How do you spot a fake pound coin?

The number of fake £1 coins in circulation now stands at more than 30 million, according to the Royal Mint. How do you know if you've been given one?

Read the whole article here...

Fake Gold Coins

When buying gold coins it is vitally important that you ensure you are not buying fake gold coins.

Fakes gold coins do exist, just as they do with silver and even other coins such as ancient or rare coins.

How can you tell the difference between a fake gold coin and a genuine one?

Sometimes the difference is obvious, especially when you have a fake and a genuine coin side by side.

Some of the indications of fake coins are quality of the coin, it can look dull and not shiny and sometimes look *too* shiny. There are often imperfections and the coin looks like it has been cast not pressed. (which it usually has been).

Also the sound. When dropped or hit with another coin does it have that ring a real coin has.

You might recall the only traditional method of biting the coin, often favored in movies about pirates. Well biting the coin can tell the softness of the coin and fake coins are usually much softer than the real McCoy. Biting the coin is not recommended as it may damage it not to mention your teeth!

Probably the best way to check if a coin is fake is to take it to a reputable dealer and get them to check. They will be able to tell you.

And what if you are thinking of buying a coin and not sure if it is a fake or not.

Well firstly don’t buy unless the dealer offers you a guarantee the coin is genuine. If it is rare it should come with a certificate of authenticity.

There are some famous fakes and some people even collect fakes due possibly to the notoriety attached to them.

Some of the sovereign dates which appear in high quality fakes include 1822, 1827, 1832, 1887, 1916-C (Ottawa Mint, Canada), and 1917. These are all London mint coins (no mintmark), except where specified. Most of these dates are scarce or rare. The 1917 London, for example, catalogues at £2750 in EF condition, and the 1916-C at £7000.

It has also been pointed out that a blind person is more able to detect a fake coin from the real than a sighted person. Possibly due to the fact that a blind person uses his other senses more.

Fake Gold Coins has a lot of information that is useful to know in this field.

Fake gold coins, however, will not be a problem for the collector who uses due diligence when buying gold coins.

An Assortment of Fake Coin Dies in China

Photo courtesy of Jinghua Shei
A selection of dies is shown for striking fake coins in an illegal Chinese coin minting operation. Note the many U.S. coins being faked.
In order to strike coins, you need coin dies, and the Chinese counterfeiters are making some fairly high-quality ones, as this photo indicates. Most of the dies shown here are of various American silver dollars, although I see a couple of Indian Head Cent dies and some foreign coin types.

How Can I Avoid Silver Eagle Coin Fraud and Other Fake Silver Coins?

By Susan Headley
Question: How Can I Avoid Silver Eagle Coin Fraud and Other Fake Silver Coins?

Coin fraud is an unfortunate reality in the coin collecting marketplace, but you can avoid buying fake silver coins, and avoid coin fraud in general, by learning how to spot fake coins. We will use a fake Silver Eagle to demonstrate some easy steps to avoid buying fake coins.

Answer: Avoiding coin fraud boils down to one basic point: knowledge. If you want to avoid buying fake silver coins and becoming a victim of coin fraud, you first need to learn what the genuine coin looks like. Then it's just a matter of making some comparisons, and employing a little bit of common sense. To give an example, we'll use a fake silver coin type that is being produced in large numbers in China: the fake American Silver Eagle Bullion coin.
Coin Fraud - Fake Silver Coins

Follow these 6 easy steps for detecting fake silver coins in general:

1. Does the silver coin look right? Any highly experienced coin authenticator will tell you that they often can't tell you why a given specimen is fake, (short of doing a full objective analysis, as explained below.) All they can say is that it doesn't "look right." Learn what the genuine silver coin looks like, and when you get that little red flag waving in your head that something looks wrong, even if you can't put your finger on exactly what is wrong, trust your senses and don't buy the coin!


2. How much does the silver coin weigh? Most fake silver coins are made from silvery metal alloys that weigh less than genuine silver. Weigh the coin in question; if the weight is wrong for the type, don't buy it! Even overweight coins are problematic, because they might be silver-plated lead.


3. How does the surface of the silver coin look? Fake silver coins may or may not have a silver-plated finish on them. Although higher-quality struck fakes might look pretty convincing if they're plated, many fakers don't even bother to plate the coin! Silver has a distinctive sheen to it that is neither too harsh nor too soft or "soapy" looking.


4. How does the silver coin's edge look? If the coin edge should be reeded, and isn't (or vice versa) this is a giant red flag, since mint errors of this type are very rare. Also, if the coin has a seam around the edge, a bit of a protrusion on the edge that could be a casting sprue, or file marks indicating a sprue or seam was removed, don't buy the coin!


