Anyone ever know a counterfeiter?

Prethen

With all of these counterfeits around, certainly many are of recent "making", I was wondering if anyone actually ever witnessed and/or talked to someone who counterfeited a coin(s). Ever actually witness the making of a 1916D or SVDB? How about cast or struck counterfeits?

I'm certain there are counterfeits out there that are so good as to be essentially undetectable.

itsnotjustme

Oh yeah, I can see a lot of people responding yes to this... with a link to their auctions in their signature block.

Smittys

In eighth grade a made a sand cast of a silver dollar, ....

Prethen

<< <i>Oh yeah, I can see a lot of people responding yes to this... with a link to their auctions in their signature block. >>


I'm not looking to "out" anyone here. I'm guessing that a counterfeiter has probably bragged about his skills to someone. If you're a counterfeiter, you likely won't be responding to this thread.

777

<<<Anyone ever Know a counterfeiter?>>

A skinny funny talking guy named Don Kawinga from Morris,Illinois

As far as him making them I cannot be certain but he knows who does...

This Don drives around to coin shops all over america selling counterfeit
Trade $1.--Seated $1. and gold all raw and ungraded.

He's been doing this for years and many dealers here in Illinois and
elsewhere know of him and his escapes from prosecution over the years.

He tried taking me once but I do not buy expensive ungraded keys
no matter how nice they appear or appeal to me!

dthigpen

I've known people that have messed with counterfeiting on a hobby level, never trying to pass the currency as real.

PerryHall

I'm sure several people here know a counterfeiter. They just don't know that this person is a counterfeiter.

Prethen

Recent articles make it sound like numerous people have glued a "D" onto a 1916 Merc. I doubt that was just done 30 years ago or so.

LostSisler

I have never seen a counterfeit be made but I have seen SOOOO many come through Alaska from Asia! They are getting pretty good at what they do and they are duping westerners out of their money more often then not. It's not too difficult of a process and many people could find the will and the way. My suggestion to every Numismatist is to find out as much as possible about minting so you can help detect counterfeits! You know the counterfeiters are!

Side-note on holders and other fakes;

One of the guys in my local coin club got duped by a Capital Plastic holder that had two (2!) Mercs in it, a 16 and a later-date Denver coin. You could see the 16 on one side and the D on the other. The lesson is, never buy a coin without studying it's edge AND to KNOW YOUR DIAGNOSTICS before buying. I could imagine a pretty good fake made from two sanded down coins that have been glued together as-well. I imagine that edges are pretty easy to fake and/or repair after such a surgery.

SilverBaron

I know this guy.... He has a buddy named Lester... These guys also cheat people by selling early American electro-types as originals... and another scam is to buy 1936-37 proof sets in Capital holders...and switch out the nickel for a proof LIKE...They get most of their fake gold from a guy in Florida.

CaptHenway

While I was Senior Authenticator at ANACS, me and the boys got a personal demonstration on coin casting from a museum which shall remain nameless, that had decided to place all of its coins in a vault for security purposes and replace them on display with "replicas." It was quite enlightening to watch the process. We had a long talk afterwards about the Hobby Protection Act, which the museum declared did not apply to their "replicas" because they were not making them for sale. I politely disagreed.
TD

GFourDriver

There was a girl in my High School class who was arrested and convicted of counterfeiting some years after High School, does that count? I didn't know her too well, just read about it.

cmerlo1

In college, I knew a girl who figured out that you could make cardboard "quarters" and use them in the dorm laundry room's washing machines...that's the closest anyone I've ever known has been to a counterfeiter!

--Christian

Pistareen

When I instructed a seminar at Colonial Williamsburg with their curator of numismatics and Mechanical Arts (and a dozen or so students), we personally made brass sand casts of George III halfpence at the Geddy Foundry on site. The process is incredibly simple, though filing down the flashing on the edges took a lot of elbow grease. It was a great educational experience for all involved.

All were appropriately marked and counterstamped with the smithy mark of the the Geddy Foundry, and several were given to institutions.

SilverBaron

This is an old trick that I have seen done with 16-D mercs, 01-S Qtrs., and S-vdb Lincolns.......A cute trick played on a dealer I know was at a show....this old duff presents a whitman punch board "type coin" album for sale.... all really nice very high grade pieces... the dealer shoots him a rip price and the guy agrees!!.... after the transaction...the old guy bee lines for the door and is gone...dealer starts to pop the coins for individual sale....SUPRISE.... EVERY coin is badly damaged on the reverse!!!

Scavenger

Last year in Florida the police arrested a high school kid for gambling, he was a bookie. I'm not talking about nickel ante stuff, this kid was banking thousands every week during football season. When he was arrested the police found a shoebox full of one dollar bills in his locker. The kid told them that the bills were fake, he made them at home on a laser printer. After hearing this the detective admitted that it was a very good job and had the kid not told him, he would have not known that the bills were fake. When asked why he made one's instead of a larger denomination he said because nobody ever looks at a one dollar bill.

DeusExMachina

<< <i>While I was Senior Authenticator at ANACS, me and the boys got a personal demonstration on coin casting from a museum which shall remain nameless, that had decided to place all of its coins in a vault for security purposes and replace them on display with "replicas." It was quite enlightening to watch the process. We had a long talk afterwards about the Hobby Protection Act, which the museum declared did not apply to their "replicas" because they were not making them for sale. I politely disagreed.
TD >>



Very interesting and scary at the same time. Thanks for the post.

777

Silver Baron,

Please enable your pm function.

I would like to speak with you.

Thankyou

Longacre

This is turning into a very interesting thread. I like the stories.

Prethen

TTT for the evening crew.

pursuitofliberty

I do not know a counterfeiter (well I could I suppose, but I don't know that anyone I know is one), but I know a dealer who was taken by one (either directly {we suspected after the man was not seen again and for other reasons} or indirectly).

He purchased a partial set of Buffalo Nickels at a show in a Dansco or Whitman type album ... both sides visable, but not the edge. Most of the later date coins were fine, but many of the early date MM'd coins were drilled through the edge, punched from inside and refilled. He hadn't noticed at the show, but the bad MM's were all the same (same S punch, same D punch) ... another reason he believed the seller was the bad guy ... and once he realized that, he started examining the edges. He related the story to me, and had kept five examples to show collectors, for which I was lucky enough to have a chance to examine. I believe he donated the rest to the ANA ... I think he said there were ten in all. Three were done well, at least one which was very, very hard to make out the deception. The other two were not hard to detect, IF you examined the edge.

I now that this type of counterfeit is documented, but it is something to remember ...