Red alert sounded on fake Gold, Silver coins

Mon, Aug 12 2013 5:07 AMCHICAGO (Bullion Street): The next time someone invests in gold and silver coins, beware! There are some fakes circulating and the origin of it could be Lebanon, other parts of Middle East and even China that a naked eye can't detect them. According to coin traders, China produces some really impressive fakes that could even fool experienced coin dealers.
In February, Coinworld published a report on counterfeit 2011 American Eagle Silver bullion coin that contained traced of gold but no silver at all. Andrew Greenham from Forest City Coins in London, Ontario, Canada, obtained the counterfeit from a second Toronto dealer who had acquired 10 examples from yet a third, unidentified, Toronto dealer, who was duped into purchasing the pieces from an unidentified seller, as genuine silver Eagles. It is unknown how many counterfeit 2011 silver American Eagles were passed as genuine and whether fake silver American Eagles bearing other dates are also in the marketplace.
Recently, the auction of several pieces of rare gold coins which belonged to a recluse who died in Nevada reveleaed the fact that some of them were counterfeit and the bidders got the assurance that they could return them if found fake.Reno-based Silver State Coin bought three of the six lots offered at the Carson City district courthouse, just a few blocks from the old U.S. Carson City mint. Silver State paid nearly $1.2 million for the most expensive lot that featured 880 $20 gold Saint Gaudens.The other half of the estate of Walter Samaszko Jr. — consisting mainly of gold bullion — sold at auction in February for about $3.5 million."We have never shipped a single counterfeit product, but a lot of companies don’t have access to the resources or technology that we do at the Certified Gold Exchange,” Stewart Lawson said. “Even if a company that ships coins in good faith may be unwittingly selling fake gold coins."Lawson recommends that investors only purchase bullion coins from authorized mint distributors. “In the case of certified gold coins, PCGS and NGC are the two trusted coin certifiers,” Lawson said.
"However, since China produces some really impressive fakes it is a good idea to do business with a company that has been around a long time and that has a stellar [Better Business Bureau] rating with no complaints of any sort, especially not related to product authenticity." Lawson says the note was only sent to clients but individuals interested in learning how to avoid fake coinage may receive a copy by using the contact form on the company’s web site.