If you think they aren't getting smarter - how's your GSA CC 0

[Alex in PA.]

If you collect, or are thinking of buying, GSA coins like a nice 1885 CC then you need to read this:

Counterfeit Coin - Fake 1885-CC Morgan Dollar in Fake GSA Holder (coinweek.com)

[Mohawk]

On 10/28/2021 at 9:29 AM, Alex in PA. said:

If you collect, or are thinking of buying, GSA coins like a nice 1885 CC then you need to read this:

Counterfeit Coin - Fake 1885-CC Morgan Dollar in Fake GSA Holder (coinweek.com)

Much like nature.......the fakers are evolving.  Back when I first started collecting as an adult in 1999, no one would have even thought of a fake GSA holder, but here we are.  Very disturbing stuff.

[Alex in PA.]

On 10/28/2021 at 11:14 AM, Mohawk said:

Very disturbing stuff.

Definitely.  The crooks are getting better at this sort of stuff.  ATS they have been discussing high priced fakes now in PCGS holders.  Getting scary.

[Coinbuf]

Thanks for linking that article, that is the kind of stuff that fools and sells well in todays digital world.

[Conder101]

New article, but those fakes first showed up around 2013 and there was an article or two about them then.

[Henri Charriere]

Two thoughts...

What the GSA holder's "problem" is its generic simplicity and indistictive look. They look like they were made for display; security likely was a secondary consideratiin. Fodder for those with creative instincts.

The reports about fakes in PCGS holders are going to wane as their latest generation security chip embedded holders with Near Field Technology [NFT] begin to infiltrate the market place.

Misc:  I bought a coin from a "historical company" with a little-known name and when I Googled it, the internet lit up (the same way North West Territories did) and I discovered it was totally disreputable, had cheated investors out of a lot of money and had since been dissolved, a development that can occur when you fail to do your due diligence as a collector. Luckily for me, it passed muster with a TPGS. 🐓 

[shaney777]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:12 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

Two thoughts...

What the GSA holder's "problem" is its generic simplicity and indistictive look. They look like they were made for display; security likely was a secondary consideratiin. Fodder for those with creative instincts.

The reports about fakes in PCGS holders are going to wane as their latest generation security chip embedded holders with Near Field Technology [NFT] begin to infiltrate the market place.

Misc:  I bought a coin from a "historical company" with a little-known name and when I Googled it, the internet lit up (the same way North West Territories did) and I discovered it was totally disreputable, had cheated investors out of a lot of money and had since been dissolved, a development that can occur when you fail to do your due diligence as a collector. Luckily for me, it passed muster with a TPGS. 🐓 

I quite like the chip idea. Assume the web link goes to a high quality photo of the coin? If not, I wonder how difficult it would be to open the holder and replace the coin with something inferior or counterfeit. Unfortunately this still doesn't protect buyers from counterfeits that fool TPGs.

[Conder101]

On 3/8/2022 at 12:59 PM, shaney777 said:

Assume the web link goes to a high quality photo of the coin?

At PCGS?  Probably not.  Although they are adding some more images, most PCGS slabbed coins don't have images associated with them.

[powermad5000]

You have to remember the time period when those were put into the GSA holders. I'm sure back then nobody was thinking that the average person is going to be able to reproduce the holder on their own and put a fake into it. The level of scamming has grown over the years as well as the complexity and the means available to scammers to do these types of things. Look what can be done with a laptop and a 3D printer that can be bought for use at home now. It is scary nowadays what a person with minimal knowledge can now look up how, find a program how to do it, and then execute the scam.