Don’t forget to check out my video on FAKE Silver Eagles ➡️ th-cam.com/video/kT8zAmPGI5I/w-d-xo.html in case anyone is wondering about the gold coins in this video: The person who brought in the fake gold coins let us film the video and then took them when he left. I have no idea where he got the coins from he said that he bought them private party and thought he could still get his money back. seems a little suspicious to me but who knows…
I used to work with a guy who would buy silver coins from eBay. I asked him if he ever got any of them certified and he said no. I suggested some of them might be fake and this started him worrying. So, he sent in his most valuable coins for certification. Three of the ten coins he sent in were fake. He took the rest of his coins to a coin shop to get them tested and they found more fake coins. He quit buying from eBay and started buying only from the coin shop.
My dad bought a grip of $20 gold coins from a local shop, One time I was looking at a few and found a re-slabbed $20 PCGS MS64, it was a MS60 even to me who knows very little. Shop made good on it.
If a dealer told me my coin was fake and tried to confiscate it there would be trouble. It would be to easy for a crooked dealer to say that about a good coin and keep it.
Thats why offering to call the police would be handy. Counterfeiting US currency is a felony. A dealer NOT calling the police is then an accessory to a felony. (I think)
So the dealer has to weigh either screwing the community by keeping his mouth shut, which seems to be occurring in the video, or calling the police anyway and then potentially getting video of you in the store and video of your car in the lot. Then when they find you, you having to convince them that you weren't intentionally trying to defraud that dealer. If I were the investigator, I would also take your picture to other dealers to find out if they e had any run ins with you. Or, just stay and cooperate and maybe even get help locating the person who sold you the bad coins.
Confiscation seems a bit weird and not necessarily lawful. I'm not a coinshop owner, so maybe my ideas aren't the beat to go by, but at that point I'd offer a drill press test, or a call to authorities. I don't think I'd want to let an un-drilled counterfeit leave the shop, but I think taking possession of fake bullion is solely the right of the state.
@@phlodel certainly true on the confiscate part, as for the defacing, the drill test is standard for detecting fakes, and it's better than having you name on a police report for trying to sell counterfeit bullion. I grew up in the Shore Points, lot of cash business there. Everybody gets stuck with a fake $20 bill in their life there. So I'm used to the idea on having to take an L over a counterfeit. Better than getting choked by a cop.
Why not confiscate and then call the police .. no different than a guy walking into your store with a phoney bill .. you look at it and tell him it's fake and give it back ???
I can visualize the parking lot beggars trying pawn off fake coins for money. Coin shops might consider taking pics of the fake coins and emailing the pics to other vendors.
@@SilverDragons47 last year I was approached by a family at night asking for gas. Even though I didn't give them money they wanted to give me a men's gold ring, which likely is fake. They said they couldn't wait till the banks opened the next morning. That was the first time I've experienced this type of con.
The proliferation of ever increasing quality fake silver and gold coins is a real concern. I attend estate auctions and have to bring along my Sigma to test every coin, as so many are turning up now. Even if an NGC or PCGS holder looks legitimate I have to test the coin, as some fakes are sealed with a genuine hologram.
I came across a fake American Eagle coin this week at my local flea market. I explained how to test the coin with a magnet to one of the cashiers who was very surprised but I’m sure the manager knew it was fake. He saw me looking at it in the case and didn’t bother to come over to let me see it.
I found jars of coins at an old farm. I've sold only a few over the years to a private collector that I trust. Cash only. There were gold and silver coins all pre 1930. I'm glad i just sat on them for my later years, I knew prices would go this high. I need not be in a hurry. Don't worry it was the family farm.
When you talk about fake gold coins, are they real tender that's just electroplated with gold? If so can you still use them as a regular coin? I have a friend whos brother passed away & left him with thousands of "collectable" coins. He has no clue what is real, or what is fake, what do you suggest he should do to find that out?
There is no available AU coins in our America's economy due to the dye coins whatever it look like a real to us, but the silver is only the answers that's it.
Another tip is to download a free QR reader and scan the barcode. Many of these fake labels are too poor to scan, or return info that doesn't match the cert and grade (counterfeiters are not just sleazy, they're lazy). One criticism - you emphasize "buy the coin, not the holder", but say nothing about how to identify that the coin is fake. Comparing the one with the NGC images was a perfect opportunity to note that the fake coin is clearly not the same coin NGC photographed, but all you focused on was that the slab style is wrong.
I appreciate your content here. The videos have helped me to be a more educated buyer. Fortunately most of the coins I have purchased are common not always silver or gold. I started with collecting WW l & WW ll coins not pristine just good details. Watching this channel and couple others for a little while now have helped me to keep from making spontaneous buys. Thanks for good content and keeping details simple enough for beginners like me.
West Germany, 1971. My dad and I (I was 15) were in a junk store, and saw a $5 US gold coin. They only wanted $30 for it. HELL YES!!! I grabbed it, immediately. The mistake the owner made? He brought out a SECOND $5 gold coin, identical year and mint mark. Umm....NO.
The wisdom from the vids on counterfeits is priceless. Scary stuff and makes you want to spend the extra money to ensure you are getting the real deal from legitimate dealers.
