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Message:: [QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 61858, member: 57463"]Better safe than sorry. If that coin does not look any different from the one in your Red Book, then, yes, you do have a lot to learn.  You are not alone.  I also have the same problem with many of these fakes. However, once I hold one, then I know.  Even if they are made of silver and are close to the right weight, they still do not feel like other American coins.  However, when I passed them around at an ANA Numismatic Theater, people whom I would consider knowledgable still could not tell the difference. One thing with these fakes is that talent is cheap. It only takes time and skill to make a good copy.  A large fraction of the raw U.S. gold coins commonly accepted by dealers and collectors as "good" are just good copies made of good gold.  Many were made in the Middle East where gold was gold in whatever convenient form.  I have seen fake sovereigns made of good gold. Coins are just what we worry about.  When speaking about fakes, I mention INTERPOL operations against fake designer clothes, home appliances, shock absorbers, and more.  Back in 1979-1981, when home computering was being born, Apple had to deal with "Pineapple" Asian copies.  A few years later, the Soviet "Agatha" personal computer was revealed to be an Apple II copy.  We underestimate the problem with fake coins for many reasons.  We do not want to admit how saturated the market is.  No one wants to take a loss on a purchase.  We do not want to admit that we cannot tell a fake when we see one.  In the March 2004 Celator, there was a picture of fake ancients salted into an "uncleaned bulk lot."[/QUOTE]

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