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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Insider, post: 8445556, member: 24314&quot;]There is a problem w/o a solution because it is possibly too late and too expensive.&nbsp; First some history.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>In the 1970&#039;s at the ANA Certification Service which I consider to be the actual Birth of Coin Authentication in the US, we ditched most of the prevailing and crude methods used to authenticate coins.&nbsp; Our system of diagnostics and high power examination replaced weights, measurements and the opinion of many numismatic &quot;experts.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately, I see now it was not good enough.&nbsp; That&#039;s because <b>after fifty years, technology has surpassed it!&nbsp; </b></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1985 I told a seminar student that there was no one in the world that has spent the time I have viewing coins at high power and if he started doing it as soon as class was over he could never catch up to me.&nbsp; However, I told him that when he gets back to his lab he should start examining coins using his electron microscope and after a short time he would know more of what the surface of genuine coins should look like than me and no one would be able to surpass his time viewing them at the highest magnifications!&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Hoskins and I would joke about how crude the fakes of early 70&#039;s were and that if we were to go overseas to help the counterfeiters we could help them make coins that would fool everyone.&nbsp; Well, it turns out they didn&#039;t need our help and a few years later some exceptional (for the time) and very deceptive coins began to appear in the market.&nbsp; Back then, high power examination of coins kept us ahead of everyone - including the counterfeiters.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, the race between the authenticators and counterfeiters is a close one and I feel they are pulling ahead.&nbsp; Proof is that more coins are being sent out as a &quot;No Decision&quot; by the TPGS and more counterfeits than ever are being slabbed as genuine.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>If pre 1985 authentication would have been more detailed, including images of coins (including edges) plus material analysis I feel we would not be having so many fakes slip past at this time.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Prediction: The time is going to come when owning a counterfeit <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> is going to be almost as satisfactory <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> as owning the genuine example <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> because <b><font size="6"><span style="color: #b30000">they will be identical.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></font></b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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