Can you do a video on shopping channel silver coins? They had 300 yr old coins that looked like they were casted yesterday. They wanted $2000 a piece. Probably just 1 ounce of silver value
I'm a 30 plus years law enforcement officer and I have worked at different times with the Secret Service on a few cases and a shop or merchant can confiscate fake currency but not fake coins. Fakes are only illegal if someone tries to pass them off as real.
this used to happen to us more frequently than you would think here in BC Canada with gold coins and bars, we used to have a pretty tight community here and would call at least 3 other shops and warn them and they would call three etc. I worked pretty well. Our friends in a neighbouring city were robbed, they called us in am and gave us a list and an hour later the thieves came in and tried to sell to us, we called rcmp and locked the door and they were arrested.
I have run all my NGC graded coins through their site, but sort of feel I need to take a second look at everything I have. Should there always be a picture? I'm pretty sure I have some that were registered but there was no photo. I cant say that all my earliest purchases were from legitimate shops or dealers. And I did get some fake Silver Eagles, but I was highly suspect at the time of purchase, but wanted to get one in my hand to test myself. They were bad knock offs. The diameter and thickness were noticeably off when placed on a true Eagle. The font was easily spotted as different as well as sloppy. They did pass magnet test and weight, but failed ping test. They came sealed in round capsules. like glue sealed.
You can get silver coins that are authentic from ebay BUT usually from dealers selling mint sets or a silver coin in the original government packaging and looks very much untampered. I generally do not get bullion coins (maybe once a year) and avoid anything that has substantial numismatic worth. For those I go to a brick and mortar dealer to see the object in person. A reputable dealer will hold a coin for your if you want to double check the dealer's track record and the coin. If a dealer is pressuring to buy something immediately that to me is a red flag to run far away!
Thank you so much for this video. I always thought all NGC graded coins were trustworthy. It’s so shocking that there are so many fake gold and silver coins mixed in.
I have been wanting to buy a $20 double eagle gold coin, and have seen a bunch online on Ebay and websites, but can not trust if its real and authentic. Have seen way too many counterfeits out there.
I have those same slabs. I buy them from china for $1 each and make my own labels. The easiest tell is the label, and the finger slots to open the slab. I like to use the slabs to slab my own coins. They do seem very similar to NGC slabs, and thats why I like them. Sometimes they put fake coins in and glue them, those are ones really gotta watch for can't weigh the coin. Also the holo sticker on the back, china sells them in books cheap. So the sticker means nothing unless you have one to compare with.
I got three fake silver American eagles coins mentioned around 6:44 in the video from APMEX. Fortunately, a lesson that I did not lose a lot of money on. The local dealer that, without a doubt, proved to me they were fake is now my new go to place for buying any silver or gold...and no shipping
This is how i buy gold and silver coins: 1) I do my due diligence 2) "When in doubt i throw it out" and do not buy it. I had to let go some wonderful gold coins in the past because something was seriously off about it. ( will tell you down below what i got confronted with) 3) with these "grading firms" there are bound to get fakes in. I mean people make certificates of anything to make a quick buck, dollar, yuan, euro or pound. As such, i look at what the official grades actually look like and what to pay attention to ( no matter if you are at a flea market, coin shop, coin convention or numismatic meeting, though numismatic meetings have no counterfeits unless some member brings one with him/her to have the team look at it). I have a small booklet with me where i have written down the things to look out for. Now for some of my experiences. I was in a coinshop near Frankfurt. There were some "graded coins" there just like those featured in your video. However when i ran over a mini magnet the "gold coin" stuck to the plastic. I wisely backed out of that shop. When i was visiting a NY jewellery longtime friend ( known each other since kindergarten and are like brothers from another mother). He bought a gold bar in good faith from a dealer that came recommended. Everything checked out, even the weight was nearly almost perfect. Turned out they holed out the gold bar, filled it with tungsten and then resealed it. ALL the security marks were present. Oh that "recommended dealer" was in legal hot water. My friend now uses highly technical equipment to check the bars validity and does not go on "good faith" anymore. He took a good financial hit with that bogus bar. What i do not agree with is coinshops confiscating supposed "counterfeits". it is a "guilty until proven innocent" road and i am not a fan of that. Like many down below commented: " a less reputable coin shop can confiscate real deal gold coins and claim that "they fake bro". Just say "no we do not buy those because we suspect they are fake" and then explain why you think they are fake. Just a heads up, a numismatic member of our group, been in the business of coin collecting and is one of the most careful and cautious buyers i have ever met, got bamboozled with these grades as well. With him everything was "authentic". Just like with this, the number and barcode matched, the holographic mark was there ( the actual one) and there was a special seal that, so far he could see was not broken. Still it was a fake coin. Thanks for putting these videos out. Novices that want to collect coins as well as more experienced people need these kinds of videos to know what to look out for.
I received some half dollars. Mixed in were fake Walkers. They were common date coins which is crazy. I told the seller, and i was refunded the full amount. Third time buying on Etsy. Not again.
This is an important video. Kudos for your research on checking the labels, for authenticity, SD. I'm afraid that every year more succumb to the decaying of morals, that is pervading modern society. It's always been that way, however, it does seem the %s are increasing rapidly, sadly. If I was a coin dealer, I would try to ascertain the identity, of someone I believed was trying to deliberately pass off counterfeit merchandise, then phone the police, after they left, with the information. Because, if I was duped, & had wasted 1000's, on fake PMs, then I would go ballistic. Or, even still phone them, with CCTV evidence. Anyone not willing to try & prevent their profession from being impuned cannot complain, if it happens to them. Or, if the level, of incidence, increases, which it will. Also, If I was ever purchasing, from an unknown, off the street, I would definitely try & find someway to identify them: eg. car registration, as I am someone who has trust issues, with strangers, due to past life experiences.
