IN Lately All kinds of sellers of counterfeit coins began to appear in huge numbers on specialized forums. In my opinion, the scammer’s task is not to sell the coin on the site; he understands perfectly well that it is quite easy to figure him out. The seller’s task is different, he needs to collect as much information as possible about the shoals of the bullshit on display for subsequent successful sales. The Chinese are now with great enthusiasm taking up the task of refining coins to a beautiful salable appearance that matches the original. The weight is adjusted as expected, the coin becomes obsolete, etc. Now many of us do not attach much importance to this, but I am sure that in a few years such completed coins will be sold at auctions with all their might and fill up the albums of numismatists... bringing disappointment. In general, I’ll start and describe everything I know on the issue, and you friends will support me, since my knowledge is clearly not enough to cover this topic, but I need to write about it, because it problem, but the problem If it can’t be resolved, then each of us needs to know about it.
Everyone has probably encountered a seller of coins that appeared as a result of disassembling a house, being found in the forest and other legends. Slowly, counterfeit coins began to fill our bird markets, Internet sites, bazaars and streets. Here is an ordinary antiques seller's tray, which already has enough of this bullshit
Andrew Hoffman, Director of Marketing at Miles Franklin (USA), takes a closer look at the topic of counterfeit coins, which worries many investors.
Until recently, in our business, says the expert in the article “Fake coins? You get what you pay for,” it was very rare to find a counterfeit, especially a fake denominated one-ounce coin. It's about, of course, about gold. Counterfeiting silver is not yet profitable - the price is not high enough, and platinum is too rare a metal with a small supply chain.
For the first time we came across a fake one one ounce gold coin recently. Although “counterfeits” (all from China) have been encountered before, no one has yet tried to pass them off as pure gold"gold plated" copies - completely real gold coins were simply presented as numismatic.
But time passes, new technologies appear, and with them new opportunities for fraudsters. Before I warn you against purchasing large (over 10 ounces) denominated bars from non-government mints, I want to remind you of the risks you are exposing yourself to when purchasing gold from unverified sellers who do not guarantee the authenticity of their goods. Miles Franklin is one of 27 primary dealers of the United States Mint, we work with the world's largest and most reputable wholesalers, and we sell only new government products, so the likelihood of purchasing a coin of questionable quality from us is zero.
To make it easier to understand what you should pay attention to in terms of counterfeiting when buying gold coins, below I will provide excerpts from an excellent article Sean Broadrick, resource strategist Oxford Club, an organization of which our company has been a branch for many years, which we are certainly very proud of. And then I will tell you how our main distributor detects counterfeit coins. Let's start with an article by Sean Broadrick called “Investing in gold? Then this is a warning for you.".
Emergency warning...
DO NOT buy gold coins from eBay, Craigslist, or any other seller that DOES NOT guarantee authenticity. The market is flooded with Chinese counterfeits. Think you've found a great deal on eBay? In the end, it may not be so great.
“For some time now, counterfeit coins have been coming out of China,” says a numismatist expert at one of the leading gold dealers. “Most Chinese counterfeits end up in the hands of unscrupulous distributors through sites like Alibaba.”
Fraudsters usually sell their goods via the Internet. Previously, the Chinese only counterfeited “rare” gold coins. Copies of coins with numismatic value were made from real gold. Today, the Chinese are chasing volumes. Their “gold coins” are made from lead, zinc and most commonly tungsten. And that's the whole problem. Tungsten has a very high density. It is very similar in density to gold. Moreover, some of the Chinese counterfeits are surprisingly skillfully made. Using a laser, an exact copy is created that is no different in appearance and shape from a real coin. In the old days, dealers could easily spot a counterfeit coin by its weight, color, and the way the coin reflected light. Today's tungsten coins from China are very difficult to identify from a distance. Especially if the coin is also plated with gold.
“There are hundreds of thousands of these coins,” Scott Schechter, vice president of coin grading company Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, told the press. “They are everywhere.”
Chinese factories work day and night to produce counterfeit coins by the thousands., including the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf and American Buffalo. They are sold everywhere from flea markets to eBay and Craigslist. In most cases, you should be wary of too favorable terms of the deal. Or the price should confuse you - it’s too low compared to the prices of well-known dealers. Otherwise, you can shell out a pretty penny for a simple tungsten coin.
