Counterfeit gold coins ~ advice please? Pics added!!
VirginiaCollector
Posts: 215 ✭✭✭
I bought 3 golds coins that have proved to be counterfeit ~ 1914 $2 1/2, 1882 $3 and 1911 $10....each
purchased years ago. I only recently had them tested and it appears that they are indeed gold...
18 karat gold. A total of 16 pennyweights according to my source.
What have I got? Is that 80% of an ounce? ...so roughly $1000 melt?
If so, where would I go to sell them?
Thanks for any advice.
purchased years ago. I only recently had them tested and it appears that they are indeed gold...
18 karat gold. A total of 16 pennyweights according to my source.
What have I got? Is that 80% of an ounce? ...so roughly $1000 melt?
If so, where would I go to sell them?
Thanks for any advice.
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
0
Comments
ya around $1k sounds about right
<< <i>http://www.coinflation.com/gold_coin_values.html
ya around $1k sounds about right >>
So where does one sell counterfeit coins?
<< <i>
<< <i>http://www.coinflation.com/gold_coin_values.html
ya around $1k sounds about right >>
So where does one sell counterfeit coins? >>
A jeweler may be interested to use them in jewelry. Or you could sell them as scrap to a refinery but I'd smack them with a hammer before you send them to the refinery so they won't be tempted to sell them as real coins.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>I would call around and see if there are jewelers who buy scrap and will certainly have them melted. If there is a slight chance that they get resold as real (especially the $3) don't sell them. >>
or grab a knife and carve fake into them before selling them.
my condolences for your loss.
<< <i>.....or grab a knife and carve fake into them before selling them.
my condolences for your loss. >>
Man you guys don't waste any time over here on the coin forum....thanks for all of the replies!
I will make a few scans and see what happens on the BST or PM boards....but I don't think that
I can bring myself to deface these.....
I sent them in to PCI years ago and that's where I found out
<< <i>....any chance that these may NOT be counterfeits?
I sent them in to PCI years ago and that's where I found out
Are you convinced they are counterfeits? You seem unsure.
<< <i>
<< <i>....any chance that these may NOT be counterfeits?
I sent them in to PCI years ago and that's where I found out
Are you convinced they are counterfeits? You seem unsure. >>
The ONLY reason I say they are counterfeits is that they were bagged and returned from PCI when I sent them
in for grading many years ago.....could PCI have been mistaken? I wouldn't have ANY idea how to tell.....
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>....any chance that these may NOT be counterfeits?
I sent them in to PCI years ago and that's where I found out
Are you convinced they are counterfeits? You seem unsure. >>
The ONLY reason I say they are counterfeits is that they were bagged and returned from PCI when I sent them
in for grading many years ago.....could PCI have been mistaken? I wouldn't have ANY idea how to tell..... >>
They are human and humans can make mistakes. It would be good for you to be comfortable that they were counterfeits before writing them off as such. Learn some diagnostics or have an expert explain them to you.
<< <i>Is there any way you could provide pictures of the 1914 $2.5 Indian? I would be very interested to hear what the experts on this forum say about the diagnostics. >>
You need something better than those above?
If they say yes, ask what they would pay for them. Know in advance what the melt value would be if they were genuine (0.7498 troy ounce net, or about $1008 at $1345 gold), and if they offer around 90% take the money.
FWIW, we buy high quality Lebanese fakes at 90% of melt just to get them off the market. Of course, I can tell which are the "high quality" counterfeits and a lot of dealers can't. Also, I know how to do specific gravities.
If the best offer you can get is far under 90%, consider talking to a local refiner to get his refining fees. On a small lot like this they will be horrendous.
TD
wouldn't they be underweight if they are 18k ?
TD
You need something better than those above?
Doesn't matter to me, you own the coins/tokens. However, there are members on this forum who's judgment I would trust viewing a nice enlarged photo, more so than PCI graders from many years ago.
But that's just me, you do what you want...
for best results....
<< <i>I only recently had them tested and it appears that they are indeed gold...
18 karat gold. >>
Those coins I am pretty sure if genuine would be .900 or about 22k.
If they tested 18k gold=.750, so not genuine.
<< <i>Those look like really good fakes, if they are fakes. How were they tested? >>
I doubt they were tested other than weighing them and a visual examination under high magnification.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Better pics would help, someone here might be able to tell if they have diags of known fakes or based on the surfaces and design.
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
<< <i>Those look like really good fakes, if they are fakes. How were they tested? >>
Weighed, visually inspected and he had some sort of a machine that (supposedly) told him that
these were 18k gold.....
<< <i>When you bought them did they come together from the same source?
Better pics would help, someone here might be able to tell if they have diags of known fakes or based on the surfaces and design. >>
All 3 came from different sources (on eBay) and over time....I was just buying and putting them away....I wasn't keeping any
kind of records then and was buying too much too quick....with all that I bought, I was extremely lucky that only 3 turned out
like this....
I'm not good at close scans of coins (currency guy) but I will try.....thanks!
<< <i>
<< <i>I only recently had them tested and it appears that they are indeed gold...
18 karat gold. >>
Those coins I am pretty sure if genuine would be .900 or about 22k.
If they tested 18k gold=.750, so not genuine. >>
OK....so maybe the guy I took them to is being honest then?? Oops...looked back at my previous posts and
it seems I never told you guys that he said they were worth approx $778 and that he offered me $700
for them....
So if they are worth $1K (0.7498 troy ounce net, or about $1008 at $1345 gold) then his $700 offer
is spot on (pun intended)?
If you indeed verify that they are fake, I would feel compelled to deface them before letting them leave your hands, to ensure that no one else down the road gets burned. If someone is buying them for their scrap gold, they should not care.