2 for 1 coin show report, with a warning
dcarr
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This is a belated coin show report for two small local coin shows that I attended this month. I did not have a table at either one this time, so I "walked the floor".
The first was the Front Range Coin Club Spring show, held at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, Colorado. About 40 tables were set up. The attendance seemed pretty strong on the first day (Saturday morning and early afternoon).
I brought a box of my newly-minted products and I sold the entire box before I even made it 3/4 of the way around the room, even though I was not actively offering them.
As typical, rather than having a specific focus, I looked for bargains on raw coins that I liked (and were priced right).
Here is what I bought:
1982-P quarter (priced at about the same as a typical UNC, but much nicer than average - I grade it MS66):
1919-S Winged Liberty Head Dime (a little weak on the strike but nice luster - I grade it AU53, and a good price at $30):
1874 Shield Nickel (slightly weak on the strike, but no wear at all - I grade it MS62 - price $110 - not the best quality picture of it):
1830 Bust half dime (nice original look - I grade it EF40 = $115):
I happened to walk by a table while a visitor to the show was selling items to a dealer. I was asked by the dealer (who knew me) to take a look at this coin that that was among the customer's coins. I provided my opinion on the value and then I was offered the opportunity to buy it from the customer for that valuation. Normally, an off-center Lincoln Cent error is not worth very much. But I liked the unusual date on this one which added a lot of value to it, I think:
1878-S Morgan (VAM-39 - quite "flashy", especially on the obverse - I grade it MS63 - $70):
I liked this low mintage [P]-D-S set of 1939 Arkansas commemorative half dollars. This particular issue does not seem to come overly attractive, but this set seems better than most. I grade them at MS64-MS66 ($900):
I asked about this bar and the dealer quoted me an attractive price which was only a little above "spot" at the time (and under "spot" now). I will add it to my collection of silver bars from coin dealers and coin shops and/or silver bars with coin images on them:
Most of the activity seemed to be due to collectors, with a little bullion trading in the mix.
The second show was the Fort Collins Coin Club Spring show, held at the Larimer County Fairgrounds in Loveland, Colorado. About 30 tables were set up. The attendance seemed a little light when I was there (Friday afternoon and Sunday). But I was not there for the peak attendance on Saturday. I was told it was fairly brisk that day. On Friday, dealer setup was in the morning and early afternoon and the show opened up to the public at about 3:00PM Friday and 10:00AM Saturday and Sunday. I actually like this schedule.
I restocked my box of newly-minted products and sold a good amount on Friday and then I stocked it again for Sunday and sold most of that as well while walking around. I did not buy much at this show since I saw a fair amount of the material two weeks prior at the other show.
I did pick up this octagonal silver "round" that I liked. It was minted by Lombardo Mint and has "MADE IN CANADA" marked on the edge (bottom facet). It actually weighs 10% heavy at about 34 grams.
Now the warning:
It seems dealers (myself included) have become somewhat complacent in regards to the currency that they take in. After I got home from the second show, I was organizing the currency that I had received for items sold. There were 5 or 6 transactions, each involving two or more $20 notes. As I was organizing the money at home, I immediately noticed that something was not right with this $20 bill. It is obviously a home-made counterfeit. I should have noticed that at the show when I received it. But I didn't bother to look at the time. Since all the dealers I sold to know me, I am certain that, whomever it was, was not aware of the dubious note. They may have taken it in earlier in the show from a customer. I would not put it past some people to try and pass fake bills at a coin show to procure highly-liquid items that they can resell.
Comments
Thanks for the narrative, and the warning. Wow, I wouldn't even have looked at that bill twice. What are the tells?
It doesn't look, feel. or smell right.
But here are the close-ups that tell the tale:
Lots of little dots:
The "136" was written on the genuine note that was photocopied, and then transferred in the counterfeit print:
More dots (what I originally took as a tear is actually part of the design):
@dcarr
Thank you for your report. I’m up in Grand County and have never attended a coin show. I forget about local clubs and I believe I shall research a little more. It’s time I plan a trip down the hill. 🤠
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
Sounds like you had a good time!
The 82P, sounds very conservative at 66 have you looked at how beat up the 66s are in Coinfacts?
Me thinks you like it better than 66
That was an interesting report.
The 1878-S dollar does not look right to me. The high relief of the portrait on the obverse and lack of sharpness on the reverse are concerning to me. Maybe it’s the photo, or perhaps, I am just overly cautious these days.
Thank you for interesting reports. Some nice acquisitions as well. That counterfeit $20 bill is interesting, thanks for the pictures and commentary. Cheers, RickO
I also received a counterfeit $20 recently, which upon further inspection also appears to be a photocopy. I called the local Secret Service office, and they told me to bring it to local law enforcement. I have not done so yet. I guess the trillions in new money printed by the government was still not enough for some.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
I think the counterfeiters are counting on people not bothering to look very closely at $20 bills.