How to Avoid Counterfeit Coins
There have been tungsten counterfeits on the gold market before. Several 10 oz tungsten gold bars were reported in September 2012, bought and sold in New York's jewelry district. So the Chinese have been doing this for several years now. One might even say they are starting to become impudent. Here’s an example: there is a company called China Tungsten Online that sells “gold-plated tungsten coins” over the Internet. Quote from the site: “All our products are souvenirs and are purely decorative in nature. Warning: Do not use our gold-plated tungsten coins for illegal purposes." I'm sure these words are just a cover.
You might be thinking, “Sean is making a mountain out of a molehill. I will continue to buy coins on eBay, but only from trusted, reputable sellers.” Hey, do you really think that reputation on eBay cannot be raised or faked? And if you get into a dispute with a Chinese scammer on eBay, eBay is unlikely to stand up for you.
The good news is that you can fight scammers. Even if you don't take any emergency measures, you can still...
Find dealer information. If the person has been out of business for at least 10 years, find another dealer.
Find out if the dealer takes any measures to detect counterfeits. You must be sure that the seller has never, even accidentally, sold counterfeit coins.
Make sure the dealer guarantees the authenticity of every coin they sell. If not, keep looking.
Modern technologies to help you
Luckily, there is a new device on the market called Precious metal tester or PMV (Precious Metals Verifier). PMV is manufactured by Sigma Metalytics. The device is designed specifically for identifying counterfeits. How it works: PMV verifies the authenticity of a coin based on known resistance, or the specific electrical resistance inherent in a particular grade of precious metal. PMV is convenient and safe: it does its job perfectly, even if the coin is under the film of an album or in a plastic case. “We sell testers to our customers, but more often than not to other coin dealers,” added Mr. Millman. My advice to you: PMV, of course, is cheaper than an ounce of gold, but still the pleasure is not cheap. If you are not a professional, then it is better to entrust the inspection to a dealer with a good reputation.
Please pay Special attention In response to my words, it’s not for nothing that I highlighted them in bold: “In most cases, you should be wary of too favorable terms of the deal. Or the price should confuse you - it’s too low compared to the prices of well-known dealers.” And once again, if in an industry that offers goods rather than services, someone is systematically selling at prices lower than the main dealers like Miles Franklin, beware - only we have the opportunity to purchase gold at the lowest prices. In other words, you can easily fall for the bait "Tulving"; Bullion Direct; or "Northwest Territorial Mint". And if you buy online, from unverified sources, sooner or later you will become a victim of counterfeiters.
And as a bonus - I assure you, you will not read this anywhere else - I will tell you what our main distributor, who has been working with Miles Franklin for several decades, answered when I asked about fighting counterfeits. Or rather, I asked him to tell him how they recently managed to recognize two fake Krugerrands, which, as you yourself understand, did not come to them from the Mint South Africa, but from the “secondary market”. It will take a little time to read, but there will be a lot of benefits...
"We are proud that we can recognize counterfeit gold and silver coins and bars. We have the latest technologies, including electrical resistivity and radiographic testing, X-ray spectral analysis, ultrasound, and a well-trained eye thanks to many years of experience.
First of all, we buy gold coins and bars directly from refiners, as well as private and government mints. However, due to the high activity in the secondary market, we try to participate in these gold auctions, and this inevitably ends in the purchase of metal from “secondary” sources. Since the market creates a gap in the "official" supply chain, our company policy requires special quality control of all goods purchased from the "secondary market".
Not long ago, an out-of-state dealer sold us several dozen 1-ounce gold Krugerrands. The first check showed some discrepancies in the composition of the coins, so the entire batch was sent for additional control.
One of these two coins is counterfeit. Can you determine which one?
The coin on the right did not raise any suspicions from the Sigma Metalytics resistance tester, but the coin on the left did not even pass this preliminary stage. Note that the coin on the left has a more “golden” hue than the one on the right.
The suspicious coin was then subjected to X-ray spectral analysis, which makes a molecular analysis of the scanned metal down to 10 microns in depth. Please note that the left-hand Krugerrand is 97.49% pure, which is significantly higher than the real coin's 91.67% purity. The inscription “Gold Plate Suspect” also appeared on the screen.
Additionally, when dropped onto a hard wooden surface, a counterfeit coin will make a dull sound. A real Krugerrand falls very loudly. Convinced that we did not have a real Krugerrand on our hands, we decided to cut it open and look inside.
By pointing an X-ray beam at the slice, we were able to see what actually coin disc is made of germanium, nickel, zinc and copper. The top of the coin was covered with a thick layer of gold and copper. Through gilding, they apparently tried to achieve a purity of 91.67%, but the still imperfect technique failed. But even if they succeeded, the coin would never pass the electrical resistance and drop test.