Love the video. But one question. I had an MS-70 silver eagle and reluctantly I had to take it to the coins shop to sell and they would only buy it for market value of the silver and not as a certified MS-70. They said it was because they certify lots of these. I was pissed at their reason. What do you think?
Was nice meeting you sir. Stage left unkempt nusmatist there for this show. Morgans and Washingtons out cause of me. Lol. Figure since I recognized you, I'd give my online persona to ya.
When I started collecting 8 reales I read about all the fakes. I researched online, everything looked good for my 1760 and 61 pillar dollars. Took to LCS was told they were fake. Asked him to check weight and test content. Weight was good silver tested good. Was told still fake. I thought they were good so sent to ANACS. Came back one genuine cleaned. One genuine chopmarked. Learn all you can and trust yourself, ( or a good grading company)
This is why people are turned off from numismatics. Bad experiences from unscrupulous online sellers and in person sales whether they are private, a dealer or a wholesaler.
there is one story out there where a shop owner bought gold coins from a local dealer for years only to find out after he retired that all of his retiremen money in coins were fake...
As a lay person who would like to have some gold for hard asset value just in case, it is frustrating that there are so many cheats and liars in this area. It occurs in many other facets of collecting as well. Almost makes you avoid purchasing gold altogether.
QUESTION // NEW SILVER EAGLE EDGE MISSING NOTCH, IS IT ALWAYS IN THE SAME SPOT OR DOES IT VARY DEPENDING ON THE MANUFACTURING MINT? I HAVE 2022 NEW DESIGN AND THE NOTCH IS BOTTOM LEFT NEAR THE SUN AND 2023 NEW DESIGN BUT THE NOTCH IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE HALF WAY UP AROUND THE MID SECTION?
What does the shop do when a customer comes in with fakes? Buy them to get them out of circulation and discard them the appropriate way I assume? Just curious. Cheers!
Its all very well having these grading methods to give collectors a sense of certainty when buying these things, but if they're being faked as well, whats the point? How can you check the coin when its all sealed up in plastic? When you have a real one next to the fake it seems obvious.
If you have ever felt a raw real gold coin, you can sense its weight-size ratio. Hard to fake, if one looks/feels carefully. Lead is not nearly as heavy as gold. Tungsten is, but is very complex to fake. No ordinary counterfeiter could do it.
I spotted 5 eBay dealers selling fraudulent certified NGC gold sovereigns & 20, 40 & 100 francs this weekend. Official database Pictures didn’t match eBay storefront. Hard to contact eBay corporate, informed them of counterfeits, but eBay storefronts still up, lots of novice bidders, thousands of dollars will be lost, eBay looses as it will ultimately have to repay its buyers for losses. Certified means nothing on eBay🤣
I almost rather not know my coins are fake because there's usually nothing you can do to get your money back. One day you might find out if you go to cash them in, but if I die and leave them behind, then I never have to know I wasted my money! 😂😮😢
the problem is even to the untrained eye if you look at the lable that shows the barcode and cert number you will see that cert is tempered = taken from 1 coin and glued to those!
I purchased a 2023 1oz silver Britannia off of eBay for $32 dollars free shipping. It's authentic. What major bullion dealer can I go to to find the same coin for the same price? I've bought from JM Bullion, Hero, MCM, etc... and 1 coin has cost me $38-$39 dollars with shipping cost. Not everyone can afford to buy bulk. 1 coin at a time is all that some folks can afford. If I shouldn't go to eBay, where can I go to get a $100 bucks or less worth of silver for an affordable price with free shipping?
Yes I agree buying from a big dealer most of the time will work well but did you hear that Perth Mint was exposed for stealing shavings off bullion bars before shipping them to customers and did it for years adding upto to millions of dollars worth of stolen gold 😡
Clear something up for me here. Are you saying the gold itself is fake or just the certifications fake? Any gold buyer can test the metal, right? Even if the coins are not actually certified, the gold has scrap value, right?
EVERY Coin you purchase you should take a picture of it with the sellers business card next to it in the photo !!!! and Even better is get the seller to hold the coin in the photo and if he will not he may know it is FAKE !!!
Refreshing to see Harry and Adrian. Their very personable, honest and friendly!! Wish I was closer and could visit their shop! I think if they told me my stuff was fake I would have to have them call the police. Would hurt, but you can't try to drop the problem on somebody else!! Like counterfeit bills, their going to confiscate them.
I only buy slabbed from trusted sources. Loose coins get ping, visually louped, weighed, and measured by myself. If I still doubt i do a specific gravity test. NOBODY is getting over on me.
Yeah but the question is but if those coins are fake are they really gold coins so what metal are they because some people use gold or silver to try to make authentic collectible coin I just wondering if those four coins are real gold
It blows my mind that coin dealers seem to not know what to do when they are in possession of counterfeit currency. Hello. Notify the Secret Service. It is a felony to possess counterfeit currency.
