Tag Archives: chinese-counterfeit-coins

Trifecta, CN Counterfeit Coin, Slab and Website

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By Jack D. Young

As if the Chinese counterfeit coins in fake PCGS slabs isn’t bad enough, now there appears to be a fake Chinese PCGS website to verify them.

A friend alerted me to the following listing on the Bay:

Past eBay listed counterfeit in a counterfeit not-PCGS slab:

The listing included these interesting other images:

Images from the seller’s listing

The seller had ended the listing based on being told it is a counterfeit, and I started a review to try to determine what was going on here!

So, I started with the “PCGS” slab and some quick checks. Using my on-line barcode scanner I checked the front barcode:

Like many similar bad slabs, the barcode was gibberish and would not scan. Next, I went to the PCGS website to check the noted cert number:

Note from the genuine PCGS site for the cert # look-up

And another bad sign, that cert # “was not found”. So, my next step was to try to read the reverse label QR code. And just a note, many of the previous counterfeits we have documented similar to this one had a QR code that read the cert # correctly but noted the genuine PCGS CN site. A previous example read like this:

Typical previous QR code to pcgs.cn site

And then this one:

Note different website for this cert!

Different result than expected! I do NOT recommend readers going to the site shown, but if you did, this is what comes up:

Fake “PCGS” site, image

WOW, now we have something apparently new to be concerned about with these.

I did notify my contacts at PCGS for a heads-up as well as post it on their CU Forum:

The Trifecta, CN Counterfeit Coin, Slab and Website ! — Collectors Universe

My contacts at PCGS acknowledged they were now aware and reviewing; a check of the fake site Christmas evening indicated it was now unavailable– a nice Christmas present if it lasts…

I did continue to dig a bit and found the following domain information; seemed ironic the “Registrar” has Alibaba in the name😎!

The best way to guard against buying a counterfeit coin is to purchase an authentic one from a reputable dealer. Barring that, view Jack Young’s Jack Riley’s and my articles on counterfeit coins published by Proxiblog.

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How to Spot Chinese Counterfeits

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Increasingly on Facebook coin groups, members are posting fake Chinese counterfeits of rare U.S. coins, asking for a value. This post gives you strategies to identify such fakes.

We will start with the heavily faked 1800 silver dollar above, and show you the steps to take to find counterfeits. The process is the same for any date and mint mark.

Some quick tips before methods: Don’t buy coins from Etsy (too many fakes sold there). If prices are too good to be true, they are. Also, stop believing hyped videos like this:

With that out of the way, go to PCGS CoinFacts and look up the weight, diameter and metal composition.

If your coin is lighter or heavier than the 27 grams, or if the diameter is wrong, you have a counterfeit. Use a magnet to test if the coin is a base metal or silver. If the coin sticks to the magnet, it is fake.

Compare the devices of your coin to an authentic one at CoinFacts. I am doing so here with a Facebook photo asking an identifications group for a grade.

Let’s compare:

  1. Space between date and rim is wrong along with the font size/type/spacing of the date. (Also note how the 1 in the date almost touches the hair curl, but doesn’t in the fake.)
  2. Spacing again is too great in the fake coin, and the metal texture isn’t smooth. It’s grainy.
  3. Stars are different.
  4. Space between star and “L” of “Liberty” differs.
  5. Hair is different, too, and spaced awkwardly on the fake. Also, again, font is wrong size/type.
  6. Rim is different. The fake also has a poorly minted collar.
  7. Face, especially the nose, is different and awkward.
  8. Spacing between last 0 and date is off as well as the bust and rim.

There are other red flags in the devices, but we’ll leave it at that.

Also, many Chinese fakes are poured into a mold as opposed to being struck at the mint.

When you ask a Facebook group member to authenticate your coin, or grade it for you, and you are told the truth about it, don’t become angry at the comments. Be angry at the person or site that sold you the fake. Demand your money back.

Read and then cite the U.S. Hobby Act, especially this clause: “An imitation numismatic item which is manufactured in the United States, or imported into the United States for introduction into or distribution in commerce, shall be plainly and permanently marked ‘COPY.'”

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Proxiblog also has hundreds of followers on Facebook Coin Groups. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.