However, everyone admitted that the fake was a great success. Thickness, diameter, weight - 100% identical to the original. The traditional Fisch tester, which measures these parameters, was fooled and showed exactly 33.9 g on the scales.
Of the 40 coins sold to us, two turned out to be counterfeit.
The next photo is a fake on the left. As you can see, the beard and hair are not drawn at all. It's all about minting technology. Despite all its perfection, on a real coin the details are still drawn more clearly.
However, this coin was almost entirely made of gold. However, the purity turned out to be a couple of percent lower than it should have been. I still don't understand the meaning of this fake. Such a worthy specimen could be one in 100 coins.
I really hope that from my article you will understand not only that investing in gold is inevitably associated with high risk, but also how easy it is to avoid these risks if you are more careful about those with whom you deal. Don't forget the simple law of life, especially when investing your hard-earned money - “What you paid for is what you got!”
It is very difficult to distinguish a good fake or souvenir copy from a real coin or a remake, so often numismatists, especially beginners, repeatedly sell or exchange rare specimens, without even suspecting that the coins in their collections are copies. Increasingly nowadays, scammers are passing off copies of rare coins as remakes.Let's try to understand the terminology first. What is a souvenir copy and how does this copy of “playful hands” differ from a remake?
Copy- a coin made from a prototype of an existing coin with non-original stamps, either artisanally or industrially. Remakecoin - product of the official state mint
, minted before the 1917 Revolution in gold, silver or copper (but not in various alloys), either with original or newly produced dies later, how the original coin was made. The cost of a remake is usually close to the original and sometimes several times higher.
Conventionally, remakes can be divided into two types:
- Reproductions, during the minting of which the mint tried to achieve maximum identity with the original coins. Such remakes include, for example, the “Gangut” ruble, minted in 1927 (the original “Gangut” ruble was minted in 1914) - most of the surviving “Gangut” rubles are remakes, but it is not possible to reliably distinguish them from the original coins.
- New items, during the minting of which the mint contributed intentional differences in appearance coins that allow you to clearly distinguish a remake from an original coin. Often this difference is the indication of the actual year of minting. Such remakes include, for example, the gold chervonets “Sower”, minted in 1975-1982.
Reproductions are sometimes mistakenly referred to as fakes and copies of coins made in our time for the purpose of fraudulent profit for sale to people who are poorly versed in numismatics and to foreigners. If you do become a victim of such scammers, you need to contact the police department. Remember, that;
Selling copies of coins/medals or souvenirs as originals is fraud and is punishable by law Russian Federation(Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)
So, how can you still identify a counterfeit coin without being a professional and thereby reduce the risk of becoming a victim of scammers to a minimum? We can only give you some advice on how to distinguish copies from the original, but even they will not give you a 100% guarantee. We recommend that you trust only professionals to assess the authenticity of coins.
If there is at least one of the signs described here, then this is most likely a copy of the coin.
Today at large quantities Cheap copies of rare silver coins of Tsarist Russia began to appear, and it would not be difficult even for a person far from the world of numismatics to determine that you are holding a copy and not an original coin.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the edge (edge) of the coin.
REMEMBER!!!
1. On all coins with an edge inscription up to 1805 inclusive, was written in raised font, starting with 1807- the edge inscription was made in depressed font. Coins with dates before 1807 with a depressed edge inscription are remakes or fakes. The content of edge inscriptions varies.
How to distinguish a copy of a coin from the original?
2. When visually examining a coin, foreign metal is often visible in areas of wear and damage on a counterfeit coin.
3. It is necessary to take a closer look at the nature of the metal’s shine: excessive shine (this can be either a sign of recent manufacturing or the use of polishing); dullness of the metal noticeable to the naked eye (for example, gilding of fake gold coins); greasy shine (if the fake is amalgamated, or if there is a coin in the alloy significant amount zinc).
4. Appearance of the coinage; embossing (clearness of embossing), casting.
5. If the coin is cast or has a cast coin circle, you should pay attention to the smoothed outlines, blunt edge, grainy surface (a sign of a significant admixture of base metals), and the remains of bubbles formed during casting, which the counterfeit coin maker is trying to polish.
6. The size and thickness of the purchased coin must be compared with the size and thickness of genuine coins of the same type.