When in doubt about any gold coin, it's best to shoot it through the center from a distance of 6.4 inches with a 9mm handgun using FMJ rounds. If the strands coming out of the back of the hole are long and thin, then it is real gold. If it breaks into pieces, then it is cheap fake metal. This is normal practice at any coin show. I mean, I've never been to a coin show....but I assume it is normal practice.
Goldback should come out with a mining scene vignette on their aurum notes. Something like they used on old mining stock certificates. Also, a good American Indian scene would be good, with feather headdress / war bonnets. The notes don't have to be sponsored by states, just have them issued just by Goldback. States do not matter except to collectors. They are all fungible in you are not a collector. And once you start paying super high collector $$ it loses it value as a barter item in SHTF. That does not mean you will lose a Goldbacks premium, it means people are not interested if the premium is stupendous unless they are paying the collector value.
This is one of the reasons I do not buy Gold or Sliver, the main reason there is no income at all. Its always a 1 or 2% fee for buying / selling bullion !!!
Yeah but you haven't replied to my question which you brought up, when did the Ridge Security mark start?, what year coins are these marks on? Are they on older coins also or just these new ones.
Great way to verify pieces is buy at least 1 genuine gov mint piece from each major mint. That way you at least have 1 to reference off of. Gold is a little trickier since its a little more pricy to obtain but you get the gist.
I would tell them they're counterfeit and more trouble then they're worth, and leave them at the local police station and file a police report if they bought it as 'real'.
It seems to me, only the certification is fake. I did not hear them say the coins themselves were fake. If the coins were also fake, then more time should have been spent showing they were fake. Otherwise, it would be illegal to sell a fake a certified coin and the thief would make the difference in profit between a real cert and a fake one.
Why is it Canadian Maple 1oz gold coins don't ring while every other bullion 1oz rings when you hit them on a fine balance? They just go "thud"? I bought mine from the number 1 coin dealer in Europe - I hope they will buy them back.
Ok but the very best coins are not online or in a shop they are in collections and collectors will sell this at one time, so always watch out sometimes you can trust a seller who is not certified.
What needs to happen if not already is take a high resolution of both obverse and reverse of coin. Allow pic to be easily accessed from PCS or other coin grader web site. You can slab a coin but if you compare slabbed coin to photo they are all unique and would protect from this. If graders are not doing this already they are just plain idiots.
Don’t forget to check out my video on FAKE Silver Eagles ➡️ th-cam.com/video/kT8zAmPGI5I/w-d-xo.html
in case anyone is wondering about the gold coins in this video: The person who brought in the fake gold coins let us film the video and then took them when he left. I have no idea where he got the coins from he said that he bought them private party and thought he could still get his money back. seems a little suspicious to me but who knows…
yeah, why involve the police when it was only in the thousands of dollars.
If all these gold and silver coins are so easily faked and hard to determine they’re fake, I’m not sure what the value is to them.
Did they test it to see if it was at least Gold plated or was it completely fake like brass or copper mix?
Thank you so much. You are an indispensable numismatic resource.
Why not photograph them?
I used to work with a guy who would buy silver coins from eBay. I asked him if he ever got any of them certified and he said no. I suggested some of them might be fake and this started him worrying. So, he sent in his most valuable coins for certification. Three of the ten coins he sent in were fake. He took the rest of his coins to a coin shop to get them tested and they found more fake coins. He quit buying from eBay and started buying only from the coin shop.
I only buy from vendors like APMEX or JM Bullion.
@@jimmylieb5225I only buy APMEX I don’t care if it’s pricy. I trust them more than anyone.
@@jimmylieb5225 i'd be squeamish about some coin shops. they might not even be nefarious, but it could just be bad staff.
There are very legit coin & bullion dealers on eBay. Just don’t buy from some random person.
My dad bought a grip of $20 gold coins from a local shop, One time I was looking at a few and found a re-slabbed $20 PCGS MS64, it was a MS60 even to me who knows very little. Shop made good on it.
If a dealer told me my coin was fake and tried to confiscate it there would be trouble. It would be to easy for a crooked dealer to say that about a good coin and keep it.
Thats why offering to call the police would be handy. Counterfeiting US currency is a felony.
A dealer NOT calling the police is then an accessory to a felony. (I think)
yeah I could really see it either way but having the police there would be handy I imagine 🔥🐉
Exactly. That wouldn't happen. Try to keep my coins and I'd be the one calling the police.
So the dealer has to weigh either screwing the community by keeping his mouth shut, which seems to be occurring in the video, or calling the police anyway and then potentially getting video of you in the store and video of your car in the lot. Then when they find you, you having to convince them that you weren't intentionally trying to defraud that dealer. If I were the investigator, I would also take your picture to other dealers to find out if they e had any run ins with you. Or, just stay and cooperate and maybe even get help locating the person who sold you the bad coins.
Break the holder and screw it
Confiscation seems a bit weird and not necessarily lawful. I'm not a coinshop owner, so maybe my ideas aren't the beat to go by, but at that point I'd offer a drill press test, or a call to authorities. I don't think I'd want to let an un-drilled counterfeit leave the shop, but I think taking possession of fake bullion is solely the right of the state.
If it was my coin, I'm keeping it. I'M pretty sure the coin shop owner has no legal right to confiscate or deface anything.
@@phlodel certainly true on the confiscate part, as for the defacing, the drill test is standard for detecting fakes, and it's better than having you name on a police report for trying to sell counterfeit bullion.
