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CBC Hamilton: "Fake U.S Silver Eagle coins soaring through Hamilton"

GoldbullyGoldbully Posts: 16,823 ✭✭✭✭✭
Fake U.S Silver Eagle coins soaring through Hamilton, police say
Hamilton Police say they've gathered over 500 fake U.S Silver Eagle coins sold across the city over the past few months.


Hamilton coin collectors and pawn shops are getting duped.

Police are warning that fake U.S silver eagle dollar coins have been circulating in the city and have been sold to various establishments over the past few months.

"You wouldn't be able to tell the difference (with) the naked eye. The coins are actually very high quality fakes," Const. Mike La Combe said in a Hamilton Police YouTube video. "They are silver and nickel-plated, which gives them the look of an actual silver dollar. However, when you cut them open, you can clearly see on the inside, they are brass filled."

The video shows some of the roughly 500 fakes that have been confiscated so far.

"They are worth practically nothing, just a couple cents each," La Combe explained.

LaCombe is a pawn unit investigator and says the coins are being bought online, then sold at "golden" times for the seller when shops are busy or with little staff. During the rush, employees may not have the time to do all the proper authenticity checks, giving criminals the chance to sell fast without getting caught.

"Only buy them from reputable dealers, a place that is established, an expert who works there who knows the difference between real and fake. Don't buy them off the internet. and don't buy them from people from the public who aren't considered experts because more than likely you're going to get a fake," added Le Combe.


Hamilton Police: real vs. fake

Real coins should all weigh the same, fake coins have varying weights.
Liberty female's head is different on a fake coin compared to that of an authentic coin.
Stars on the reverse of the coins above the eagle and shield are further spaced apart on a fake, in contrast to a real coin.
Lettering on the fake coin is thinner and less-defined than the real coin
"Scratch" test-filling a part of the coin away to reveal the interior alloy of the coin will often expose the brass on the inside, confirming it is fake


Video Link

Comments

  • derrybderryb Posts: 36,118 ✭✭✭✭✭
    does the video give the date on these fakes?

    The decline from democracy to tyranny is both a natural and inevitable one.

  • epcjimi1epcjimi1 Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭
    Hamilton is not far from Toronto, eh, perps probably moved down the road.

    Fake 2011 U.S. silver eagles- be careful
  • derrybderryb Posts: 36,118 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Hamilton is not far from Toronto, eh, perps probably moved down the road.

    Fake 2011 U.S. silver eagles- be careful >>


    That's what I was thinking.

    The decline from democracy to tyranny is both a natural and inevitable one.

  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I know these people are novices, but it sure would be nice if once a story like this actually showed a good close-up shot of the coins, or a link to large images. This did neither.

    I have no doubt I can pick out a fake eagle. I have no doubt that people who've never seen one before wouldn't even know what they don't know, if you follow, and that's what these people exhibited.
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame


  • << <i>

    << <i>Hamilton is not far from Toronto, eh, perps probably moved down the road.

    Fake 2011 U.S. silver eagles- be careful >>


    That's what I was thinking. >>




    the fake in this link looks "cartoonish" compared to the real deal. with that said it looks well made which is scary.
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  • Thanks for the info.
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 30,977 ✭✭✭✭✭
    On the plus side, I bet they won't milkspot!


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>Hamilton is not far from Toronto, eh, perps probably moved down the road.

    Fake 2011 U.S. silver eagles- be careful >>


    That's what I was thinking. >>




    the fake in this link looks "cartoonish" compared to the real deal. with that said it looks well made which is scary. >>



    Look at the size of that nose..
  • I hope the Secret Service has investigated and tracked down the counterfeiters by now.
    Salute the automobile: The greatest anti-pollution device in human history!
    (Just think of city streets clogged with a hundred thousand horses each generating 15 lbs of manure every day...)
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