How to Tell a Real Coin from a Counterfeit Coin

If you have ever wondered how coins are made genuine, the answer is that a special machine does the stamping to get the job done. Those people who can counterfeit coins are very well trained since they have the capacity to manipulate their duplication, including rare coins. So how do they do it? The most common way is to pour a liquid metal into a mold that leaves a die mark with cracking.

Experts whose job is to determine counterfeit coins have observed that the changes in the coin have altered the date markings. A counterfeit coin may be compared to a genuine coin to see if they have the same markings.

Look for corrugations or very thin railings known as "reeding" in the outer edges of a coin that is worth more than five cents. You will know that a coin is genuine if it has very thin edges with even and distinct railings. On the other hand, the counterfeit coins have thick edges and uneven or missing railings.

If you think that you have received a counterfeit coin from someone, you must not return the coin to that person. Try to delay the person in case he tries to escape. You can also keep that person in sight and follow him to wherever he may be going. Remember all the details about the person-the clothes, the physical appearance, and his company during that time. If you see their vehicle, write down the plate number and call the nearest police station or the US Secret Service for help.

To help you understand the terms used to describe counterfeit coins, here are some of the most common descriptions used for counterfeit coins:

1. Restrike refers to coins that may be genuinely authenticated. They have dates that are earlier than those originally issued by the country but they have the same features as the original coins.

2. There are some coins from a certain country that are copied by another country. People may think that it is forgery, but it is not because they had been approved by legal means in their original country.

3. An illegal profit may be associated with forgery, and it is the main goal of a counterfeiting syndicate. Sometimes the government uses forgery for propaganda in politics like in World War 2 when the Germans made millions of American and British banknotes for the sole purpose of profit.

4. Replica coins refer to coins that have been copied from the originals, with the same features and markings. Only coin experts can determine the difference between a replica coin and a genuine coin. If a replica coin has the word "copy" on it, it is merely an educational tool, and is certainly not illegal.

5. Counterfeit coins are said to be abundant in Lebanon. These coins have been found to fool many museums, collectors, businesses, and other nations who are searching for ancient and very rare coins.

6. There are two types of forgeries where the coins are intended to be tokens but the face values are accepted even thought it is illegal. These are the collector intended forgery and the circulated intended forgery.

If you want to be sure that your collection of coins is all genuine, it is better to seek the help of an expert. An ordinary person can actually determine if a wrong metal is used, especially if he is a collector. One should be concerned because counterfeiters are eating up your money to gain profit for themselves illegally.