I grew up in the Shore Points, lot of cash business there. Everybody gets stuck with a fake $20 bill in their life there. So I'm used to the idea on having to take an L over a counterfeit. Better than getting choked by a cop.
@@tgraymkand drilling a hole does not devalue the gold at market value. Collectible wise yes.
@SanityTV_Last_Sane_Man_Alive They can't be fake. Are you serious 🤣 yes they can have you, not heard of China.
Why not confiscate and then call the police .. no different than a guy walking into your store with a phoney bill .. you look at it and tell him it's fake and give it back ???
Coin dealer says don’t get a second opinion. Sounds legitimate to me.
I can visualize the parking lot beggars trying pawn off fake coins for money. Coin shops might consider taking pics of the fake coins and emailing the pics to other vendors.
yeah not a bad idea really 🔥🐉
@@SilverDragons47 last year I was approached by a family at night asking for gas. Even though I didn't give them money they wanted to give me a men's gold ring, which likely is fake. They said they couldn't wait till the banks opened the next morning. That was the first time I've experienced this type of con.
@@thinkingimpaired5663 Gypsies. This is an old scam that seems to be making a comeback.
The proliferation of ever increasing quality fake silver and gold coins is a real concern. I attend estate auctions and have to bring along my Sigma to test every coin, as so many are turning up now. Even if an NGC or PCGS holder looks legitimate I have to test the coin, as some fakes are sealed with a genuine hologram.
Will the Sigma test in a holder?
@@ssr4656 I was curious too, but after doing some quick searches it appears that the Sigma can indeed be used through plastic slabs and packaging.
@@ssr4656 Yes, Sigmas test in a holder. The tester is not perfect and can give erroneous results, but it's a good backup.
Which model of Sigma do you use and is it reliable and effective?
I came across a fake American Eagle coin this week at my local flea market. I explained how to test the coin with a magnet to one of the cashiers who was very surprised but I’m sure the manager knew it was fake. He saw me looking at it in the case and didn’t bother to come over to let me see it.
sketch 🔥🐉
Should report him
Yes, at least mentioning something to the flea market operator was in order.
I found jars of coins at an old farm. I've sold only a few over the years to a private collector that I trust. Cash only. There were gold and silver coins all pre 1930. I'm glad i just sat on them for my later years, I knew prices would go this high. I need not be in a hurry. Don't worry it was the family farm.
When you talk about fake gold coins, are they real tender that's just electroplated with gold? If so can you still use them as a regular coin? I have a friend whos brother passed away & left him with thousands of "collectable" coins. He has no clue what is real, or what is fake, what do you suggest he should do to find that out?
There is no available AU coins in our America's economy due to the dye coins whatever it look like a real to us, but the silver is only the answers that's it.
Its nice to hear that there are still nice people like Harry and Adrian ...real gentlemen
yes for sure! 🔥🐉
Another tip is to download a free QR reader and scan the barcode. Many of these fake labels are too poor to scan, or return info that doesn't match the cert and grade (counterfeiters are not just sleazy, they're lazy). One criticism - you emphasize "buy the coin, not the holder", but say nothing about how to identify that the coin is fake. Comparing the one with the NGC images was a perfect opportunity to note that the fake coin is clearly not the same coin NGC photographed, but all you focused on was that the slab style is wrong.
I appreciate your content here. The videos have helped me to be a more educated buyer. Fortunately most of the coins I have purchased are common not always silver or gold. I started with collecting WW l & WW ll coins not pristine just good details. Watching this channel and couple others for a little while now have helped me to keep from making spontaneous buys. Thanks for good content and keeping details simple enough for beginners like me.
Harry reminds me of the father from American Pie. 😂
He reminds me of the old man from UP
Mr. Fredrickson!!!!
Adrien could pass for my Mexican neighbors four year old son
West Germany, 1971. My dad and I (I was 15) were in a junk store, and saw a $5 US gold coin. They only wanted $30 for it. HELL YES!!! I grabbed it, immediately. The mistake the owner made? He brought out a SECOND $5 gold coin, identical year and mint mark. Umm....NO.
having pre 1933 gold in quantity in Europe at that time wasn't uncommon. so it's very possible to be real
The wisdom from the vids on counterfeits is priceless. Scary stuff and makes you want to spend the extra money to ensure you are getting the real deal from legitimate dealers.
Can you do a video on shopping channel silver coins? They had 300 yr old coins that looked like they were casted yesterday. They wanted $2000 a piece. Probably just 1 ounce of silver value
I'm a 30 plus years law enforcement officer and I have worked at different times with the Secret Service on a few cases and a shop or merchant can confiscate fake currency but not fake coins. Fakes are only illegal if someone tries to pass them off as real.
did these fail the sigma machine?
Ya, the Sigma would catch them easy. I've found a few myself on my Sigma Pro.
yeah they would fail for sure 🔥🐉
this used to happen to us more frequently than you would think here in BC Canada with gold coins and bars, we used to have a pretty tight community here and would call at least 3 other shops and warn them and they would call three etc.
I worked pretty well. Our friends in a neighbouring city were robbed, they called us in am and gave us a list and an hour later the thieves came in and tried to sell to us, we called rcmp and locked the door and they were arrested.
