By Erin White/McClatchy Newspapers

As gold’s value has shot up, so has the number of people trying to unload a broken chain or a mismatched earring or two.

Though the price of gold has fallen since the record-breaking highs of more than $1,000 an ounce in mid-March, it can still bring a pretty penny when sold for scrap. (Selling for scrap means that the gold is melted down.)

But with gold’s rapidly fluctuating prices - not to mention all the fortune hunters trying to get in on the latest gold rush - an urban forty-niner has to be careful to find a fair price.

“There are going to be a lot of people who are going to say, `Hey! We’re buying gold now,’.” says Stephen Stierstorfer, co-owner of American Coin & Jewelry Exchange, in Fort Worth, Texas. Stierstorfer says he’s wary of so-called traveling gold buyers, who sweep into town, buy up the precious metal and hit the road. He also recommends checking out a buyer with the Better Business Bureau.

If you’re ready to sell some gold jewelry, coins or other items around your house, here are answers to common questions about selling gold. (more…)

Fake Morgan dollars identified by Montgomery, Ill., dealer Tom Campbell of Tom’s Fine Coins led to an April 4 arrest of an individual who was attempting to sell them through online classified ads.

“About half were common date,” Campbell said. “All weighed 18-19 grams and were attracted to a magnet, some weak, some strong.”

Approximately 20 coins ultimately were involved, though Campbell initially attempted only to buy two 1885-CC dollars for $280. He asked the seller to bring them in person and he would pay $40 per coin more. They arranged to meet in a public place in Plainfield, Ill.

When Campbell realized they were fake, he contacted the Lansing, Ill., Police Department, where the seller was from.

The seller later contacted him offering an 1893-O, 1892-O and an 1886. Campbell worked with the police to set up a sting in a local business in Lansing. When Campbell signaled that the offered coins were fakes, the police moved in and made an arrest of the suspect and his wife, who was waiting in a car. Read Full Numismaster Article

The following announcement/alert was posted to the PCGS Website :

In recent days, counterfeit coins in counterfeit PCGS slabs have begun to appear on eBay, the online auction site. All of the counterfeit coins/holders seen so far are coming out of China. Alert members of the PCGS Message Boards were the first to notify PCGS of the counterfeit coins/holders.

The coins themselves range from poor-quality counterfeits to well-made fakes. The counterfeit PCGS holders are well-executed, but with minor differences from a genuine holder. PCGS anticipates that authentic coins will eventually be placed into counterfeit PCGS holders in the future, perhaps with elevated grades and/or inappropriate designators (Full Bell Lines, Prooflike, etc.), although none have been seen to date.

The on-line PCGS Certificate Verification is a method for confirming that a particular certificate number matches the information in the PCGS database, but the counterfeiters are aware of this detection method and are now using valid certificate numbers (see below).

PCGS has contacted U.S. governmental agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Customs, the Secret Service, and US Postal authorities, to enlist their assistance in pursuing enforcement or legal remedies against these counterfeiters. Also, PCGS is a member of eBay’s CCW Group, which monitors eBay for fraudulent listings and asks eBay to discontinue auctions of suspicious coins and/or suspend violators.

PCGS has called for eBay to stop accepting listings of any rare coins from Chinese sellers. Ebay recently pulled several auctions of counterfeit coins/holders at the urging of PCGS. (more…)

(Fallbrook, California) – Investors who want to purchase or sell gold or silver coins should avoid “impulse buying” and “uninformed selling,” according to the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of the country’s top rare coin and bullion coin dealers.

The experts warn investors to be wary of cold-call solicitations because the telemarketer’s fees may be significantly higher than other sources for precious metals coins.

“As bullion prices significantly increased in recent months, PNG-member coin dealers across the country have seen a new ‘Gold Rush’ with a sharp increase in the number of people who want to buy or sell precious metals coins, such as the American Eagle and Canadian Maple Leaf. To make the best possible transactions, people need to know the current ‘spot’ price of precious metals, the dealer’s reputation and the fees or commissions before they buy or sell,” said PNG President Gary Adkins of Edina, Minnesota.

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(Bill Bugert - Editor: David Lange, Director of Research for the Numismatic Guaranty Corporations sent me this note on January 23, 2008.)

“I received the following bulletin from Ray Czahor of Cookie Jar Collectibles, and we agreed that it should be reprinted in the E-Gobrecht. I was just talking to a good friend in Manila Philippines this morning on a couple of Philippine issues. He attended a local auction this weekend.

He said Moslems were offering to local dealers, some of whom bit, 80 to 100 SCARCE to RARE US Liberty 50 Cent pieces. They included dates 1847, 1857, 1857-S, and 1857-O. He said the pieces were the correct weight, high grade UNCs, nice reeding but rounded edges. One dealer there bought 65 pieces for up to $250 for the rare date. Maybe you have already seen them but thought I would pass this info on.”