7. Consider the presence of engraving.
8. Pay attention to the inscriptions on the coins (clearness when minted and softened outlines when casting), to the style of letters and numbers.
9. The weight of the new coin should be close to the weight of genuine coins of this type.
10. The specific gravity must be equal to the specific gravity of the homogeneous metal.
11. The ringing of gold and silver coins when falling on a stone slab should be clear and melodious (does not always help to accurately determine the authenticity of the coins).
12. Chemical signs - bar test.
Professionals can identify counterfeit coins by a number of other features - miniature stamps, general circulation defects, clarity of images. However, professionals are not immune to mistakes. The best way A way to check coins for authenticity is spectral analysis, but it is not available to most numismatists. So you have to buy coins at your own peril and risk.
In the next article, we will look at what types of copies of coins from the reign of Peter 1 there are and how to distinguish them from the original without having the skills of an expert. 
Today, the most expensive coin of Tsarist Russia is considered to be the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, worth 1 million 550 thousand pounds. This denomination of the coin was minted from gold at the St. Petersburg Mint. Only two such copies are known, one of which is kept in the Hermitage, but the second was purchased at the St. James auction in London in 2008
On September 29, 2014, the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative coin of the “Architectural Monuments of Russia” series. The new coin is dedicated State Historical Museum, located on Red Square in Moscow. The museum's collection reflects the history and culture of Russia from ancient times to the present day, and is unique in the number and content of exhibits.
21.07.2015 13:20:00
How to recognize a fake?
Hardly in major cities There is at least one person in Russia who would not be offered to buy ancient coins for pennies.
In passages and “Union Printing” tents, in parks and near construction sites, in markets and from friends you will definitely be offered to buy a rarity... at best they will honestly tell you that it is a copy, at worst you will hear a story about a repressed grandfather who left the only memory of yourself in the form of this inheritance, or meet a worker from a construction site who “just dug up” this priceless piece of metal. Unscrupulous sellers often call copies of coins “remakes.” Is it worth believing? And how much is your coin worth?
Let's understand the terminology. What is a souvenir copy and how is it different from a remake? Copy- a coin made from a prototype of an existing coin with non-original stamps, either artisanally or industrially. Remake same - product of the official state mint, minted before the Revolution with either original dies or newly minted dies later than the original coin was minted.
Copies are mainly made in China from cheap alloys of base metals. Unfortunately, such copies are increasingly being used by scammers, passing them off as remakes or original coins. But we must remember that new coins were minted at the official mint in gold/silver or copper (not alloys) until 1917. The cost of a remake is close to the cost of the original coin, while the cost of a copy varies from 50 to 250 rubles per piece. So, how to distinguish a copy from the original/remake?
We can give advice on how to distinguish simple fakes, but, unfortunately, they will not be able to protect you 100% from deception.
We recommend that you trust only professionals to assess the authenticity of coins! Modern technologies make it possible to make a believable copy, apply a patina, and an inexperienced person will not be able to recognize the deception, so it is better to turn to experts. For example, on our website you can leave photos of coins for examination and promptly receive a conclusion not only about the authenticity of the item, but also about the market value if it is an original.
How to distinguish an original silver coin from a fake?
You have a copy in front of you if there is at least one sign:
- The coin is magnetized to a household magnet (a magnet from a refrigerator, for example, is suitable for testing)
- An 18th century coin with a 19th century inscription on the edge of the coin.
Example of an inscription: SER 83 1/3 SHARES 4 ASH 82 14/25 SHARES
(a photo of this non-genuine coin was provided for examination by the Rare Coins Auction House)
If you have become a victim of a scammer, contact the police department immediately!
Selling copies of coins/medals or souvenirs as originals is fraud and is prosecuted under the Law of the Russian Federation (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Group of ExpertsAuction House "Rare Coins"
The desire to own large denomination coins has always made people try again and again. in hand-made coinage for further enrichment. Counterfeiters have always been those criminals who were harshly punished by the law, because their activities caused damage to the country’s economy.
Excursion into history
Illegal coin production activity was observed in the country during turbulent times. 
As soon as the established model of governing the country began to leak, the counterfeiters gave free rein to their ingenuity. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the production of fakes became so widespread among the masses that the professionalism of their execution baffled even specialists. Without noticing the counterfeits, people used counterfeit goods and did not even suspect it.
Hole coins
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by another more masterly type of crime: scammers knocked precious metal out of silver coins and made the coin full of holes. At that time, the law allowed the use of silver coins with minor damage. 
