Counterfeit 2002 platinum eagle found; possibly made with a computer-aided engraving system

kranky

This week's Coin World reports that ICG detected a counterfeit 2002 1/10 oz. platinum eagle that was submitted to them. (Story available online to subscribers only.) The submitter reported buying the coin on ebay.

The very disturbing part is that they suspect the coin was made by using a computer-aided engraving device. Oddly enough, the diagnostics illustrated in the story don't seem to be the most obvious choices. In the fake, the letter R in LIBERTY is on top of the spike coming from Liberty's crown (very easy to see) while the genuine coin has the spike over top of the R. Also, the style of the date and IGWT is slightly different.

The reverse wasn't shown complete, but from the part of the reverse they illustrated, the genuine coin has rays that nearly touch the sun. The fake has rays that are more than a ray's width away from the sun.

It was speculated that this is a type of fake that could fool many people because most people have never seen one of these and may only buy one - so they have no other examples to compare to.

nwcs

Was it made of a base metal?

Interesting that someone would go to the trouble. I can imagine some of the simpler designs could be carefully drawn with a postscript graphic tool and then downloaded to one of those systems. Of course, the big thing is having access to those systems. The program part would be easy, though, for someone with skill.

nwcs

Also a kudos really to ICG for being the first to announce it. I wonder if any have gotten slabbed previously?

Placid

nm

cosmos66

That is VERY scary!!

Coin Finder

Would that be funny if it was made of platinum.

Tbig

kranky

<< <i>Was it made of a base metal? >>



It's reported to be a copper blank with silver-like plating, weighing 2.13 g. The real thing weighs 3.112 g. Also, the real coin has 102 reeds on the edge while the fake has 79. The diameter is correct but the fake is a bit thicker.

airplanenut

I read the article... I hope the ebay auction had no picture... or a fake one.

That coin was obviously a fake- if nothing else, the date was WAY wrong...

JRocco

The better the quality, the easier (relatively) it should be to nail down the guilty, because that level of skill and equipment is just not available to Joe sixpack. I would think it would be harder to find the guy who uses high end equipment to reproduce an old $20 bill because that technology is available to many. Just my 2 cents worth.

291fifth

Judging from the photos in Coin World it is actually a crude counterfeit, computer made or not. I'll bet you'll be seeing these turning up at flea markets in the near future if they are not already there.

Russ

Considering some of the crap that sells on eBay, I don't think the crook who did these really needed to be too sophisticated.

Russ, NCNE