So, the wife and I were in NYC over the weekend so that she could have her college interview at Eugene Lang, and I figured Sunday would be a good day to take the train from Brooklyn (where we were staying) to Chinatown. Mind you, I've been to Chinatown in NYC quite a few times, and I've been to the Boston's Chinatown more times than I care to count, but normally, I don't plan on buying anything. Well, this time I had a list of things to get... Counterfeit coins. I figured since most of 'em are made in China, I'd be able to find some in Chinatown! I knew the vendors on Canal wouldn't be selling them openly, so I had to check the vendors way in the back. I found one guy with tons of coins, but he was fixing a watch, and wouldn't look up for anything in the world. Most of them were definitely fake Chinese coins (cash coins, cast Trade dollars, etc.). He did have a few Peace dollars scattered here and there, and they looked genuine. At the very least, if he would've looked up, I would've tried snagging them for less than melt, but that didn't happen. Anyway, I didn't end up buying any coins - fake or otherwise - because it was colder than a witch's teat that day, and my wife ended up forcing me to accompany her Uptown. Oh, well...I did buy a fake, Scottish cashmere scarf for $4, ha.
I saw the same kind of stuff like that in Chinatown in San Fran about 12 years ago, mostly cheap cast trade dollars
