SCAM ALERT: DO NOT BUY FROM RANTHY<dot>COM

RANTHY<dot>COM IS A SCAM

Fake Silver Eagles

Two counterfeit American Silver Eagles purchased from a company based in China who advertised on Facebook.

Let’s forget the mechanisms I used to trace the account using legal means to India. This site trying to sell American Silver Eagles for $19.95.

NO LEGITIMATE DEALER IS SELLING BULLION COINS FOR BELOW THE SPOT PRICE!

The current price of silver is $23.86 per troy ounce. If anyone is selling American Silver Eagles for less, they are likely selling counterfeit coins.

Questions about the site sent today noted that the scammers advertised these coins on Facebook.

These scammers are not selling 2022 American Silver Eagle counterfeits because the Chinese manufacturers of the fakes have not created bogus Type 2 reverses. Remember, legitimate dealers will sell coins with the Type 1 reserve. They will also sell the coins with the Type 2 reverse.

IF YOU PURCHASED COINS FROM THESE SCAMMERS, contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. If you received the coins and they are counterfeit, contact your credit card company and dispute the charge.

IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT A WEBSITE, THEN DON’T PURCHASE FROM THEM!

SCAM ALERT: CHINESE COUNTERFEITERS ARE BACK

The Chinese scammers are back after a brief hiatus. They are flooding social media with advertising for fake coins. I found three ads from these scammers offering American Silver Eagles for $9.95 on Facebook in the last two days.

NOBODY IS SELLING LEGITIMATE AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE COINS FOR LESS THAN THEIR SILVER VALUE!

As I type this, silver is $23.73 per troy ounce. It means that that the American Silver Eagle contains $23.73 worth of silver. Even with a modest numismatic premium of 5-percent (below the current market value), a silver bullion coin should cost around $25.00. A quick market survey shows that legitimate dealers are selling ungraded American Silver Eagles for $33-36 each. Coins with the Type 2 reverse are selling for $1-3 more.

Proof American Silver Eagles are more expensive because they cost more to purchase. If the U.S. Mint sells American Silver Eagle proof coins for $73.00 and dealers on the authorized purchase program receive a 5-percent discount, the wholesale price is $69.35 per coin.

Who would sell a proof coin less than the wholesale cost? If it is a genuine coin, then it is likely stolen merchandise. Otherwise, scammers are selling fakes.

Before you purchase these alleged “good deals,” please remember my five rules:

  1. NO LEGITIMATE DEALER IS SELLING BULLION COINS FOR BELOW THE SPOT PRICE!
  2. IF THE DEAL IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT LIKELY IS NOT A GOOD DEAL!
  3. IF THE DEALER DOES NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELVES ON THEIR WEBSITE, THEY ARE LIKELY HIDING SOMETHING.
    Check the “About” or “Contact” page. If there is no contact information, then they are hiding. If the address is in China or the Middle East, they will sell you counterfeit merchandise.
  4. IF THE SITE IS “POWERED BY SHOPLAZZA,” IT IS LIKELY A SCAMMER SITE.
    According to contacts in the information security industry, the service is run by Chinese companies known to sell counterfeit merchandise.
  5. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, THEN DON’T PURCHASE THE COINS!
Please! Please! Please! Do not give these scammers your credit card information. You will be ripped off, and they will likely steal your credit card information, leading to other problems.

Last year, I purchased two coins knowing they are counterfeit for educational purposes only. I used gift cards to purchase the coins to prevent exposing my credit card information. Both coins are made of nickel-plated steel and contain no silver.

SCAM ALERT: LIACOO IS SELLING FAKE SILVER EAGLES!

Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins

Want more information about American Eagle Coins? The Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins has more information and is fully illustrated. Read more → here;

Fake Silver Eagles

Two counterfeit American Silver Eagles purchased from LIACOO, a company based in China.

Last month I posted an article about a potential scam by a company named LIACOO selling American Silver Eagle coins from China. I ordered two coins to confirm my suspicion.

THE COINS ARE COUNTERFEIT! FAKES!

I ordered the coins on June 4, the day I posted the article. The coins were shipped from China to California to New Jersey to my office. LIACOO used the services of Newgistics, which is now a subsidiary of Pitney-Bowes. By using a logistics company in this manner, they can hide behind the anonymity of the service.

