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.

(more…)

(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.”