Counterfeit coin making

[Bobbcue]

I guess you are all aware of the Chinese counterfeiting of old silver coins. If not

Here is a link:

http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins...rfeiting-Ring/

[Hogman]

About five years ago a man bought several silver dollars at the Canton Fleamarket in Texas. He went to another coin dealer and looked at his coins and complained about how high they were. The dealer looked at the coins the man had bought and they were chinese knockoffs. Long story short the dealer that sold the chinese silver dollars was arrested for selling counterfeit dollars. They took everything including his vehicle.

[Cruisin]

How long have the counterfeits been common on the market? I've got silver dollars that my Mom bought in the 70s , some from the 80s, and some from the past 5 years. I'm trying to figure out if they are fake or real but the more info I look up the more confused I get! I have an OK gram scale but I'm hearing that you can't always trust the weight. I've gotten the "cartwheel effect" thing down but I'm hearing that that may not be reliable. None of my coins are attracted to a magnet but I've heard that that isn't reliable either. What is the best way to tell real from fake?

[usandthem]

The fakes that I have seen are obvious if you know your coins. I saw a picture of a fake Peace Dollar the other day that was dated 1990 something. Of course they didn't make any Peace Dollars in the '90s. I would say that your coins that you recieved in the '70s and '80s are pretty safe. Those from the '90s are probably OK too. Just my opinion.

[Cleetus]

I just saw some on eBay (surprise, surprise). The price was only about $18.00 for SIX U.S. Piece dollars That's right 3.00 for a 1923 Peace Dollar. Now you got to reading the description and they clearly stated THESE ARE REPLICAS. But my point is, how many small sellers are snapping up 100 Morgans @ $300 bucks and making a ton by selling them off at 30 bucks each? I use to think it was safe just getting the common dates that weren't worth much more than melt price. But when the fake product is this cheap, even the low end silver dollars are a 1000% profit. I hear they are Tungsten or Lead with Silver plating. I think the really poor condition cheap silver dollars are a safe bet, just for "junk silver" . Of course if you go to your local reputable dealer, or even an online dealer that has a good reputation you should be safe.

[Cleetus]

Here's another link with pics for fake US coins http://coinauctionshelp.com/Counterf...an_Dollar.html

[dossier]

a couple hundred years ago and maybe even 150yrs ago counterfeiting money = death.