Contacting Pitney-Bowes is nearly impossible. I left a very public message on Twitter. Let’s see if they respond.

When the coins arrived, I opened the package and started to examine the contents. The coins are in a slab-like holder similar to the Coin World holders but without the Coin World logo. At first glance, they look fine, and then a closer look revealed problems.

My first impression was that there are almost no rims on the coin. A closer look at the obverse, and the font is too thin for the LIBERTY around the coin. Then I turned the coin over to focus on the U in United. It is missing the tail on the right side of the U. I did not need to see any more to be convinced this was a fake coin.

Finally, I removed the coin to weigh it. An American Silver Eagle is supposed to weigh just slightly more than one troy ounce because it is only .999 silver. Since my scale only measures grams to the tenths of ounces, it should have weighed 31.1 grams. It weighed 25 grams.

The coin is not magnetic.

I will investigate further, but I wanted to report my initial findings.

DO NOT BUY CHEAP EAGLES FROM RANDOM WEBSITES!

I bought these coins to prove my point. I knew I was potentially buying fakes. I spent less than $30 for education aids.

Unfortunately, two correspondents wrote to tell me they each bought ten coins from different dealers. They spent $19.95 per coin. Both lost over $200 with the shipping costs.

IF YOU CANNOT IDENTIFY THE DEALER, THEIR EXACT LOCATION, AND THEIR BUSINESS STATUS, THEN DO NOT BUY THEIR COINS!

LIACOO is a scam. It is a company based in China. DO NOT BUT FROM THEM!

SCAM ALERT: Beware of Cheap Silver Eagles

Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins

Want more information about American Eagle Coins? The Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins has more information and is fully illustrated. Read more → here;
UPDATE: I BOUGHT TWO COINS FROM THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE FAKE, AS SUSPECTED. Read more → here!

If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

Device that could metallic analysis of a coin below the surface

Facebook users might have seen an advertisement trying to sell American Silver Eagle bullion coins for $9.99. DO NOT BUY FROM THAT ADVERTISEMENT. IT IS A SCAM!

The company is named LIACOO. Please note the two “ohs” because there is a legitimate company spelled with a single “oh.” LIACOO appears to be selling knock-off products made in China and representing them as genuine for less than market value.

A reader purchased five of these coins. After they arrived, this person said that something looked wrong and asked for help. The images that were sent makes the coins appear to be cast copies of American Silver Eagle coins. COUNTERFEITS!

First, you will NEVER find a legitimate seller sell American Silver Eagle for less than the wholesale price. You may be able to find someone who will round down your cost to the nearest dollar as a loss leader, but the price will never be more than 1-2% less than the spot price. The current spot price of silver is $17.84. If you find someone selling legitimate American Silver Eagle for $17.00-17.50, they will probably sell the coins to convince you to do further business with them. Otherwise, you may want to check the company further.

In this case, an examination of their website has no information about who they are.

  • There was no physical address.
  • There was no telephone number listed.
  • The site did not have a privacy policy required to do business with most of the world.
  • The site did not have any policies for shipping, returns, or customer service.
  • The pictures of legitimate monster boxes and roll containers were “borrowed” from another site.

There are two places where they provide contact information. On their FAQ page is an email address that uses a different domain. Contact information for the company’s domain name appears on one page that listed an email address, and that customer service was available between 9a and 5p HKT. HKT is the time zone abbreviation for Hong Kong Time.

If that was not enough to convince you that this deal is too good to be true, further research went into their Internet presence.

Their domain name registration shows that the name was purchased from a company in Guangdong, China, that appears to service small businesses. This service provider is reselling the services offered by Baidu. Baidu is a Chinese state-controlled search engine, sometimes called the Google of China. The Chinese government heavily regulates Baidu.

The website is hosted on servers owned by Alibaba. Alibaba is a China-based e-commerce conglomerate whose ties with the Chinese government is uncertain. Although founder Jack Ma has claimed to have no government ties, it is essential to remember that the Chinese government regulates everything and censor Internet traffic inside its borders.

Everything regarding their Internet presence confirms that they are a China-based company. Remember, many of the worst counterfeit coins have origins in China.

