Fake Coins In Fake Slabs

Banemorth

Seems to be happening more and more. I, personally, can NOT tell the difference. I'm just not as experienced and polished as most of you guys out there. I'm not in the habit of buying many SUPER high end coins (10K+) but if I fall in love with a 2,000 coin I'd pull the trigger. I'm not a rich enough man to buy $2,000 coins that end up being worth nothing. I'm young, 25, and think of my collecting as something both highly enjoyable, educational, and something that will help me retire one day when the time comes.

I see people saying that Secure Plus is the only way to go now but I don't think I've seen a coin in one of those slabs that I could: A. Afford and B. Want. It's scary. My great grandfather got me into this hobby a long time ago. A couple years ago I sank over $600 in fake trade dollars (really bad fakes too now that I know better.) Since then anything of a higher value I buy slabbed. I know that you still need to know how to grade and so-on as incorrect grades do happen but I at least knew that I was always getting a real coin with some real value.

Now?

Fake coins in fake slabs. Tungsten filled gold bars. Scammers and rip-off artists. My great-grandpa passed a long time ago so most of this has been trying to teach myself. I love the hobby and my collection. As I said though... it's scary out there. My age as me at a funny place too. Far too old to be a "YN" and so young that most dealers look at me like a kid. This has become more of a rambling post than I had intended. I guess what I'm asking is... how do you know? How can you trust anything anymore? Only buy from big name dealers or Heritage? Avoid Ebay like the plague? It just sucks that you can't "trust" people. I guess I feel like you shouldn't have to be this paranoid.

s4ny

Focus on coins that are not worth faking. Common Silver Dollars are a good example. In Morgan's
you can get nice PCGS MS63 examples for around $70. Not worth faking.

I like raw AU Peace Dollars. Around $30 each.

A young guy like you could just start buying raw Franklin half dollars. Don't
chase but buy mostly like you are buying silver. Like lots of 10 Franklins for
$110-120. Nobody faking them.

Good luck.

ColonelJessup

Not rambling at all. Right now, avoid Ebay like the plague.

Virtually every dealer who advertises on this site or posts here is battle-tested for knowledge and integrity. Based on your current knowledge set, the only other way to go is to identify your area(s)s of interest and ask for PM's from collectors here.

Banemorth

I suppose I want to have my cake and eat it too. I like buying really nice coins that appeal to me. Random raw coins or super common stuff doesn't tickle my fancy. I like higher grade examples with attractive toning. This is more my jam. Some of my coins:











I haven't seen too many counterfeit toners. At least not yet?

gamr0n

I would suggest focusing on a single series. Read all you can about the series and ways of spotting counterfeits. If there is a brick and mortar shop around you that is reputable I would recommend shopping there, or any local coin shows.

renomedphys

I actually bought a real 43-D cent in a fake PCGS MS68 slab on Teletrade. If I hadn't been so turned off by the coin, I doubt I would have looked further into it. Turns out, once you compare the fake slab to a real one, differences stand out.

The biggest one for me was the glue dot on the insert. Most PCGS slabs held up to the light reveal a glue dot that holds the insert onto the plastic. It's hidden by the hologram, but visible under light. The fake slab had no such thing.

The other differences were really hard to tell: The color of the insert was solid blue, not cloudy. The opacity of the plastic was off, but only noticeable when comparing closely.

It was a really good fake, IMHO

Dentuck

Collect exonumia --- tokens and medals are relatively safe.




For now.

LanceNewmanOCC

.
start with these 2 threads and learn to search the archives here. plenty of info around for one to get educated about counterfeits. takes time and hard work, like anything worth doing. not saying you'll catch em all but you can reduce your chances dramatically.

- 1 -
- 2 -
.

ricko

Try the BST and work with forum members of proven knowledge and reliability.... Lots of them here... Cheers, RickO

AMRC

<< <i>I suppose I want to have my cake and eat it too. I like buying really nice coins that appeal to me. Random raw coins or super common stuff doesn't tickle my fancy. I like higher grade examples with attractive toning. This is more my jam. Some of my coins:



>>



Love this coin.

kiyote

I'll chime in and say for what you're spending, I love the excitment of getting whatever is hot (or really cold) straight from the US mint.

