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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cpm9ball, post: 1278273, member: 24633&quot;]Unfortunately, I missed this thread when it began in early September, but there are a couple of points that need to be clarified.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I believe it was in December, 2008 that Coin World, in a two-part series, interviewed &quot;Jinghuashei&quot; at his factory in Shanghai, and this is what they learned.</p><p><br /></p><p>1) The equipment being used to produce the counterfeits <b>is the very same equipment that the US Mint used to produce these coins in the late 19th century.</b> You see, China decided that they wanted to build their own mint in Shanghai, and the equipment, which had been put in &quot;mothballs&quot; after modernization at the Philadelphia Mint was given to the Chinese by our government. China was so appreciative of the US assistance that the facade of their mint was an exact duplicate of the old Philadelphia Mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) After decades of use, China decided to modernize their facility, and so the old equipment was sold as scrap. This is when men like Jinghuashei bought the equipment at scrap prices, refurbished it and began making their counterfeit coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>3) By Chinese law, the word &quot;COPY&quot; is not required on any counterfeit coin that is sold in the Asian market, and Jinghuashei used this loophole in the law to his advantage claiming that his business was conducted in the Asian market and he had no operations in any non-Asian countries. That is how he was able to use venues like eBay and eBay Europe to sell the counterfeits.</p><p><br /></p><p>4) Jinghuashei and others like him have perfected their techniques to include duplication of the dies using laser readers, but before they begin using the dies, they modify any imperfections that may be a giveaway to the coin&#039;s authenticity.</p><p><br /></p><p>5) At first, they were using non-precious metals to produce these coins at a cost of about 50c per coin, but the problems with weight and density and specific gravity were almost sure giveaways. Eventually, they started using 90% silver because they realized that even if the price of silver was, say $40, it was still only costing them about $31 for a coin they could sell for 3x, 4x or more.</p><p><br /></p><p>6) Naturally, if he produced an 1889-CC or an 1893-S Morgan in a high mint state grade, it would be a red flag in itself to many collectors here. So, he developed a way to &quot;age&quot; the coins showing circulation wear and rub. For example, the 1879-CC that was linked at the beginning of this thread was given sufficient wear, and yes, even slight rounding of the rims as you might expect to see on a circulated coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Chris[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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