Identifying Counterfeit Coins
When you get involved in the investment or collecting of coins, you need to be as informed and prepared about the process as you possibly can. This includes watching for counterfeit coins and knowing how to properly identify them for all of your coin collecting needs. You wouldn’t want to spend a lot of money on a rare gold coin only to find out that it is counterfeit, after all. Most counterfeiters design coins that are the most rare or valuable to collectors, because they can get more money out of them.
The most obvious distinction is that real coins are struck by special machines, while fake coins are usually made by pouring molten metals into dies and molds. The differences are spotted easily to a trained eye, as there are generally cracks and pimples on the counterfeit coins that won’t be found on the real thing. A new practice that is occurring in the counterfeit industry is that of altering existing coins to increase their value for collectors and investors. They will often add, alter, or remove certain minting marks and dates to make the coin a rarity and thus more valuable.
The best way to keep yourself protected from buying counterfeit coins is to make sure that you take the time to compare them to real coins, and to make sure that all of the markings are the same. Often, counterfeit coins will have slight imperfections that are easily noticed, including the corrugated edges that are found on any coin over five cents in value.
Fake coins often have crooked, uneven corrugation, or don’t have any at all, which is a tell-tale sign. Also, because of the way many fakes are made, cast versus being struck, many times the features are not as sharp as on a real coin. However, with collectible gold coins that are not made the same, you will have to look and or test for other identifying features, such as gold purity, to be certain that you’re not being scammed.
The best way to protect yourself from investing in counterfeit coins is to avoid buying from any dealer or individual that you are unfamiliar with, unless you can physically see and hold the coin to compare it to a real one. You can also protest yourself from buying fake gold coins on eBay by only doing business with sellers that have exceptionally high feedback and have been in business for a long time.
Those who are interested in coin collecting should be able to tell the distinguishable differences between real and fake coins. If you are not seasoned enough to distinguish the fakes from the real valuable coins, you should always consult with a reputable source that you can trust to make sure that you don’t invest in something worthless. Make sure that you watch out for coins that sound too good to be true, as well. Many times, these are fakes, and the con artists pass them off as good deals on a valuable item. If a coin really has value, it should reflect that in the price that you pay for it. The bottom line is to exercise extreme caution when it comes to buying gold coins.