# of Counterfeits at PCGS in last 30 days

I looked up PCGS' current turnaround times and found these stats for the past 30 Days.




I was surprised by the number of counterfeits seen in that period of time...

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It’s been pretty high for a while. I hate how slow they’ve been, but there’s been a lot reported for a while if you check month to month.

 

The most disturbing thing about this is the number of casual coin collectors that will get turned off to the hobby once PCGS tells them that they have been duped.

 

Great point! On the other side, is that 900 per month now for sale on the internet selling venues?

 

Depending who submitted them some certainly are being resold raw.

 

That's why I pretty much go with slabbed coins these days. Of course, there are some fakes that get slabed but that number is few and far between.

 

The number of documented ones is under 100, but how many is too many?

 

That and likely many more.

 

You can bet that ANACS and ICG get many of those C/F's set to them after being rejected at PCGS or NGC. Most think the second tier services are not very good.

It's a shame that any customer (crooked or unwary) that sends in a C/F is not put into a data base with name, city/country and description of the fake. I just gave myself an idea. The recently formed counterfeit bureau could start one. I think Jack is one of their members.

 

I like that idea. One thing I've often wondered, has anyone tried to track back to the transfer die struck C/F's origin through purchase history?

 

@Dave Waterstraat I did with the really deceptive ones; actually met with Secret Service with Beth Deisher back in 2018 in DC and presented who they were and where they were located. Since they were located in Texas a CBP agent located there called me for a follow-up as well as a Treasury agent. The sellers all disappeared from the internet (probably partially due to my records and reporting of them) but I never heard anything else from there.

 

Jack has done that for a number of coins.

 

That's all well and good until someone finds that they share a name with a known C/F pusher, or someone makes a typo entering data. I'm nervous at the notion of yet another nationwide DB filled with what amounts to accusations. (Maybe it could be hosted on the same systems that track Sudafed buyers...)

 

Who says the name on the submission forum is even their real name anyways? Its a really bad idea. The last thing we need is some national TPG database that has absolutely no effort put into it, especially with how disingenuous it would be since the companies return the coins to the submitter anyways

 

Too bad those TPG can't mark counterfeit coins in some way so they can easily be identified. Not necessarily stamp them as counterfeit, but maybe drill a hole in the edge? I know, I know, all kinds of issues with it, but it sure would help rid the collecting world of a lot of bad coins.

 

I am surprised the low percentage of coins that were not graded for ant of the three reasons.

 

There are some coins I will buy slabbed based on the frequency of counterfeits. The 1916D Mercury Dime is one. 1909s VDB cent and the 1916 SLQ are others

 

Unless your name is smith and live in NY it is no big deal. Suppose I alert the website that JeffB in Modesto, CA sent in a counterfeit #3. So what. You may have not known but when the same JeffB sends many TPGS will be on the lookout for your submissions and YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WE ARE WATCHING YOUR SUBMISSION HISTORY. That goes for Baseball's comment too.

Who cares what name they use. So far, these guys are not overly cautious. We I have already done something like this with a TPGS and sure enough, he tried to pass a fake off on them using the same name and address. Additionally, it seems no one has the money or time to go after counterfeiters and those who pass their products. The only thing my suggestion would do is HELP KEEP FAKES OUT OF HOLDERS due mostly from TPGS's inattention. The best fakes are awesome. If it were not for Jack and the copper guys, many counterfeits would be gaining pedigrees just as the Micro "O" dollars that passed as genuine for DECADES!

 

Names and factual confirmed info would be the number one thing for any database. You had nention eariler "It's a shame that any customer (crooked or unwary) that sends in a C/F is not put into a data base with name, city/country and description of the fake."

Why should a mistake from a submitter get put into a data base? There's a huge difference between a mistake and someone trying to make a bunch of money out off of fakes, and either way the information should have to be correct and verified by more than a submission form.

No one likes people peddling fakes, but no one should get targeted or put on a list just because of the name put on a submission form. It's essentially arguing to just punish/target people for other peoples wrong doing which is being argued in many aspects of society today. Even worse such a list will do little to impact the overall state, the overwhelming majority of fakes are sold raw and the biggest threats are at LCS and shows where theres no tracing it. You can look into something or contact the submitter about where it came from if it is that good without demonizing someone.

The simple fact of saying who cares what name they used just proves this shouldn't be a thing

 

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of what coin types those 900 counterfeits represent. Also does that include altered dates or is that a different category?

I would expect to see a lot of trade and seated dollars and pre 1933 gold in the US category, along with transfer die copies of key dates. In the foreign category I’m sure they see a lot of Chinese and Spanish colonial.