That reverse proof buffalo could look amazing.

rec78

You need to learn the differences. Study before you buy. You could compare a few slabs and if one stands out as odd avoid it. Usually you can tell a fake coin. They just don't look right. Compare a known real coin with the one that you want to buy. After looking at many slabs you will eventually learn the difference. Unfortunately trade dollars are the one the most counterfeited US coins and some of them can fool the experts. Always be leary, if a coin is priced too low -you may think that you are getting a bargain. But then, ask yourself, why is this coin priced so low? You may snatch a bargain sometimes but most likely there is something wrong with the coin. If you go to big coin shows most of the dealers, if not all, are reputable and want your repeat business and will help you out.

Banemorth

Thank you AMRC

Renom I hope they offered a full refund!

Dentuck I like some of that stuff but not enough to sink any kind of real $$$ in it.

Lance I really appreciate that post. I plan on studying that material as best I can! I was doing some of the counterfeit picture guessing and yeah I'm not very good at it. I got the first two and then started to fall apart.

Rick I always keep an eye on the BST!

kiyote I generally grab any ASE they put out. I am intrigued by the Gold Buffalo!

rec78 I'm trying to learn but some of the fakes they have are amazing. I just miss my little "if it's in PCGS plastic its real" security blanket. It made me comfortable and happy!

Thanks everyone for the support. Just trying to learn the ins and outs. It just seems like every time I feel like I make a little progress the ante gets upped again.

DaveG

Banemorth,

You really have two options: improve your knowledge to the point where you can't get fooled and/or work with a dealer whose knowledge you can rely on.

I'd recommend doing both.

Frankcoins

<< <i>I guess what I'm asking is... how do you know? How can you trust anything anymore? Only buy from big name dealers or Heritage? Avoid Ebay like the plague? It just sucks that you can't "trust" people. I guess I feel like you shouldn't have to be this paranoid. >>



Know who your seller is. ANA member at least. How many years in business? Will they give you their real name and a contact phone number? 2 minutes on the
phone with a seller should reveal whether the person is a professional numismatist (regardless of the sales volume or size) or something else.

Wabbit2313

Buy Secure Plus. Every coin has a picture on PCGS site. Also, you can send it in and they can tell positively if it is not the same coin. If it's not, eBay and PayPal would cover you with the proof it was fake.

Way of the future, and why I only go Secure Plus now.

Frankcoins

<< <i>Focus on coins that are not worth faking. Common Silver Dollars are a good example. In Morgan's
you can get nice PCGS MS63 examples for around $70. Not worth faking.

I like raw AU Peace Dollars. Around $30 each.

A young guy like you could just start buying raw Franklin half dollars. Don't
chase but buy mostly like you are buying silver. Like lots of 10 Franklins for
$110-120. Nobody faking them.

Good luck. >>



The 1879-S Morgan is fake...the 1892 is real. My photos were on the cover of the July 2009 CoinAGE magazine.

I ordered this on eBay as a COMPLETE DATE and MM set of Morgans
(in a fake Dansco album) for $300 and took it around the 2009 TNA show as an educational project. The dealers
weren't worried about the fake 89-CC or 93-S or 95-P --- they were worried about the 79-S and 21-D and 83-O
and the many others that were "not worth faking"

LochNESS

<< <i>I haven't seen too many counterfeit toners. At least not yet? >>


I've seen plenty of artificial toners. Toning version of counterfeit. Just as bad IMO and will not holder, BTW.

davewesen

<< <i>Buy Secure Plus. Every coin has a picture on PCGS site. Also, you can send it in and they can tell positively if it is not the same coin. If it's not, eBay and PayPal would cover you with the proof it was fake.

Way of the future, and why I only go Secure Plus now. >>




I missed the thread explaining how Secure Plus is not counterfeitable, and if you buy one it is guaranteed to be what it says it is.

Banemorth

<< <i>

<< <i>Buy Secure Plus. Every coin has a picture on PCGS site. Also, you can send it in and they can tell positively if it is not the same coin. If it's not, eBay and PayPal would cover you with the proof it was fake.

Way of the future, and why I only go Secure Plus now. >>




I missed the thread explaining how Secure Plus is not counterfeitable, and if you buy one it is guaranteed to be what it says it is. >>



All of the Secure Plus coins are photographed as well. That much I know.


I'm also familiar with AT. I was just mentioning that I haven't seen many counterfeit coins that have been toned. At least before those educational threads were linked!