I provided the details of the clues I was looking for to help you understand how to spot a scammer. I went further by looking into their Internet presence since I have the background to understand the under-the-hood workings of the Internet. However, my examination of the website was enough to convince me not to buy the coins.

If anything about the offer makes you uneasy, then do not buy the coins. If you want me to look at the site, leave a message in the comment section below, or send me a note. “Let’s be careful out there.”

Scammed on line? Facebook got paid and they don’t care!

Fake Silver Eagles

Two counterfeit American Silver Eagles purchased from LIACOO, a company based in China who advertised on Facebook.

When I wrote that the “Chinese Counterfeiters Are Back” last month, several people wrote to me saying they were never gone. My point was that they have crawled out of their collective holes and started to flood social media with advertising for counterfeit coins.

Over the last few weeks, I have been counseling several people about requesting a chargeback for receiving counterfeit merchandise. Requesting chargebacks have their problems, too. Some credit card issuers will use the chargeback as an excuse not to renew your credit card.

During this time, another group has been trying to work with Facebook to stop the scammers from reaching consumers.

On Monday, three numismatic groups sent a letter to Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg asking why he did not respond to a similar letter a month ago. The letter was signed by Doug Davis, Director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation, Mark Salzberger, Chairman of Numismatic Guaranty Company, and Bob Brueggeman, Executive Director of the Professional Numismatists Guild. You can read the press release and letter here.

It is not surprising that Facebook and Zuckerberg have not answered previous letters. If you watch other media reports about Facebook, the company is notorious for trying to sweep issues under the proverbial rug until something brings it to the forefront. While Facebook claims they are responsive to the communities, they respond solely when someone yells and causes an uproar.

Although some find Facebook useful, it is a cesspool of scammers and trolls playing on the gullible looking to prove P.T. Barnum correct: There’s a sucker born every minute.

News organizations worldwide have reported how criminals use Facebook advertising for crimes, including selling counterfeit merchandise, false activism (e.g., Fake News), and human trafficking.

Facebook’s response has been the same. They promise to try harder and look to add code to help protect their users. The result is that they try to implement a technical solution that works to the point of being able to placated the current activists. The problem is that while Facebook depends on artificial intelligence to protect its platform, company leadership has not shown any real intelligence to understand that there may not be a technical solution to every problem.

It is easier for Facebook to scan for words that someone believes are hurtful than to look at an advertisement selling a one-ounce silver coin for less than its silver value. Besides, the alleged bully is not paying for to have their content distributed to a target audience that includes you.

Facebook really doesn’t care because they are getting paid. They were being paid as late as 2018 by a Russian troll bot for placing activist ads after being admonished for accepting campaign ads paid in Russian rubles in 2016.

Zuckerberg and company do not care. He is getting paid and so is their management. They lie just enough to get past alleged watchdogs in a way to keep confidence in their market price. After all, Facebook stock (NASDAQ: FB) is up 32.25% for the year as of Sep 20, 2021. Why should they care what you think about their advertisers? In the meantime, consumers are getting defrauded by scammers allowed to roam freely by a company that advertises on television as being a place to build a community.

Do not expect help from the government. In between their partisan fighting, members of Congress do not have the knowledge or competence to figure out how to fix the issue. Most members of Congress are lawyers with no technical background nor did any study the technical issues enough to make competent decisions.

Although Congress is to blame, the voters must accept their part of the responsibility. Instead of voting in competent people, they send these old folks with no technical background back to Washington. Many have held their seats for over 20 years without any incentive for advancement. So they grow old without learning new ways and blame everyone else for what they are not doing. Think of the problem like this: 26 of the 100 Senators are 70 years of age or older. None of these people had any experience with computers as students or early in their careers. Most can barely use a smartphone (Steve King actually asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai why his daughter’s iPhone behaved strangely). Even if they did, when was the last time you saw an elderly member of congress with a computer or even a smartphone?

Davis, Salzberg, and Brueggeman will have an uphill battle with Facebook. Everyone does. But the ACEF and PNG need to think beyond talking reason to Zuckerberg. They need to work with Congress to help them understand the technologies and what regulations will be effective without putting undue limits on the technology companies.

