- Coin counterfeiting
-
Coin counterfeiting of valuable antique coins is common; modern high-value coins are also counterfeited and circulated.[1] Counterfeit antique coins are generally made to a very high standard so that they can deceive experts; this is not easy and many coins still stand out.
Contents
Circulating coins
See also: Slug (coin)
A real British pound coin on top of a fake. This coin is often counterfeited
Defective milling and letters on a counterfeit coin (top)Counterfeits of higher-value coins in circulation, designed for general circulation at face value, have been made by criminals for hundreds of years. For modern coins in general circulation the most common method of protection from forgeries is the use of bi-metallic coins, made of two metals of different colour, which are difficult to counterfeit at low cost. The most common way of forging these coins is to change the area that should be a different colour by painting it, however the paint is often easy to scratch off and the coins soon look very crude once worn. An increasing number of coins are cast from the same composition alloy as the real coin, but have poor reproduction of details such as the milling on the side of the coin and the stamped lettering. When the euro was introduced into Europe there were initially very few counterfeits, however the number increased massively as time went by.[2] The high and increasing number of fake euro coins in circulation in 2004 led to the creation of a Technical and Scientific Center for the coordination of technical actions to protect euro coins against counterfeiting.[3] In all it is estimated that in Europe 1.7% of all pound coins and 373,719 euro coins (of differing denominations) in circulation are counterfeit.[4]
Collectible counterfeit coins
Among the examples of counterfeits of high-value collectible coins are the "Omega" coins produced in the early 1970s by an unknown counterfeiter who signed his creations with a minute Greek letter omega. He is believed to have made over 20,000 fake 1907 high-relief nominally US$20 gold Double Eagle coins with the signature omega in the claw of the eagle, worth hundreds of millions of dollars at today's prices. His counterfeits are of such high quality that collectors will pay upwards of $1,000 for one; although a genuine coin sells for about $50,000 to $100,000. The same counterfeiter also counterfeited other US gold coins, including a large quantity of $3 gold pieces, dated 1874, 1878 and 1882, with the 1882 being the most prevalent. Two of the counterfeit $10 gold pieces, the 1913-P and 1926-P, have the omega placed upside down within the upper loop of the "R" of "LIBERTY" in the Indian's headdress.[5][6]
See also
References
- C. R. Gagg and P. R. Lewis , Counterfeit coin of the realm – review and case study analysis, Second International Conference on Engineering Failure Analysis (ICEFA-11), Toronto, Canada, Sept. 2006, Engineering Failure Analysis, Vol 14, No 6, 1144–1152, 2007.
- Forensic Materials Engineering: Case studies, Lewis, PR, Gagg, C and Reynolds, K, CRC Press (2004).
- ^ Coin Counterfeiting, Counterfeit Coins(2007-26-09)
- ^ Counterfeit Coin Newsletter
- ^ EU Crackdown, Counterfeit Coins(2007-26-09)
- ^ Counterfeit coin newsletter
- ^ Secrets of the U.S. Mint. Travel Channel. Aired 2006-03-20.
- ^ Travers, Scott A. (2008). The Coin Collector's Survival Manual (6 ed.). New York: Random House. pp. 145–147. ISBN 0-375-72305-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=TzmmpGdtvugC&pg=PT169. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
Categories:- Money forgery
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
