Chinese Counterfeiters - This is just plain wrong!

[JCinNJ]

To all coin collecters,

This is a must read.

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

http://coins.about.com/

HH

- joe

[ivan salis]

omg --the horror of it !!

[Charlie P. (NY)]

That tears it! I refuse to compete in the Olympics being held in China.

All we have to do to get the message to China is to stop buying their products until they get a handle on the concept of "intellectual property", or even plain old thievery.

But if you have checked labels lately that might be almost impossible.

[stanjam]

Why counterfeit these old coins though? Because their value is higher? It would seem to me that if you wanted to do this you should counterfeit the newer coins, unless you are targeting collectors themselves, trying to bilk them out of their money.

[mtntrekr2]

A little over a yr ago I was looking for a few trade dollars for my collection. I purchased 4 of them on feebay for a price that I should have known was to good to be true.
anyway when they arrived they were shipped from china. all 4 were fakes. their weight was only between 390 and 400 grains and all had rotated reverses.
it seems they are minting the older coins that are seen bringing decent prices on the net between collectors. I do not think it is any attempt against the US dollar as much as it is their usual counterfeit collectable like everything else they make.
now I take my own scale with me to any place that I am planning on possibly buying coins.

HH Joe

[cam9457]

CRAP, I just bought my first Trade dollar last night on ebay. Is there any way for a rookie to tell the fakes from the real deal? It's an 1877 S

[RON (PA)]

Yet another reason why we need to stop importing from China. They cannot be trusted. Let the ships full Chinese junk sit and rust in the ocean for all I care.

[mtntrekr2]

quote "Is there any way for a rookie to tell the fakes from the real deal?"

The first clue to spot a possible fake is to hold the coin with the face towards you and the date centered on the bottom. Flip the coin over from top to bottom. The D in dollar should be bottom center now. Look at the coin the D in dollar on the reverse should line up with the center of the date on the front. If it does not then the reverse is so-called rotated. The first sign of it being one of the counterfeits.
The second way to tell the difference is to weigh it. A good trade dollar should weigh between 415 grains on a worn coin and 420 on a nice one. Most of the counterfeits are less than 400 grains.

My 2 cents
Joe

[cam9457]

Thanks Joe, I don't have a scale but the first method I've never heard of. I will do it as soon as it arrives, hopfully this week. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! Ryan

[JCinNJ]

Thanks Joe, I don't have a scale but the first method I've never heard of. I will do it as soon as it arrives, hopfully this week. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! Ryan

If it is fake and you bought it from someone in the U.S. call in the feds!

HH

- joe

[HiiiQ]

Mine is on EBAY. I cannot tell if it's real or counterfeit,but if it is real with a mistake on the date somebody will hit the jackpot...http://global.ebay.com/gbh/viItem?ItemId=300212319848

[mtntrekr2]

For sure counterfeit. Trade Dollars were only minted from 1873-1885.

Joe

[jeff of pa]

Mine is on EBAY. I cannot tell if it's real or counterfeit,but if it is real with a mistake on the date somebody will hit the jackpot...http://global.ebay.com/gbh/viItem?ItemId=300212319848

Discription on EBay
A friend of mine found a similar coin in an old house wrapped in a piece of cloth. The year doesn't make sense ,so it's either a counterfeit or a mistake was made on the date. It has "cc" on the bottom and it is silver.

Fake.
They didn't make mistakes like that.

However IF it is silver it's worth it's weight.

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

I would buy a coin graded by NGC, PCGS or ANACS and feel confident that it was real. You can always "crack" a coin out of the slab if you prefer a raw coin.


VPR

[RON (PA)]

I agree VPR...When in doubt always buy slabbed.