Reddit's silver "apes" now targeting silver, opportunity or fool's gold?

[james.hendrickson]

Real 1 oz silver American eagles have a weight of 31grams such as this one pictured which is a bit hard to see. All the fakes are coming in at 29 grams. I'm thinking of going for a jog tomorrow in my neighborhood and dropping the (5) fakes on the sidewalk and letting strangers find them, lol.

Do the fake coins have any economic value AS FAKES? I mean can you sell them noting they are fake? Law enforcement or a collector might be interested in reviewing them.

Also, while I think about it, if American Eagles are official US currency, maybe they should be reported to the secret service?

[james.hendrickson]

QMM,

I went into Grocery Outlet today and saw my casher examining a quarter that was on top of the register. I asked him if he though the quarter was fake. He said "no, I think its silver". And, the showed it to me. Sure enough, he had found a legitimate 1952 American Quarter dollar coin.

I congratulated the guy - its not every day you find a nice little win like that. He had just a 4 dollar coin fall into his lap.

[disneysteve]

Do the fake coins have any economic value AS FAKES? I mean can you sell them noting they are fake? Law enforcement or a collector might be interested in reviewing them.

Also, while I think about it, if American Eagles are official US currency, maybe they should be reported to the secret service?

Great point. No you can’t sell them. That would be a a federal offense. But you’re right about contacting the Secret Service. That’s what banks do when they get counterfeit money.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I'll just throw out the fakes with the trash. I think China makes those fakes which are rampant. Temu is selling it as "Replica game coins" for $1.99." As for the Grocery Outlet cashier he scored a 90% silver quarter.

1pc 2019 Retro Game Coin | Shop Now For Limited-time Deals | Temu

[myrdale]

Do the fake coins have any economic value AS FAKES? I mean can you sell them noting they are fake? Law enforcement or a collector might be interested in reviewing them.

Also, while I think about it, if American Eagles are official US currency, maybe they should be reported to the secret service?

This is an interesting thought. I don't know what makes fake money fake and real money real (well pass the obvious). I mean Monopoly sells billions of dollars of fake money every year right? Is it printing the US treasury seal that becomes the issue, or is it the intent of the usage? Its my understanding that it is not illegal to destroy paper currency. It is illegal to change the value (taking a $1 and writing $5 on it with a sharpie).

[james.hendrickson]

This is an interesting thought. I don't know what makes fake money fake and real money real (well pass the obvious). I mean Monopoly sells billions of dollars of fake money every year right? Is it printing the US treasury seal that becomes the issue, or is it the intent of the usage? Its my understanding that it is not illegal to destroy paper currency. It is illegal to change the value (taking a $1 and writing $5 on it with a sharpie).

Myrdale, I thought about that yesterday also. Hollywood also makes a ton of prop money for film use, that's obviously not illegal.

So, per Wikipedia, a commonly understood definition of counterfeit money is: Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. (here).

In my view, the coins that QMM received are in a grey area. They are being sold as "replicas" but they are substantially similar to true American Eagle coins such that the average collector would not know the difference.

In contrast, when Hasbro prints Monopoly money, there is no attempt at counterfeiting as there is no deliberate attempt to imitate the US dollar.

[QuarterMillionMan]

False alarm. Years ago found this neckalce on the ground. Today rec'd my silver & gold test kit solutions. The tissue would need to turn blood red if the necklace was real silver. There's no markings on the clasp and the pendent is dull and no luster so I sort of thought this necklace was costume jewelry and the test solution proved it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I ordered more 40% silver, good deal at $4 a coin, I might buy it all (James that’s a hint for you to scoop some before it’s gone, lol). https://www.ebay.com/itm/28539824550...is&media=EMAIL

[disneysteve]

This is an interesting thought. I don't know what makes fake money fake and real money real (well pass the obvious). I mean Monopoly sells billions of dollars of fake money every year right? Is it printing the US treasury seal that becomes the issue, or is it the intent of the usage? .

