This is a question we get all the time. “How do I know the Gold Eagles you send me aren’t fakes?” Or Maple Leafs, Krugerrands, or what have you. Well they aren’t, and for a simple reason. There would be no profit in it. Look at this way. Which would make you the most profit? Duplicating a 2009 Ford, or duplicating a Model T Ford? Which is the most valuable: An 1875 fancy, genuine antique sideboard, or a brand new duplication of an 1875 sideboard? Which is the most valuable: An 1887, brick, Queen Anne style home, in perfect condition, as I own, or a new, brick, Queen Anne style home? Reliable contractors have told me that it would be impossible to duplicate my home for less than $500 a square foot, and a new one can be built for $150 a square foot. The real thing, no matter what it is, is worth far more than a duplication. There would be no profit in making a brand new Krugerrand, Gold Eagle, or Maple Leaf, unless it was made with lead and coated with gold, but that counterfeit would be so obvious than no one would fall for it.
Communist China, right this minute, is making out of real gold, exact duplicates of the famous ’Double Eagle,’ which was last made in 1932. Thousands and thousands of them are in the United States, and being sold by numismatic dealers. Maybe they’re artificially aging them by soaking them in acid or pounding them with a hammer, I don’t know, but they are very profitable for the Chinese, as they can be sold as real Double Eagles with pre-1932 dates on them, for far higher prices than the spot price of gold. There can be a real profit in duplicating Double Eagles with old dates on them for the easily fooled. There would be no profit in duplicating a 2009 Gold Eagle, no matter how good it was, since real ones sell for but a few dollars over spot.
Way back in the late 1970’s, when I began doing this, Then communist Czechoslovakia was turning out thousands of fake Double Eagles, and there are probably lots of them around still. It takes a close examination to tell if they’re fakes, but they many times are. If you buy a Double Eagle from someone, who may not know the difference, you may get a fake. If you ever tried to have them graded by PCGS, the truth would come out instantly.
We don’t deal in counterfeits! Our sole supplier is one of the largest distributors in the world, who buys them directly from the various mints. The Royal Canadian Mint, or the US Mint in West Point New York, don’t pass out fakes! Since our shipments to you, usually are brand new coins from the mints, the chances of them being counterfeits, even if they would be profitable for their makers, is an absolute zero.
If you feel you must deal in Numismatics, do not buy ’Double Eagles,’ as they are the most popular and most counterfeited coins sold by dealers. The chances of getting a fake one are too high, and most dealers can’t tell the difference. Also, never by a numismatic anything, which has not been professionally graded, preferably by PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), and it you want to know the actual value of a numismatic coin, you can go to their web site which is pcgs.com, to find out.
The real counterfeiters, are those who print fake paper money. This trade is as old as the hills. During the Revolutionary war, the Brits counterfeited the American Continentals by the tens of thousands, and reduced their value to zero eventually. Americans printing their own Continentals didn’t help either, and George Washington said once, that ’it takes a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a wheelbarrow of goods.’ North Korea, right this minute, is counterfeiting millions of US hundred dollar bills. Why do you think that when you present one, the clerk uses a brown marker to check to see if it’s real?
Since no paper money in the entire world is backed by anything, it seems to me that the various governments are the biggest of all counterfeiters. Counterfeit, because of claimed value, when there is no value. They force citizens to use their paper with legal tender laws, which forces us to use it. In spite of their laws, they keep printing, and the paper goes down in ’value’ (purchasing power) constantly, which means that prices go up. I know you get tired of this, but as a kid, a Coke was a nickel, and three trolley rides for a quarter was the way it was, as an indication of how far down the buck has slid. No backing, and cheap metal coins are universal now, so if you wish to preserve your wealth, get out of paper money denominated things such as CD’s, and savings accounts. Get those fading dollars into something tangible like gold and silver bullion, which is what we sell, at less than a 1% profit.
You might also read my column on numismatics, which can be found by taking the blue, vertical line at the far right hand side of the web site and dragging it down till you have access to three columns, all three of which may be of interest. Mean time, protect yourself.