Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Tom Maringer, post: 178472, member: 7033&quot;]I wouldn&#039;t worry too much that somebody asking on this forum about coining machines was interested in illegal activities. There is a lot involved in reaching a technical point at which that is even possible. However it can happen... I was once contacted by a person who expressed the wish to learn coinmaking. After some dozens of emails back and forth and the answering of many questions I finally decided that this person was trying to set up a counterfeiting operation and ceased contact. I based my conclusions on the following information, slowly gathered in the course of communications:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. They claimed to have a constant market in an Asian country for up to 35,000 coins per day. </p><p>2. They were seeking to set up the minting operation in a tiny little rental storage unit with less than 400 square feet of floor space.</p><p>3. They would not reveal to me a mailing address or phone number, only an email.</p><p>4. They would not reveal to me the intended design of the coins</p><p>5. The person had an apple-pie American name, yet wrote with very odd grammar and frequent misspellings, indicating a non-native, probably Asian, speaker of English. </p><p>6. The precisely specified size, alloy, and weight of the intended coins matched closely to current circulating coins in a certain Asian country. </p><p>7. They mentioned certain unnamed partners or associates that had large sums of ready cash available for the purpose of purchasing machinery for this project. </p><p>8. They expressed a preference for purchasing machinery from individuals rather than professional dealers. </p><p><br /></p><p>The only possible interpretation of the above is that they were seeking to counterfeit small midrange coins for a foreign country and ship them over with the purpose to slip them into circulation through a network of associates. There is no possible market for 35,000 coins per day in the collector or fantasy coin realm... only circulating coins could conceivably be in such demand. The secrecy and repeated mentions of cash were suspicious. The idea of setting up in a storage unit was simply ridiculous and could only reveal a paranoid desire to stay out of sight. There is no legitimate purpose which the combination of factors could possibly serve. I don&#039;t know if counterfeiting the coins of another country would be against US law other than the 1969 Hobby Act... but it is certainly highly unethical... and would certainly be against the laws of the other country. </p><p><br /></p><p>As soon as I notified this person of my suspicions, they ceased communication altogether (rather than trying to explain themselves). Several possible scenarios of the intent of the operation are possible, none of which are good. Coinmaking is fun, but there is a certain line which should not be crossed. One should always behave in such a way that even if a federal agent were to closely examine the operation, they would find nothing legally objectionable. Fantasies are therefore wide open, whereas reproductions are fraught with pitfalls.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in