How to Detect Gold Coin Counterfeits

Gold coin counterfeiting is on the rise, although most gold coin counterfeits have both their origin and circulation overseas. There are three kinds of gold coin counterfeits the collector should be aware of. Some are more deceptive than others. The oldest type of gold coin counterfeit is often called a forgery. It is a false gold coin or piece of paper money made with the intent of passing it in ciruclation. It is usually of adequate quality not to be obvious at a casual inspection, but is often imperfect. A counterfeiter making such a product can, at most, hope to gain face value of the item he is replicating. Therefore, he is limited as to the expense he is willing to lay out and still make a profit for his risk.

Imitations and evasions are other kinds of counterfeiting. These are made to circulate but are often not faithful to the original because they are made for use in communities that, for various reasons, have come to expect that some of their coinage will be counterfeit. Imitations vary only in style, while evasion deliberately modify some aspect of the inscription or design to provide a meager legal defense against a charge of counterfeiting. A good example would be halfpennies, which circulated in Colonial America with the inscription BRITAINS ISLES instead of BRITANNIA. All of these may fool a collector at first glance, but they are usually imperfect enough not to pass close scrutiny. Many of them are historically significant and are frequently collected along with , or instead or, the original serives. As such, they are called "contemporary counterfeits" because they were struck contemporary to those coins with which they were inteded to circulate.

A far greater danger to the gold coin collector is the true numismatic counterfeit. These are counterfeits of higher quality created with great care to fool numismatic experts. Many gold coin counterfeits are made by casting, even through the original coin may have been made by striking. Look for seams along the edge. They may not be centered and obvious but can be hidden to one side or the other. Also, examine the surface under magnification for a multitude of faint pimples or unnatural porosity. The precis shapes of letters are also something often neglected by counterfeiters. On modern gold coins, an inaccurate weight, or inccorect alloy (revealed by specific gravity testing) can be a giveaway. Ancient and medieval coins can vary much more in weight. Be aware that a great many gold coin counterfeiters have sought to hide their imperfections by heavy cleaning. The idea is tha a gold coin collector examining a rare gold coin will attribute the problems to abuse, rather than forgery.

Some gold coin collector counterfeits are actually made from real gold coins. These are called "altered" because the counterfeiter alters the original gold coin by adding or removing a mintmark or part of the date, making it appear to be a scarcer variety. You may think the task of adding a minmark to a coin sounds too minute to be possible, but gold coin counterfeiters have demonstrated remarkable skill over the years.

The last type of counterfeit is of virtually no threat to gold coin collectors, but pity the poor tourist. These are counterfeits made as souvenirs. This is not to say they are never created to pass off as authentic coins, but the forger is presuming either total credulity on the part of the buyer, or an unwillingness to give a critical inspection. Even the color of the metal is often incorrect. Tens of thousands of these, replicating ancient coins, have been sold at archaeological sites in Turkey and the Middle East. Other similar counterfeits are found in Italy replicating 19th century silver-dollar-sized coins. Often these types of replicas (the more accurate name) are sold clearly marked as such in museum shops, or through legitimate vendors. Often they are even marked "COPY" to prevent confusion with the real thing. Since the passage of the Hobby Protection Act, replicas made in the United States have been required to display this word.