I have run all my NGC graded coins through their site, but sort of feel I need to take a second look at everything I have. Should there always be a picture? I'm pretty sure I have some that were registered but there was no photo. I cant say that all my earliest purchases were from legitimate shops or dealers. And I did get some fake Silver Eagles, but I was highly suspect at the time of purchase, but wanted to get one in my hand to test myself. They were bad knock offs. The diameter and thickness were noticeably off when placed on a true Eagle. The font was easily spotted as different as well as sloppy. They did pass magnet test and weight, but failed ping test. They came sealed in round capsules. like glue sealed.
This is hilarious 😂😂🎉....I can't stop laughing at the fact that anyone who spends that kind of money on a coin didn't have a clue they were fake.
You can get silver coins that are authentic from ebay BUT usually from dealers selling mint sets or a silver coin in the original government packaging and looks very much untampered. I generally do not get bullion coins (maybe once a year) and avoid anything that has substantial numismatic worth. For those I go to a brick and mortar dealer to see the object in person. A reputable dealer will hold a coin for your if you want to double check the dealer's track record and the coin. If a dealer is pressuring to buy something immediately that to me is a red flag to run far away!
when the store owner says buy the coin not the holder and the video maker goes on to talk more about the holder... GG
This looks like a great coin shop, unfortunately i can't visit but we need more of those!
Thank you so much for this video. I always thought all NGC graded coins were trustworthy. It’s so shocking that there are so many fake gold and silver coins mixed in.
I have been wanting to buy a $20 double eagle gold coin, and have seen a bunch online on Ebay and websites, but can not trust if its real and authentic. Have seen way too many counterfeits out there.
I have those same slabs. I buy them from china for $1 each and make my own labels. The easiest tell is the label, and the finger slots to open the slab. I like to use the slabs to slab my own coins. They do seem very similar to NGC slabs, and thats why I like them. Sometimes they put fake coins in and glue them, those are ones really gotta watch for can't weigh the coin. Also the holo sticker on the back, china sells them in books cheap. So the sticker means nothing unless you have one to compare with.
'books of holo stickers' what chance do we stand then😡
always gotta check your coins to make sure they are legit 🔥🐉
Yes all roads dealing with fake coins lead to China
Banks confiscate forged bills. Coin shops should do the same, or at least call the police.
Banks MAKE fake dollars, EVERY DAY they print extra $$$$
Wow..
What a shame so many evil scammers out there. Thats alot of money to lose. Id be so livid. Thank you, good tips.
I got three fake silver American eagles coins mentioned around 6:44 in the video from APMEX. Fortunately, a lesson that I did not lose a lot of money on. The local dealer that, without a doubt, proved to me they were fake is now my new go to place for buying any silver or gold...and no shipping
Awesome and interesting video! Thanks!
you are very welcome thanks for watching! 🔥🐉
This is how i buy gold and silver coins:
1) I do my due diligence
2) "When in doubt i throw it out" and do not buy it. I had to let go some wonderful gold coins in the past because something was seriously off about it. ( will tell you down below what i got confronted with)
3) with these "grading firms" there are bound to get fakes in. I mean people make certificates of anything to make a quick buck, dollar, yuan, euro or pound. As such, i look at what the official grades actually look like and what to pay attention to ( no matter if you are at a flea market, coin shop, coin convention or numismatic meeting, though numismatic meetings have no counterfeits unless some member brings one with him/her to have the team look at it). I have a small booklet with me where i have written down the things to look out for.
Now for some of my experiences. I was in a coinshop near Frankfurt. There were some "graded coins" there just like those featured in your video. However when i ran over a mini magnet the "gold coin" stuck to the plastic. I wisely backed out of that shop.
When i was visiting a NY jewellery longtime friend ( known each other since kindergarten and are like brothers from another mother). He bought a gold bar in good faith from a dealer that came recommended. Everything checked out, even the weight was nearly almost perfect. Turned out they holed out the gold bar, filled it with tungsten and then resealed it. ALL the security marks were present. Oh that "recommended dealer" was in legal hot water. My friend now uses highly technical equipment to check the bars validity and does not go on "good faith" anymore. He took a good financial hit with that bogus bar.
What i do not agree with is coinshops confiscating supposed "counterfeits". it is a "guilty until proven innocent" road and i am not a fan of that. Like many down below commented: " a less reputable coin shop can confiscate real deal gold coins and claim that "they fake bro". Just say "no we do not buy those because we suspect they are fake" and then explain why you think they are fake. Just a heads up, a numismatic member of our group, been in the business of coin collecting and is one of the most careful and cautious buyers i have ever met, got bamboozled with these grades as well. With him everything was "authentic". Just like with this, the number and barcode matched, the holographic mark was there ( the actual one) and there was a special seal that, so far he could see was not broken. Still it was a fake coin.
Thanks for putting these videos out. Novices that want to collect coins as well as more experienced people need these kinds of videos to know what to look out for.
Harry: "it's bad etiquette."
Reality: it's fraudulent behavior.
Harry is such a nice guy.
I received some half dollars. Mixed in were fake Walkers. They were common date coins which is crazy. I told the seller, and i was refunded the full amount. Third time buying on Etsy. Not again.
I wouldn't paint Ebay as a place to avoid with your broad brush
I despise scumbags and scammers etc. Morals, values, integrity! Great job guys.
I would have liked to know how they knew they were fake, besides the plastic container.
The fake container is used to fool a buyer into believing the coins are graded by NGC. A credible coin grading company.
yes me to like he said buy the coin not the holder . he could of tested it a number of things could tip him off.