However, when holey silver displaced whole coins from the pockets of citizens, the government decided to abandon their circulation.
But the inventive counterfeiters were not confused for long and began actively filling the damaged coins with lead and tin. It was possible to visually distinguish fused metals from pure silver almost impossible, so circulation of leaky units was allowed again.
Counterfeiting gold coins
This number did not work with gold coins, since they were considered means of payment only if they were intact. Then their counterfeiting came into use. A typical fraud with gold coins was to reduce their weight, for which profit lovers erased or etched gold from the surface, and the most talented ones cut the coin in half along the edge and filled the coin with base metal, having first removed the gold from the inside. Distinguish such a coin from the original only weight.
Categories of fakes
Although the goal of counterfeiters has always been the same - enrichment, the purpose of the coins was different. Conditionally counterfeit coins were divided into 2 categories:
- first category – for release into circulation,
- the second category is for deceiving collectors.
Counterfeit coins of the first category were replicated and made by minting or casting a mold. Genuine ordinary coins were used to make the molds. Counterfeits were minted not only by local craftsmen, but also foreign mints.
Coins classified in the second category differ from each other depending on the period of their manufacture.
Counterfeit coins produced in the 19th and early 20th centuries were mostly primitive fakes, since their production was carried out at a cheap technical equipment and without professional metal carving skills. Most often, casting and embossing were used. However, there were also counterfeits that were made by modifying genuine coins. Hand-cut coins were the least common.
From the second half of the 20th century to the present day, counterfeit coins have been produced using industrial multifunctional equipment, which has led to a dramatic improvement in the quality of counterfeit coins intended for collectors. Character modern production counterfeits have become more widespread, as lone craftsmen have been replaced by workers at industrial enterprises who use technical equipment for purposes other than their intended purpose.
The trace of counterfeiters in history
The most famous counterfeiters who left a noticeable mark on history were Ivan Demidov and a gang from St. Petersburg who were engaged in counterfeiting at the beginning of the 20th century.
The first was engaged in the manufacture of silver counterfeits even higher quality than the original, so its coins were introduced into the ranks of legal tender. The latter became famous for minting counterfeit gold chervonets near the mint.
The very phenomenon of counterfeiting became the impetus for the emergence of a new direction in numismatics - collecting counterfeit coins. Moreover, the popularity of counterfeit coins collected by numismatists sometimes even exceeds the desirability of their historical originals.
Modern fakes
Counterfeits manufactured today are not intended for use as a means of payment, because gold and silver have been replaced by banknotes, but to deceive collectors. It is quite difficult to distinguish modern fakes from the original, especially if they were produced using expensive equipment with knowledge of all the subtleties of design.
The main parameters for identifying a fake, if you are not a professional, are:
- weight (for fakes it is less),
- the quality of the edge (for fakes it is either missing or in poor condition),
- condition of the collar,
- sound when falling (for fakes it is dull).
The list is not limited only to these items, since professionals also identify counterfeit coins by the presence of miniature stamps, image clarity and general circulation defects. The most reliable way is considered spectral analysis.
Ways to counterfeit coins
Modern counterfeit coins are produced using one of the following manufacturing methods.
1 Casting into special molds. These forms, called cliches, imitate the obverse
and the reverse of the original coin. The alloy is poured into the mold, and after hardening, the coin is coated with valuable metal or paint that imitates its color. Modern technologies of electrolysis and centrifugal casting make it possible to produce counterfeit products with a clear relief and the absence of bubbles. The only thing that gives them away is the difference counterfeit coin weight from the original. 2 Minting using a copycat stamp. The stamp is created based on the original by a professional carver. This method quite labor-intensive and expensive, so it is used for rare items. 3 Minting using an old stamp that has served its purpose. Coins obtained in this way characterized by fuzzy lines and flaws. 4 Mechanical modification. By adjusting some elements of the coin, scammers obtain real rarities from ordinary coins. The process involves filing down signs, under-engraving, soldering letters and much more. 5 
Electrotype. Coin impressions, made from a plastic mass, are coated with a conductive material and placed in an electrolyte. By passing an electric current through the solution, a layer of metal is built up on the cast, after which the casts are removed and the metal sides are connected to each other using soldering. In this manner high-quality copies are obtained, which are difficult to visually distinguish from the original. 6 Copies of coinage. Using a laser, an exact copy of the original is cut into a plastic mold, which is scanned on a computer. This technique is considered one of the most accurate today, but even it cannot fool the detection of counterfeit coins using spectral analysis.Fake patina
The beautiful patina on old copper and silver coins gives them a special charm. Such oxidation of the coin surface called patina.
