ANACS seeing loads of fakes - list inside

kranky

In the latest CW, ANACS senior authenticator Michael Fahey reports hundreds of fake Trade dollars have been submitted starting in late 2002. They've identified dozens of fake dies. They are in AU to Unc, with an unusual "sheen" to the luster. Each has minor tooling and re-engraving in fields and devices. They are also starting to see the same type of counterfeit method being used for Japanese Trade dollars and 1-yen coins.

Also, they are seeing struck counterfeits of various IHCs - 1864-L, 1866, 1868, 1869, 1872, 1874, 1877, 1878 and 1886. Most are spark erosion counterfeits, with squared-off rims/edges but ragged lettering and devices. They have a uniform brown to dark brown color. And they are seeing an increase of altered 1889-CC and 1893-S Morgans - altered dates, added mintmarks, and coins made from piecing together obverses and reverses of different coins.

One poor submitter sent in a 12-piece US gold type set that had a single genuine coin ($20 Saint) while all the rest were the Lebanon counterfeits from the 1960s-70s.

DHeath

Boy that would suck. Don't the Lebanon fakes have some gold content though?

relayer

<< <i>One poor submitter sent in a 12-piece US gold type set that had a single genuine coin ($20 Saint) while all the rest were the Lebanon counterfeits from the 1960s-70s. >>



Ouch!

Bobk

Spark erosion? Is that like a EDM? Bob

DHeath

It isn't just coin forgeries that come from that region. Not too far off topic I hope.

North Korean officials have been caught distributing counterfeit U.S, $100 bills in Cambodia, Russia, Macao, and Mongolia. The regime is believed to produce some of the world's best bogus currency with the same model press used by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Another source of "super notes" is Syria:
Oct 15, 1995: Fake $100 bills believed coming from Syria or Lebanon WASHINGTON (AP) -- High-quality, counterfeit $100 bills, believed made in Syria or Lebanon, have become so common throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe and the Far East that banks increasingly won't accept the big U.S. bills. The New Yorker reported in its Oct. 23 issue that U.S. officials suspect the counterfeiters may be trying to destabilize the U.S. economy. U.S. Treasury officials have played down the reports because of fears they could shake confidence in American currency. The State Department believes that Syria's military is protecting the counterfeiting ring, the magazine said The same note used in the Gulf War has been counterfeited on a large scale to be passed as real currency. As much as eight billion fake Iraqi Dinar have been smuggled into Cambodia over the past year from Thailand and are now in storage as efforts are made to convert them to a usable currency. The arrival of the cash, and promises of handsome commissions to anyone able to exchange it for US dollars, prompted a frenzy among officials to be the first to secure the deal.