Thank you so much for information
you are very welcome thanks for watching! 🔥🐉
6:10 He looks a lot like Robin Williams and has that same calming and friendly demeanor that Robin had.
This is an important video. Kudos for your research on checking the labels, for authenticity, SD.
I'm afraid that every year more succumb to the decaying of morals, that is pervading modern society. It's always been that way, however, it does seem the %s are increasing rapidly, sadly.
If I was a coin dealer, I would try to ascertain the identity, of someone I believed was trying to deliberately pass off counterfeit merchandise, then phone the police, after they left, with the information. Because, if I was duped, & had wasted 1000's, on fake PMs, then I would go ballistic. Or, even still phone them, with CCTV evidence. Anyone not willing to try & prevent their profession from being impuned cannot complain, if it happens to them. Or, if the level, of incidence, increases, which it will.
Also, If I was ever purchasing, from an unknown, off the street, I would definitely try & find someway to identify them: eg. car registration, as I am someone who has trust issues, with strangers, due to past life experiences.
Love the video. But one question. I had an MS-70 silver eagle and reluctantly I had to take it to the coins shop to sell and they would only buy it for market value of the silver and not as a certified MS-70. They said it was because they certify lots of these. I was pissed at their reason. What do you think?
Was nice meeting you sir. Stage left unkempt nusmatist there for this show. Morgans and Washingtons out cause of me. Lol. Figure since I recognized you, I'd give my online persona to ya.
Good video. Fakes like the ones shown have always worried me. I appreciate the information.
When I started collecting 8 reales I read about all the fakes. I researched online, everything looked good for my 1760 and 61 pillar dollars. Took to LCS was told they were fake. Asked him to check weight and test content. Weight was good silver tested good. Was told still fake. I thought they were good so sent to ANACS. Came back one genuine cleaned. One genuine chopmarked. Learn all you can and trust yourself, ( or a good grading company)
eBay is a cesspool of scammers!!!
Interesting video. You speak about testing the coins ourselves. What is the best method to test gold and silver?
Yep, no answer.
A coin shop telling you have junk and want to take your stuff; dirty is no surprise.
He should confiscate them just so that the criminals get the word out that he does it to reduce his exposure to dealing with this in the future.
What if the coins don't fit the declared grade but are still gold coins? That'd be a tricky position to be in since they still have value.
There is no way I would let someone take coins that I spent good money on!
This is why people are turned off from numismatics. Bad experiences from unscrupulous online sellers and in person sales whether they are private, a dealer or a wholesaler.
there is one story out there where a shop owner bought gold coins from a local dealer for years only to find out after he retired that all of his retiremen money in coins were fake...
5:05 in the hopes rhay previous coin inspector did an error maybe, but damn brutal with the fakes
As a lay person who would like to have some gold for hard asset value just in case, it is frustrating that there are so many cheats and liars in this area. It occurs in many other facets of collecting as well. Almost makes you avoid purchasing gold altogether.
This is why you don’t buy gold or silver from ads on TV
This makes me wonder if all this fancy casing is more of a help to counterfeiters than if we just handled the metal.
A simple weight test and checking the bar codes then a magnetic test usually does the trick then a PM tester, go from there…
QUESTION // NEW SILVER EAGLE EDGE MISSING NOTCH, IS IT ALWAYS IN THE SAME SPOT OR DOES IT VARY DEPENDING ON THE MANUFACTURING MINT? I HAVE 2022 NEW DESIGN AND THE NOTCH IS BOTTOM LEFT NEAR THE SUN AND 2023 NEW DESIGN BUT THE NOTCH IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE HALF WAY UP AROUND THE MID SECTION?
What does the shop do when a customer comes in with fakes? Buy them to get them out of circulation and discard them the appropriate way I assume? Just curious. Cheers!
Its all very well having these grading methods to give collectors a sense of certainty when buying these things, but if they're being faked as well, whats the point? How can you check the coin when its all sealed up in plastic? When you have a real one next to the fake it seems obvious.
Lol I love it. The same reason it's near impossible to use gold in day to day street transactions
If you have ever felt a raw real gold coin, you can sense its weight-size ratio. Hard to fake, if one looks/feels carefully. Lead is not nearly as heavy as gold. Tungsten is, but is very complex to fake. No ordinary counterfeiter could do it.
I spotted 5 eBay dealers selling fraudulent certified NGC gold sovereigns & 20, 40 & 100 francs this weekend. Official database Pictures didn’t match eBay storefront. Hard to contact eBay corporate, informed them of counterfeits, but eBay storefronts still up, lots of novice bidders, thousands of dollars will be lost, eBay looses as it will ultimately have to repay its buyers for losses. Certified means nothing on eBay🤣
Great video! Thank you for the education! I'm a big golden age comic book collector but it's fun to learn about other collectibles.
So did the coinshop confiscate those coins....? Did they accidently buy them? How did they aquire them?
Oh dear lord I hope the big online shops check this!
I almost rather not know my coins are fake because there's usually nothing you can do to get your money back. One day you might find out if you go to cash them in, but if I die and leave them behind, then I never have to know I wasted my money! 😂😮😢
Even gold bars were only gold plated tungsten a decade ago here in NYC
Scammers make starting up in the minting / pouring space extreamly difficult
the problem is even to the untrained eye if you look at the lable that shows the barcode and cert number you will see that cert is tempered = taken from 1 coin and glued to those!
