their latest in the series) at the top of this list this evening: http://www.ngccoin.com/news/Landing.aspx?SeriesID=7 It occurred to me that when NGC gets one like this, they're put on the spot, since a counterfeit U.S. coin is illegal to possess. I presume they consequently don't return such to the submitter, but instead turn them over to the Secret Service? As to this specific coin, a fake 1883 half, they state that it was a pretty easy call that it wasn't genuine. I'd say from the photos that it'd still fool a lot of folks (and it obviously fooled someone), particularly if the silver content and thus weight was correct. I frankly don't see much in the way of the "bumps" they cite as the key diagnostic.
from what i've heard, they are not illegal to possess, its illegal if you try to defraud by selling it as authentic..
You are correct. I'll add this. The services return the coin. That lets the owner try to return it to the person that they bought it from.
No they do not. Even coins such as the aluminum cents that have recently been in the news, and the '33 double eagles that were a few years ago, and that are known to be illegal to own - if a TPG receives one of these in a submission they will grade and slab the coin, and then return it to the person who submitted the coin. And no, they won't tell the authorities either.
And it's a good thing too... otherwise, my "black cabinet" (http://fakes.numismetrica.com/about/) would be in jeopardy..
Cool topic, always interested in learning more about spotting these. I did look at the image of the 1883 half and could see the bumps. Even if those weren't there the cleaning (AT) and brown sauce would send me running. Thanks for the post!
There's another very interesting article a bit down the list, regarding a phony 1885-CC Morgan with an equally bogus GSA holder. And I've read elsewhere that PCGS slabs at the very least are being forged. The Chinese seem to be getting ever more adept at this sort of thing. I'm sure there are plenty of these still undetected out there. I was wondering just how they're getting them into this country, but then realized that in this day and age of a global economy, such items needn't be smuggled in the old-fashioned sense necessarily, and internet sales must account for a goodly portion. In any case, at least at the beginning, somebody knows they are perpetrating a fraud
I think we can safely assume it's not just the Chinese doing this. The crooks in this country are just as adept as those anywhere else.