NOTE TO THE DAVIS, SALZBERG, AND BRUEGGEMAN:
I know of one person in the numismatic industry that has a background in technology and public policy. This person worked as a contractor to the federal government for 25 years as an information security analyst. This person worked for a PAC concerned with numismatic issues and has a Masters’ with a concentration in information security and technology public policy from Carnegie Mellon University. You can contact this person at coinsblog.ws/contact.

Those Cheap Silver Eagles Are A Chinese SCAM!

Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins

Want more information about American Eagle Coins? The Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins has more information and is fully illustrated. Read more → here;

Fake Silver Eagles

Two counterfeit American Silver Eagles purchased from LIACOO, a company based in China.

My posts with the titles “SCAM ALERT” has been the most popular posts in the last few months. They warn about these Chinese scammers. After buying two of these coins and examining several websites sent to me by readers, my analysis has lead me to the following:

  • The scammers are in Shenzen, China
  • It may be more than one person behind the scam, but they are working together.
  • There appears to be a pocket of these scammers in the Middle East. Early analysis suggests they are in Doha, Qatar.
  • All email addresses are either on Gmail or use Google’s professional services that allow Gmail to look like a real domain.
  • Any of these sites that have a U.S.-based telephone number are using burner phones. For those not familiar with the term, a burner phone is one on a pay-as-you-go plan. The phones are cheap, easily disposed of, and are difficult to trace.
  • Any of these sites that use a U.S.-based physical address use a dropbox service from a logistics company. The dropbox service is a locker that the company pays as a way to manage shipping remotely. There are legitimate uses for these dropbox services, but these scammers use them to make it look like they are located in the United States.
  • The scammers are using branded gift cards to pay for these services.

While investigating these sites, I learned that there are five tips that, if followed, you will avoid being scammed.

  1. NO LEGITIMATE DEALER IS SELLING BULLION COINS FOR BELOW THE SPOT PRICE!
    The current price of silver is $23.43 per troy ounce. If anyone is selling American Silver Eagles for less, they are likely trying to sell counterfeit coins.
  2. IF THE DEAL IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT LIKELY IS NOT A GOOD DEAL!
    When purchasing bullion and coins from dealers, the price between the spot price and the price the dealer will sell the coins for is called the spread. The spread can change based on inventory, availability, and other market forces. It is rare when the spread is less than 5-percent. Some of the largest dealers will lower their spread for their better customers or as a special to lure other customers. A good deal is when the spread is less than 5-percent. However, the spread is rarely less than 2-percent. If a legitimate dealer sells metals for less than 2-percent over the spot price, that is a good deal. These companies are not in business to lose money. Be very worried if someone is trying to sell bullion coins for less.
  3. IF THE DEALER DOES NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELVES ON THEIR WEBSITE, THEY ARE LIKELY HIDING SOMETHING.
    On every website that is likely selling counterfeit coins, they have a wonderfully written “About Us” page that says nothing. The Of the four websites that readers have sent to ask if they were legitimate, all of the “About Us” pages were copies. A web search using sample passages from the page yielded thousands of results.
  4. IF THE CONTACT PAGE DOES NOT HAVE LEGITIMATE CONTACT INFORMATION, THEY ARE LIKELY HIDING SOMETHING.
    One of the indicators of a site owned by Chinese scammers is if they give you hours in HKT or Hong Kong Time. These scammers are not in Hong Kong but are in Shenzen, which is in the same time zone.
  5. IF THE SITE IS “POWERED BY SHOPLAZZA,” IT IS LIKELY A SCAMMER SITE.
    Go to the bottom of any page. If there is a copyright statement followed by “Powered by Shoplazza,” then run away. Shoplazza is a newly created service out of China that seems to be a Shopify clone made by reading Shopify’s HTML. While looking at the HTML code, there are indications that the site was created quickly. During a quick look at three sites highly suspected of selling counterfeit American Silver Eagle coins, I was able to confirm that their sites are hosted on Shoplazza.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT A WEBSITE THEN DON’T PURCHASE FROM THEM!

Since my first post about these Chinese scammers, I have received at least five notes per week saying they bought ten coins from these websites. Everyone that received the coins and was able to weigh them found they weigh only 25 grams. A real American Silver Eagle coin should weigh 31.103 grams.