I purchased a 2023 1oz silver Britannia off of eBay for $32 dollars free shipping. It's authentic. What major bullion dealer can I go to to find the same coin for the same price? I've bought from JM Bullion, Hero, MCM, etc... and 1 coin has cost me $38-$39 dollars with shipping cost. Not everyone can afford to buy bulk. 1 coin at a time is all that some folks can afford. If I shouldn't go to eBay, where can I go to get a $100 bucks or less worth of silver for an affordable price with free shipping?
Yes I agree buying from a big dealer most of the time will work well but did you hear that Perth Mint was exposed for stealing shavings off bullion bars before shipping them to customers and did it for years adding upto to millions of dollars worth of stolen gold 😡
Clear something up for me here. Are you saying the gold itself is fake or just the certifications fake?
Any gold buyer can test the metal, right? Even if the coins are not actually certified, the gold has scrap value, right?
EVERY Coin you purchase you should take a picture of it with the sellers business card next to it in the photo !!!! and Even better is get the seller to hold the coin in the photo and if he will not he may know it is FAKE !!!
As prices Climb, it will get Worse.
and FOMO will catch many off guard.
yeah I believe it 🔥🐉
Refreshing to see Harry and Adrian. Their very personable, honest and friendly!! Wish I was closer and could visit their shop! I think if they told me my stuff was fake I would have to have them call the police. Would hurt, but you can't try to drop the problem on somebody else!! Like counterfeit bills, their going to confiscate them.
I have seen a lot of counterfeit slabbed coins lately in my area as well. It's very concerning
I only buy slabbed from trusted sources. Loose coins get ping, visually louped, weighed, and measured by myself. If I still doubt i do a specific gravity test. NOBODY is getting over on me.
Yeah but the question is but if those coins are fake are they really gold coins so what metal are they because some people use gold or silver to try to make authentic collectible coin I just wondering if those four coins are real gold
It blows my mind that coin dealers seem to not know what to do when they are in possession of counterfeit currency. Hello. Notify the Secret Service. It is a felony to possess counterfeit currency.
When in doubt about any gold coin, it's best to shoot it through the center from a distance of 6.4 inches with a 9mm handgun using FMJ rounds. If the strands coming out of the back of the hole are long and thin, then it is real gold. If it breaks into pieces, then it is cheap fake metal. This is normal practice at any coin show. I mean, I've never been to a coin show....but I assume it is normal practice.
Goldback should come out with a mining scene vignette on their aurum notes. Something like they used on old mining stock certificates. Also, a good American Indian scene would be good, with feather headdress / war bonnets. The notes don't have to be sponsored by states, just have them issued just by Goldback. States do not matter except to collectors. They are all fungible in you are not a collector. And once you start paying super high collector $$ it loses it value as a barter item in SHTF. That does not mean you will lose a Goldbacks premium, it means people are not interested if the premium is stupendous unless they are paying the collector value.
This is one of the reasons I do not buy Gold or Sliver, the main reason there is no income at all. Its always a 1 or 2% fee for buying / selling bullion !!!
I’m curious why they have them if someone brought them in and they usually don’t keep fakes?
Yeah but you haven't replied to my question which you brought up, when did the Ridge Security mark start?, what year coins are these marks on?
Are they on older coins also or just these new ones.
Great way to verify pieces is buy at least 1 genuine gov mint piece from each major mint. That way you at least have 1 to reference off of. Gold is a little trickier since its a little more pricy to obtain but you get the gist.
I would tell them they're counterfeit and more trouble then they're worth, and leave them at the local police station and file a police report if they bought it as 'real'.
It seems to me, only the certification is fake. I did not hear them say the coins themselves were fake. If the coins were also fake, then more time should have been spent showing they were fake. Otherwise, it would be illegal to sell a fake a certified coin and the thief would make the difference in profit between a real cert and a fake one.
This is scary. Thank you for the video!
you are very welcome! 🔥🐉
Why is it Canadian Maple 1oz gold coins don't ring while every other bullion 1oz rings when you hit them on a fine balance? They just go "thud"? I bought mine from the number 1 coin dealer in Europe - I hope they will buy them back.
Who could be upset at Eugene Levy? Hi smile is worth a million dollars. The hilarity....
They should start putting micro chips in the gold coins like the casinos do with their chips.
I didn't hear them explain 'what' makes those fake gold coins? The case, but what is fake about them the coin?
Ok but the very best coins are not online or in a shop they are in collections and collectors will sell this at one time, so always watch out sometimes you can trust a seller who is not certified.
I'm not sure why they don't have a precious metals analyzer like a Sigma Metalytics.
I’ve been on FB for less than a year and I’ve spotted many fakes on various coin groups. Shame!
wow that is a really bummer 🔥🐉
Sorry to ask the newbie question...were these actual gold coins, just faked currency?
what if a dealer takes your coins claiming they are fake when they are real?
There are a lot of counterfeit coins being made in countries like China.
They're getting so good at it now the coins are plated thick to avoid detection
What needs to happen if not already is take a high resolution of both obverse and reverse of coin. Allow pic to be easily accessed from PCS or other coin grader web site. You can slab a coin but if you compare slabbed coin to photo they are all unique and would protect from this. If graders are not doing this already they are just plain idiots.