I think intent is part of it. Design is also part of it. Nobody is going to mistake Monopoly money for actual US currency. But QMM bought a coin that he thought was real, and I assume it was represented as such by the seller. Only after he got it and examined it closely did he discover it was phony. Selling a coin like that is a Federal offense and that seller should be reported and the coin should be turned over to the Secret Service. If QMM, an experienced buyer, got fooled, how many other less informed buyers are getting scammed thinking what they got is real?

A counterfeit attempts to exactly match the real thing. I remember as a kid we'd buy fake coins. They were plastic or they were metal but a lot bigger than real coins. Something was done to make it perfectly clear that they weren't real.

As for Temu, I think that whole company is a scam. I've heard a lot of negative stuff about them. I suspect a lot of what they sell is cheap Chinese counterfeits. I'm not sure how they're getting away with it but I wouldn't buy a thing from them.

And of course, counterfeits exist in many areas, not just money. The topic comes up all the time in my reseller groups. People post pictures asking if a purse or shirt or par of sneakers is authentic. Ebay has authentication services for several categories of items. So many people post that they have a fake item and what to know where they can sell it. They never seem happy when they're told that they can't sell it anywhere as it's illegal to do so. I actually reported a post on our local Facebook yardsale group the other day. A woman posted a pair of fake Manolo shoes. She stated they were fake and she paid $400 for them. I don't remember how much she was asking, but I reported it since selling fakes is against the law and could result in the group getting shut down.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Yes the seller on eBay listed it as 1 oz .999 fine silver American eagles (SAE). I think it was a lot of 4 for about $150. I can imagine that other people bought as well and may not know it is fake and still holding on to it because it looks and feels like a real coin especially if you don't have other coins to compare it with. I learned my lesson and will only buy SAEs' from reputable dealers from now. As for 40% silver Kennedy half dollars I think it's not as widely faked so I'll still buy from eBay although there might be some fakes. As for $1 Morgan dollars (or Peace dollars) silver 90% silver dollars those are widely faked as well. Mercury dimes 90% silver I don't think there are much fakes except for the rare ones. So Mercury dimes are pretty safe to buy from eBay along with 90% silver quarters and 90% silver half dollars, I think, but the higher the denomination the higher the chances of fakes.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I bought the last 2 lots of 40% silver Kennedy half dollars at $17.99 per lot and $1.99 shipping per lot which comes out to about $4 a coin. Other eBay sellers want $5 a coin or more.

[QuarterMillionMan]

At $26 a piece for Morgans and Peace dollars it's most likely fake but with the knowledge I've gained I'm meeting the seller tonight (if the seller replies back to me to meet). I'm bringing a strong N52 magnet, a digital scale (real ones weigh ~ 26.73 grams), and chemical solution w/scratch pad to test for real silver. The seller is in Redondo Beach which is about 9 miles away from me. If I get some I'll post pics here. Might get 4 - 8 coins depending on condition.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The seller got back to me yesterday saying if I buy all 21 coins it'll be $25 each. I'm not confident enough in my ability to ascertain fakes from real ones to buy $500 worth of coins. These coins are highly faked so no deal.

[disneysteve]

The seller got back to me yesterday saying if I buy all 21 coins it'll be $25 each. I'm not confident enough in my ability to ascertain fakes from real ones to buy $500 worth of coins. These coins are highly faked so no deal.

How much would you expect them to cost if they're real?

[QuarterMillionMan]

About $32 - $35 from APMEX, SD Bullion, Liberty Coin, Bullion Exchange, etc. None of the legitimate dealers would sell it for $26 so this reason as well leads me to believe this seller has fakes. Rec'd my 40% Kennedy half dollars Saturday. The top pic is uncleaned. The bottom is cleaned which I just finished cleaning with boiling water, baking soda, and aluminum foil. It appears worse after I cleaned it. Might be the 40% silver and 60% copper turned it reddish. Oh well, I guess I won't be cleaning 40% silver from now. Paid $4 a coin, which is quite a bargain. Ebay sellers are asking $5 or more.