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Message:: [QUOTE="Hobo, post: 402548, member: 11521"]It is my understanding that the mere possession of a non-marked counterfeit coin is not illegal. It is also my understanding that it is not illegal to sell a counterfeit coin as long as the coin is sold as a counterfeit and not genuine. (I am working on getting something to back this up. I am trying to buy a counterfeit coin from an eBay seller but I don't want it stamped 'COPY'. He wants to see something in writing verifying the above before he sells on to me. My contacts at ANA are all very busy getting packed for Baltimore so it may be 2 or 3 weeks before I can get something definitiive.) Coins that were made prior to the HPA were not required to be stamped 'COPY'. Criminals making modern counterfeits certainly do not stamp their fakes with 'COPY' (but then they are criminals, aren't they?). If you want to stamp your fake coins with 'COPY' go right ahead. Be my guest. But you will be reducing their value to a collector. (While you are at it, feel free to also stamp your genuine coins with your initials.) Counterfeit coins can be great educational tools. I enjoy showing a good counterfeit coin to friends and other collectors and ask their opinion of the coin. When I tell them the coin is counterfeit they usually want me to point out something that indicates the coin is counterfeit. That is where the education begins. This opportunity would be lost if the coin was stamped 'COPY'.[/QUOTE]