Yes, I bought two coins from one of the sites, but I did so for educational purposes. I suspected that these would be counterfeit, and I wanted the coins to learn more about them. I believe they are silver plated. As for what is under the silver plate, I have to wait until I can visit a dealer with one of those devices that can analyze coins.

Please do not buy from them.

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Weekly World Numismatic News for January 7, 2019

Sorry for the one day delay, it was a busy weekend!

The important news is not being reported in the numismatic press nor by those who are supposed to watch over the industry. The important news is the government shutdown and its potential effects on the economy as a whole.

Market performance is like a disease. When one part gets infected the rest of the organism will follow. The part the economic organism that is getting infected is the Washington, DC area. Home to 15 companies in the Fortune 500 including government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Washington Post is reporting that 174,800 people have been furloughed in the Washington, DC-area because of the shutdown.

When that many people are not getting paid they are not spending money and the economy gets stagnant. When a region as significant in size becomes stagnant, it is only a matter of time before it spreads to other areas including those where the federal government has the most impact including Alaska, Montana, and New Mexico. Farming states could also feel the impact since the U.S. Department of Agriculture is closed and cannot process subsidy (welfare) checks for farmers hurt by the trade war with China, potentially affecting the price of food.

Since the markets do not like uncertainty, investors tend to seek refuge in precious metals, primarily gold and silver. The problem is that there is so much news that timing the markets has given the market watchers whiplash as the uncertainty seems to force the professional investors (gamblers) to treat the market like they are playing the hokie-pokey: a little bit in, a little bit out, panic a little and shake all about the next news cycle.

The dollar is strong but that is because the Federal Reserve did not raise rates in December. While that averted a panic, the Fed may not be able to hold back if the shutdown continues and puts inflationary pressure on the economy.

With news cycles that could change at the drop of a Tweet, it does not make sense to try to time the market. However, if the price of gold climbing as a result of those in the equity markets looking for a safer haven, you may want to tell your representatives in Congress to work to end this shutdown. Although some would love to see $2,000 per ounce gold prices, it could negatively impact the economy and your ability to collect.

And now the news…

 December 31, 2018

Have you ever wondered what happened to all the old, round £1 coins after they were removed from circulation? We just found out  → Read more at mirror.co.uk


 December 31, 2018

Chain restaurants Sweetgreen and Dig Inn in the US have already stopped accepting cash. Starbucks and UK pubs are also moving towards card and contactless.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk


 January 1, 2019

U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold and silver coins dropped to their lowest …  → Read more at reuters.com


 January 2, 2019

Editor's Note: Kitco News has officially launched Outlook 2019 – Rush To Safety – the definitive reference for precious metals investors for the new year. We chose this year's theme as financial markets face growing uncertainty.  → Read more at kitco.com


 January 3, 2019

PolicÃa Nacional has issued a warning after a rise in reported cases of members of the public receiving the wrong currency in their change. Instead of being handed back euros, unsuspecting holidaymakers and expats are being short-changed with coins of much lower value compared to the euro.  → Read more at express.co.uk


 January 5, 2019

KIND-hearted shopkeepers are helping an Inverness youngster with her coin collecting hobby by setting aside specially-minted versions of 50p and £2 coins produced to commemorate historic occasions. A Girl Guides centenary 50p sparked the interest of Cradlehall Primary’s Isla Macdonald, who now has 40 special 50p coins and 30 differently designed £2 coins.  → Read more at inverness-courier.co.uk

Coin Collectors News
news.coinsblog.ws

Weekly World Numismatic News for July 3, 2022

As I returned from two weeks off, I noticed that the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) warned about Chinese counterfeits using the example of a gentleman in Texas who was scammed by buying counterfeits.

According to the report, “Oliver” paid $1,000 for counterfeit coins. As part of the order, Oliver paid $499 for an American Gold Eagle that the U.S. Mint sold for $1,950. He paid $499 for 50 alleged American Silver Eagles that would have been worth $40 each and received fakes.

Some of the counterfeit coins were received by a Texas investor.

If Oliver had done a little due diligence, he would not have been scammed out of $1,000. Sure, he will work with his credit card company to recover his money, but that may be $1,000 that the credit card company has to absorb. The credit card company will try to recover the money from the scammer, but the process will cost money.

Remember, credit card companies do not absorb these losses. They will raise service charges and interest rates to compensate for the losses. Oliver might be made whole, but we will all pay for his lapse of judgment.