My old microscope seems to be getting more and more out of focus. Most of the coin pictures that I take go through it.
Here is a group shot of three of the coins, without using the microscope (and zoomed in as far as I can):
If you go to VAMWorld and look at the listing for 1878-S VAM-39, the pictures shown for it are an exact match for this coin (including the PL obverse and die deterioration on the cheek):
ec2-13-58-222-16.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com/wiki/1878-S_VAM-39
The nice obverse is certainly carrying the Morgan because the reverse is not sharp or attractive; just seems off. IMO but these are pics and not in hand. Might be different in hand.
USAF (Ret.) 1985 - 2005. E-4B Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief and Contracting Officer.
My current Registry sets:
✓ Everyman Mint State Carson City Morgan Dollars (1878 – 1893)
✓ Everyman Mint State Lincoln Cents (1909 – 1958)
✓ Morgan Dollar GSA Hoard (1878 – 1891)
Some nice pickups.
The next show in the area is the Denver Coin Expo, May 4-6. This is a pretty large show - not as large as the big national shows, but bigger than the local coin club shows:
https://rockymtnexpos.com/
All nice coins.
The '82 quarter isn't well struck but the dies are good, it's well centered, and you don't see too many this clean.
Overall, very nice.
Nice stuff......Great report !
On those twenties, the micro-printing never makes it on a photo copy......
Always a good idea to carry a counterfeit detecting marking pen. Stores use it when you buy something, so why not the customer verifying the change they receive.
Most of the cashiers only mark 50's and 100's....I have only seen a counterfeit marker used once on a 20.00 . The feel of the paper is the first tell for me. Then I think the preferred method of copying would be a laser printer vs inkjet. Color is my next tell unless the clarity of the image is way off. Getting color just right is extremely difficult. I used to count bills for deposits and after thousands and thousands of bills, I was able to tell the date by the color of the bill! I did find a counterfeit once and brought it to the police station, they couldn't tell it was a fake. To me, it was obvious- the paper was definitely not right and details were not present.
As already pointed out, people who handle a lot of cash can frequently detect a counterfeit by the feel of the paper alone. Getting the right paper is very difficult for the counterfeiter since the company that makes the paper for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving (Crane Paper Company) isn't allowed to sell that paper to anyone else. Counterfeiters will frequently bleach dollar bills and then print their higher denomination fakes on that paper.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Years ago I remember folks found the same paper being used in books, elsewhere in the world (Australia, comes to mind, remember the story but not exact details). Couple other places. Apparently the printers ink was removed rather easily and then reprinted. Said something about being able to source it by the ream from some suppliers. 😳
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
I like the off center '15-D Lincoln. It is surprising how worn it looks. Seems to be a late die state, or such errors were commonplace, as it looks XF.
Got a call from my banker recently. Had four customers in one day mostly buying bullion and using $20 Federal reserve notes as well as $100's and 50's. This is typical, even though crypto is safer. But I cannot deposit crypto and it's very rare for anyone to even offer it, even as I offer that option.
I didn't look close enough or I would have easily spotted this:
Another fake in the lot of a few thousand $, in deposits.
Nice reports. Thanks, and heads up !
My deposit was short twenty, and, the secret service or whichever leg of our govt. is also notified.
Just wish I would have caught it. I would have kept it as a novelty. Then again..... burn 'em.
Looks like they're missing that internal strip as well.
I really like the the half dime. It has the honest eye appeal of a work horse of a coin. At first glance it looks to be a relatively early die state LM3/V8. Not rare but still cool, after all, it is a half dime.
I did make it to the Front Range show Saturday morning, and there were just too many there for my tastes, but good for the hobby. I did not make it to the one in Loveland, all that work up there on I25 makes that a no go. The one in Longmont was the busiest I have seen in a very long time.
The one show I did not have counterfeit detection, I got back and had nine $100 bills flagged at the bank. They were very well done but not authentic and thus discarded at great expense.
I was there, I thought it was a good show.
@P0CKETCHANGE , is that counterfeit $20 made out of printer paper?
It’s higher quality paper, because the “feel” isn’t immediately obvious, which is part of the reason I didn’t notice it at first.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Do you remember if these were older bills or the current bills with the blue strip on the obverse. I have been told that the newer blue strip $100 bills are extremely hard to counterfeit. I will not take the older $100 in commerce after I learned that 300 million dollars of them were seized in a European residential garage.
May have mentioned this is a prior thread. About 25 years ago or thereabout I met a couple at an estate sale. They said they had received counterfeit 20's out of an ATM in Atlantic City. Do not know if there was any truth to this. But anything is possible.
It's shocking how much counterfeiting is going on nowadays, and I figure we don't even know the half of it.