5. Does the silver coin pass a magnification check? Although the methods listed above will usually enable you to rule out most fakes (especially the weight test,) sometimes close examination under a strong magnifier settles the matter. Look for silver plating that failed to fill into tiny spots and crevices. Look at the edge of the coin to see if the plating is visible where the rim meets the side; also look between the reeding. Sometimes just looking at the fields under 10x is enough to condemn the silver coin as a fake, because the fields may appear rough, or have spots of copper or other non-silver impurities.


6. Does it pass the silver coin ring test? Silver coins have a distinctive ring when held on the tip of a finger and tapped with another coin. Be careful doing this test, though; you don't want to ding or damage the coin, or drop it onto a hard surface, so use some judgement. The ring test can be helpful when all other easy methods of checking are inconclusive.


Diagnosing a Fake Silver Eagle Bullion Coin
Let's use the 6 steps above to see if the silver eagle coin in the photo is genuine.

1. 1906 Silver Eagle - One glance is all it took to condemn this Chinese-made fake Silver Eagle! Look at the date: 1906. The U.S. didn't even begin making the Silver Eagle until 1986! Mistakes like these are common on fakes. When you see something like this, don't try to rationalize a purchase decision by telling yourself the mint made an error or something, just pass, and save yourself some money.


2. An ounce of silver that weighs 26 grams - In case Step 1 didn't already condemn this fake silver eagle, Step 2 does so decisively. A genuine silver eagle weighs 31.101 grams. (The forger also got the diameter wrong. This fake eagle measures 38.86 mm rather than the 40.6 mm it should.) The weight of a coin is something that forgers almost always get wrong. If a modern coin is off-weight, but on a normal-looking planchet, be very wary!


3. This fake silver eagle is dull in appearance - The genuine silver eagle is a beautiful coin, resplendent with luster and with nice relief. This fake eagle, however, is dull and grayish looking, with almost no relief.


4. A silver eagle with no reeding - If you ever see an American Silver Eagle without reeded edges, it's not a mint error, but a Chinese fake silver coin. One wonders how they can get things like this wrong!


5. Magnifying the eagle's dullness - Under magnification, this fake eagle looks soapy and dull.


6. This silver eagle has no ring - The ring test produces a tinny-sounding dink. Definitely not the pure bell ring of silver!


Remember, if something ever feels "wrong" about a silver coin, don't buy it! Trust your instincts! And if you've already bought it, send it back!

Gold Coins, Real and Fake

How can you tell if gold coins are real or fake? You have bought a gold coin you wanted or seen one you like. How do you know it’s real?

This is very important when you are purchasing gold coins, particularly online. If you buy a coin and it turns out to be a fake there is virtually no chance of returning it and getting a refund. Especially if your ability to tell the difference is poor or minimal and this only comes to light when you try to sell it later.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when you purchase gold coins. These will assist you to reduce the chances of purchasing fake coins and help you to identify those that may be fake, especially when buying online.

Buy from reputable dealers. Avoid sellers you do not know or do not provide all the information you seek. Ensure they also have a proper address and contact phone numbers. A ‘hotmail’ email address is insufficient.
Do not buy from sellers who have a no-return policy, especially sellers claiming to sell from an ‘estate’. The ‘Caveat Emptor’ (Buyer Beware) policy applies very much in this field. Know your seller, in other words.
Don’t buy antique or rare coins until and unless you are a specialist. Although modern coins can be faked most of the fakes are usually antique or rare coins.

Fake gold coins sold on eBay can be a problem. One has only pictures of the coins for sale and, unless one is an expert, it is well nigh impossible to establish the authenticity of the coin being sold. There are some guiding principles here one can follow to reduce the chances of buying a fake gold coin on ebay.

Buy only from a power seller.
Check the feedback of the seller.
Check to ensure the seller does not change the category of the item the day before the sale ends. (This is a favorite trick to stymie coin dealers who can tell if the coin is fake. Also prevents eBay from acting upon complaints)
Ensure the seller is contactable and you can and should ask a question to see if they respond and what their response is.
Is there a return policy?
Any guarantee of authenticity?
Check the online coin discussion groups. Usually there are warnings or discussion regarding the coins for sale and which are fake and which are not.

These are very important points and it would be wise not to ignore them.

Also at Counterfeit coin detection one can find a complete guide to testing for fake coins.

Some people actually collect fake and counterfeit coins. Some counterfeit coins have a particular history or educational value. These are usually called ‘black cabinet’ or 'black museum' collections. Again, these coins are for the specialist.

Despite the above, the incidence of fake or counterfeit gold coins is not large. Provided one takes sensible precautions one can usually safely purchase one's favorite gold coins from a reputable dealer either online or from the shop in the high street.