At the suggestion of Hobo, I'm kicking off a discussion of "contemporary" counterfeit coins, defined as "a counterfeit coin, usually base metal, which is minted from crude dies and then made to pass for legal tender when it is created." I've had one for years, and it has sentimental value because my father found it when he was a boy. I assumed they were rare, but in preparing to start this discussion, I did a quick Google search and eBay search and I'm amazed, and a little frightened, at how common they seem to be. Apparently some CCs (not to be confused with Carson City coins) are so good that even PCGS is fooled. According to this article on the PCGS website, they discovered they had certified a large number of them only when they had an opportunity to certify several at once, and made careful comparisons. www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=4400&universeid=313 Anyway, I'm throwing open the topic for discussion. My own CC looks like a 1923-S Walking Liberty half. I hope you can see in the attached photo that the color is way off, and the heft and sound of the metal is also way off. It's a battleship gray color, much lighter than silver, and it clanks instead of pings when dropped on a hard surface. (If the attachment doesn't come through, I've posted the same photo in a public photo album on this forum.) My father found it while crawling in the basement of an abandoned house in San Francisco, when he was about 10. That was in 1935, which is probably close to the time it was made. Anybody collect them? Anybody ever bought one, assuming it was genuine? The fact that there are a dozen sellers on eBay honest enough to clearly disclose that they are offering a CC makes me wonder how many others are out there. Dean Guaneli (guanelid)
I have one purchased as such from the shop for about $4. Pretty sure its lead, as it bends and is soft.
I collect contemporary counterfeits. I have a few 20th Century examples but I much prefer 19th Century contemporary counterfeits.
We happen to be discussing one in the CFE Group: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130284148945 There should be several peeps in here that can spot the tells on that one. Great thread! :thumb: Ribbit
Here's a SLH I picked up on Ebay: I don't think a blind man would have fallen for that one! :goofer: Ribbit
Here is a more contemporary to our time counterfeit: This is from Ecuador, where the US dollar circulates as the primary currency. The Sacagawea dollars are actually popular there, and get far more usage in Ecuador than in the USA. They had not been in circulation for long before these counterfeits, purportedly made in Colombia, started making an appearance in Quito. There are a couple of nuances in the design of the piece, the babies eyes, and the initials of the designer are off a bit. The edge is the giveaway though, unlike the lighter yellowish colour, this is a dark copper colour - unfortunately my photography skills with coin edges are rather poor at the moment. I believe the edges were roughed up in a machine to give the piece the appearance of circulation - important when you are trying to make it acceptable for circulation and the authentic look.
Nice pictures, folks. I have a bunch of them, including: Bust 1/2, Seated 1/2, SLQ, a Standing lib 1923 S (probably not contemporary); and my favorite: a 1967 Washington quarter, gotten from a roll back in the late 1970's.
This one is a bit more obvious: A 1967 Quarter fake. Curiously the edge on this piece was painted or something, to give it the appearance of having a copper core: Shown alongside the Sackie buck from above. Notice the paint or whatever on the quarter started wearing off.
Wouldn't it be useful if this site began a little thread where people could post all their Chinese counterfeits? Make it a stickie?
