News
No end in sight for counterfeits
Two coins displayed by pre-eminent counterfeit expert Mike Marshall are fake $5 silver bullion coins purchased for $1.05 each from a website based in China. (Photo courtesy of the Belleville Intelligencer)
As counterfeit coins continue to plague the hobby, some claim the powers that be – including the Royal Canadian Mint, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Ministry of Finance – aren’t doing enough to fight back. With no one taking charge and hundreds of counterfeit Canadian coins turning up on online markets every... Continue reading →
Fakes permeate the market, and these pages
It wasn’t planned this way, but the counterfeit theme is prevalent in this issue of Canadian Coin News. First, there is the last of our special three-part series on counterfeit coins in Canada, which I will discuss a little later. Then, there is the story in our regular “Almost Uncirculated” feature on how police in... Continue reading →
Online buyers beware
I consider myself fortunate enough that as a young person I was raised in a culture where a ‘handshake’ to seal the deal still meant something. Fast forward to today and, due to the Internet, we find ourselves in our culture that forces us to do our full due diligence to ensure we don’t get... Continue reading →
Counterfeit coins’ menace on the rise again, advocate says
One listing offered two 1976 one-cent coins that were plated in silver and tin.
Imagine you’ve worked for decades on your hobby – gaining knowledge, material and friendships along the way – only to lose it all on a few counterfeit coins. That’s the situation facing many Canadian collectors today, says Trenton, Ont.’s Mike Marshall, who began his campaign against counterfeit coins in 2007. “They’re everywhere, and it’s every... Continue reading →