Before you purchase these alleged “good deals,” please remember my rules:

  1. NO LEGITIMATE DEALER IS SELLING BULLION COINS FOR BELOW THE SPOT PRICE!
  2. IF THE DEAL IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT LIKELY IS NOT A GOOD DEAL!
  3. IF THE DEALER DOES NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELVES ON THEIR WEBSITE, THEY ARE LIKELY HIDING SOMETHING!
    Check the “About” or “Contact” page. If there is no address, then they are hiding. If the address is in China or the Middle East, they will sell you counterfeit merchandise. If there is an address, go to Google Maps and see what is really at the address.
  4. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, THEN DO NOT PURCHASE THE COINS!
    There is no harm in asking for help. Talk to a dealer. If you do not know a dealer, reach out to an expert affiliated with the Accredited Precious Metals Dealer program (www.APMDdealers.org) or the Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org). Or ask me! Using my background as a (now retired) information security specialist, I can tell you if I think a scammer created the website.

Please! Please! Please! Do not give these scammers your credit card information. You will be ripped off, and they will likely steal your credit card information, leading to other problems.

And now the news…

 June 29, 2022
WATERLOO REGION — Waterloo Region’s club for coin enthusiasts has been recognized for using the internet to keep members connected during the pandemic. The Waterloo Coin Society was named club of the year by the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association, the national organization for coin collectors.  → Read more at therecord.com

 June 30, 2022
A hoard of Roman gold coins hidden in the decades before the Roman invasion of Britain has been discovered.  → Read more at bbc.com

 July 1, 2022
"What looks and feels like a real paper money, but doesn't work?" Well, obviously, that is Russian paper money. Russian Central Bank officially introduced the updated 100 rouble bill today.  → Read more at afterdawn.com
Coin Collectors News
news.coinsblog.ws

 

Weekly World Numismatic News for February 14, 2021

One of the nice aspects of a new year is all of the new coins that become available. Every major mint starts the year with new bullion products, commemorative coins, and other non-circulated legal tender coinage to keep collectors interested.

For collectors, it is a lot of fun.

2021 Canada Bluenose Gold-Plated Silver Dollar

Bluenose gold-plated silver dollar is part of the Royal Canadian Mint Silver Proof Set (Image courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint)

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Bluenose schooner. The Bluenose was a fishing and racing schooner that was revolutionary in its design and became the symbol of Nova Scotia before being a symbol of Canadian heritage.

Although the Bluenose launched in 1921, it did not appear on the Canada 10-cent coin until 1937. Since then, the Bluenose appeared on every 10-cent coin except for 1967 when Canadian coins were redesigned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation.

The Royal Mint has started the year by issuing commemorative sovereigns, Britannia bullion coins, and the yearly Trial of the Pyx. Although modern technology makes the Trial of the Pyx unnecessary, it is an exciting part of Royal Mint history that deserves celebration.

Down under in Australia, the Royal Australian Mint has issued silver coins of the Outback Majesty series that celebrates the Australian Outback animals. Since Australia has done better than the rest of the world with keeping the pandemic under control, the Royal Australian Mint has resumed tours and has operations closer to normal.

Over in New Zealand, it looks like they are having more fun with coins. New this year are the Chibi Collection of the Lord of the Rings characters, DC Comics superheroes, and more. Although the New Zealand Mint designs and strikes these coins, they are issued under the Niue government’s authority. The New Zealand Mint also strikes coins for the Cook Islands. Both are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand.

The U.S. Mint, whose output is the most restrictive of the world mints, has issued the American Silver Eagle Proof coin and the new American Platinum Eagle Proof. The American Platinum Eagle Proof series celebrates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, starting with the Freedom of Religion. Also available is the Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Silver Dollar. Later, the U.S. Mint will issue the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum commemorative coins.

Finally, the U.S. Mint has issued the last of the America the Beautiful Quarters honoring the Tuskegee Airman Historical Site. The U.S. Mint will produce a redesigned quarter for the balance of the year. The Prominent American Women Quarters will begin in 2022.

It is a fun time to be a coin collector!

