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Message:: [QUOTE="Pocket Change, post: 509122, member: 8012"]Thanks for passing this on.  Great information! We keep hearing the "education" bit.  But really, how many of us can do that.  It takes a lot more than looking at pixelated pictures on websites and reading a couple of books. There might be a chance for someone who collects only one series, but many of us have those "this is what caught my eye" collections.  There is no way we can be "educated" on several series. I would equate detecting (above average) counterfeits to being able to distinguish between the various MS-63+ grades for a particular series.  And the common mantra there is that you have to examine IN HAND dozens (if not hundreds) of these coins before you can accurately do this. Can "Joe the Collector" expect to do this?  Will he/she even have the time?  Has the hobby become a chore? Of course, at the end of the day, if everyone is fooled, it doesn't matter if it's a counterfeit.  Especially for MS coins - they've never been touched by human hands - it really is just a piece of metal fabricated in such and such a way.[/QUOTE]