It is she who becomes the guarantor of the authenticity of the copy.
However, you should not think that it appears due to improper storage. It's just the opposite. Only aging in good conditions Provides a beautiful, unique patina. In addition to the decorative component, such a film on the surface of the coin protects it from further oxidation.
Fraudsters take into account the fact that coins become patina over time and use special means for its artificial creation. Artificial coloring of a coin for the purpose of aging it called patination(oxidation).
Patination can be carried out in several ways: baking in the oven, burning with a blowtorch, fumigation, applying acid, bleaches and sulfur-containing chemicals.
Longer ways to create a patina are aging under sun rays or wrapped in carbon paper. To retouch the shiny surface of a fake, scammers also resort to a method such as soaking the coin in hot distilled water mixed with copper sulfate and potassium permanganate. All these refinements, although they make the coin less shiny, don't add value to it.
Certain types of coins
Unlike counterfeits, there are several other types of coins that are not original, but repeat their ideology.
New coin
Often, based on the prototype of a coin that is very rare for collectors, a copy is minted at the state mint that is completely identical to the original or has a changed edge, date or design details. 
Such an instance called a remake.
There are a huge variety of coins of this type. From an investment point of view, such a coin cannot be called a fake, since it is an official copy and is not created to deceive, but to maintain the historical value of the original.
Replica
Another imitation of the original is replica. These are produced 
coins are made from materials other than the original, but accurately convey the image of the original. Replicas are minted with special signs that notify you that this is a copy, or some elements are not included in the design so that they can be easily distinguished from the original version. The minting of replicas is carried out by private individuals, very often for souvenirs and memorable gifts. Replicas are also not considered counterfeit..
Coin marriage
Coin defects include coins that differ from other coins of a certain issue in the following parameters:
- type of metal
- image displacement,
- lack of edge,
- unchased elements of the design,
- stripes from cracks in the stamp,
- coaxiality of obverse and reverse,
- form.
However, these violations of the appearance of coins are not considered counterfeit, but, on the contrary, are especially valued by collectors. In this regard, a new direction has even appeared in collecting - terrorism.
How to spot a fake
It is impossible to describe any specific features that distinguish all counterfeit coins from the originals, since they are all manufactured different ways. However some tips can help identify a fake.
- The first step is to check the coin for the presence of steel. For this a magnet will come in handy. If the coin sticks to it, then you have a steel coin.
- Also important tool to detect counterfeit coins there will be high-precision scales (up to a hundredth of a gram). If the weight of the coin does not match what the original should have, then the coin is fake. You can find out the weight of a real coin in reference books or on the Internet.
- A more “hard” method is use of nitric acid: A counterfeit posing as an old original coin will simply collapse when immersed in it.
- Old base metal coins dated to the original year, should not shine as if they had just been made. Counterfeits are characterized by high shine and the use of white or nickel alloy instead of silver.
- Impact sound test: for a counterfeit coin it will be dull, but for a real one it will be voiced (hence the expression “sound coin”).
Handicraft fakes are the easiest to identify. They usually have a bad edge, uneven obverse details or characteristic shells on the coin field. You can simply check the quality of the edge by placing a coin on it. The counterfeit coin will immediately fall, while the real one will stand steadily.
If you are not a professional numismatist who can immediately identify a counterfeit, then it is better to avoid anniversary issues of coins and memorial pieces. It is better to limit yourself to standard coins.
Signs of fake patina
If the coin has been artificially aged, then its patina is distinguished by the presence round spots, incorrect color transitions, localization on top of scratches or vice versa only on protruding parts. Colors such as khaki, pale blue and red-orange - direct indicator of artificial patina.
Hydrostatic weighing method
Detecting a counterfeit of a precious metal can be done by determining the alloy sample. The hydrostatic weighing method allows you to accurately calculate the sample size of a coin without damaging it. It involves determining the weight of a coin in air and water. The difference in grams is numerically equal to the volume of the coin in cubic centimeters. This technique is applicable only for two-component alloys. If there is a third element, the sample cannot be determined in this way.
Conclusion
No matter how deceptive the appearance of a counterfeit coin may be, there are always methods for detecting its falsification. The main thing is to know the features of each of them. And in the case of rare specimens, entrust the task of checking the coin to professional numismatists.