And now the news…

 February 2, 2021
The Reddit-fueled run-up in silver prices might be stalling, but the U.S. Mint said it is still rationing its sales of silver coins because of “continued exceptional market demand,” as well as limited supplies and manufacturing capacity.  → Read more at bloomberg.com

 February 9, 2021
An Israel Defense Forces soldier discovered a rare 1,800-year-old coin during a training exercise, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday. The coin features an image of the head of the Roman emperor Antonius Pius and was dated to 158–159 CE.  → Read more at timesofisrael.com

 February 11, 2021
Details of a "very special" haul of 651 Roman coins found in the ancient city of Aizanoi in Turkey have been released by researchers behind the discovery. The silver coins were found in a jug during archeological excavations led by researchers from Pamukkale University, according to a press release from the university.  → Read more at cnn.com

 February 12, 2021
You might have a coin worth literally thousands in your pocket right now. No, not like that Simpsons episode where Mr Burns tries to steal a trillion dollars: an actual, real coin that you could buy something with that is secretly also worth plenty more than face value to a collector.  → Read more at ladbible.com

 February 12, 2021
CHICAGO: The US Mint announced this week that it will issue a Silver Dollar coin to commemorate Christa McAuliffe, a teacher and a civilian astronaut of Lebanese heritage who died on the Challenger Space Shuttle when it exploded minutes after taking off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Jan.  → Read more at arabnews.com

 February 13, 2021
The discovery of nine Roman coins found in Norfolk has been declared as treasure.  Yvonne Blake, area coroner for Norfolk, opened the treasure inquest into the find at Norfolk Coroner's Court earlier this month.    → Read more at edp24.co.uk
Coin Collectors News
news.coinsblog.ws
 Silver Rush Creates Silver Scams (Feb 11, 2021)

 

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Weekly World Numismatic News for October 25, 2020

Fake Silver Eagles

Two counterfeit American Silver Eagles purchased from LIACOO, a company based in China.

Although the number of reports about people buying counterfeit American Silver Eagle coins has diminished, they have not stopped. This week, I received four more inquiries about these coins.

I have tried my best to get the word out to as many people as possible, including the media. I spent a few hours scouring the Internet for the consumer reporters’ addresses in as many major markets as possible, even sending messages to competing stations. Nobody has responded.

Even though high traffic and Google statistics tracking has pushed the blog closer to the top of the search when people inquire about counterfeit American Silver Eagles, the fact remains that it is difficult or a one-man crusade to cut through the daily noise.

It would have been nice if I had help. I did post warnings on the ANA’s Facebook group. Even though there are Board members involved with the Facebook group, nobody has picked up the ball and tried to put the force of the ANA behind an educational campaign.

The email sent about these fake coins add up to over 150 counterfeit coins. Although it is a small fraction of the total American Silver Eagle population, counterfeits in the market can potentially turn potential collectors into someone who does not trust the market.

I will continue my part of the fight.

Other than the posts I made about these coins, I compiled a list of the websites identified by readers as selling counterfeit American Silver Eagle coins. Once I created the list, I checked the sites to see if they are still selling fakes.

Readers can find the list of dealers selling fake coins at coinsblog.ws/fakes. I will maintain that list with the information as I receive it. Maybe if we work together, we can educate the public and eliminate the demand these scammers use to dupe people.

And now the news…

 October 19, 2020
Special Indonesian exhibit unveiled at quiet vernissage Batik was the dress code of the day at Alliance Coin & Banknote, as a special exhibit on the currency of Indonesia was unveiled on October 5th in downtown Almonte.  → Read more at millstonenews.com

 October 22, 2020
The Harold II silver penny found by Reece Pickering Two nearly 1,000-year-old coins dug up this year by two unrelated teenagers may be worth thousands of pounds each.  → Read more at expressandstar.com

 October 22, 2020
JERSEY’S government could find out how much it will cost to buy 70,000 late Iron Age and Roman coins found in a field in Grouville before the end of the year, the Chief Minister has revealed.  → Read more at jerseyeveningpost.com

 October 23, 2020
Mother Lode Gold, a wooden currency circulates at the CalaverasGrown farmers markets in Calaveras County. The currency is crafted by local farmer and woodworker Sean Kriletich.  → Read more at calaverasenterprise.com
Coin Collectors News
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 VIDEO: Walkabout Denver (Oct 19, 2020)

 

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