Chinese copies

I have been studying the emergence of copies made to deceive from China for the past ten years. The first coins I remember seeing were Hong Kong Victoria 10 cent pieces which were struck in an off metal and whose color and texture were a dead giveaway.

A complete change has occurred in both quantity and quality. I recently received three Baden copper coins in a trade from a very reliable Numista member that were extremely well crafted. They would fool a majority of veteran collectors and almost all neophytes. I am completely convinced that the member that sent me these coins thought they were real.

A large complication is eBay continues to accept these on their site. Also some of these copies are sold as genuine even though the seller knows they are fake. Take a look at eBay and you will find hundreds if not thousands of different types available at a very low price.

The point I am trying to make is that now is the time for Numista to take a stand against the production and distribution of these copies; and to create an educational program to provide knowledge and guidance to our members, so we can protect ourselves.

Imagine your reaction if someone told you there was a counterfeit in your collection. Besides the wasted money and time, the joy would be gone as well as the trust you had in the other party from whom you acquired the coin. I can only view this as if it were a cancerous tumor. Left untreated it will kill the entire hobby. Remember, there is a lot of money being made and the quality will only get better in the future unless we do something now.

It used to be quite easy to distinguish a copy from a real coin because of pits inherent in the casting process. Now the major clues are:

1. Color. On higher grade copper there usually is an unusual brightness in the color.
2. Unusual wear patterns. A real coin will wear consistently at the high points of the coin. Any unusual inconsistencies in wear on lettering should be suspect.
3. Inconsistencies in the area around the rim and the denticles.
4. Pits in the coin caused by the casting process.
5. On circulated coins there is a lack of the little tick marks that are caused by coins rubbing together in circulation.



is color, lack of usual wear patterns and defects in the denticles. On circulated coins there is a lack of little tick marks caused by rubbing with other coins in circulation.

ERNIE

Hello,

Absolutely agreed about fake coins, but what do you suggest Numista do to "take a stand and to create an educational program" here, as you say?

We have the Modern Fakes Numisdoc, do you mean something like that:
https://en.numista.com/numisdoc/modern-fakes-151.html

It would be interesting to see these Baden copper copies.

Quote: "numinis"​It would be interesting to see these Baden copper copies.

​
+1

Admins could set up a new section on coin page, so we could add data and pics with fakes for easier recognition of such. It happens that me too have some fakes at home, and funny they are ... for "now" being...
lp

It's so hard to get rid of unscrupulous sellers on e-bay too. I always report guys that are selling nothing but fakes, and trying to avoid paying fees by having low prices but then charging hundreds for postage.

Even in the cases where the seller has been banned by e-bay, they're back the following day with the same forgeries for sale, with the same huge postage charges, with a username that is pretty much the same as the one that was banned.

There is a section on forgeries in the Numisdoc section on this site

https://en.numista.com/numisdoc/modern-fakes-151.html

Here are images

A very good idea to give forgers a feedback on their counterfeites.

Quote: "neilithicman"​​There is a section on forgeries in the Numisdoc section on this site
​
​https://en.numista.com/numisdoc/modern-fakes-151.html

​Adding on this, if you guys want to send my details and pictures of your fake coins through PM I may add that to the said Numisdoc.