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

Have you ever wondered what an illegal coin minting operation looks like? Are you curious about how the Chinese are making all of those fake coins we have been seeing recently? If so, the Chinese Coin Counterfeiting photo gallery will interest you. There are photos of the coin presses they use, the fake coin dies they make, and the actual coins they strike. I have added some commentary where I was able to get information about the processes, but as you can probably imagine, my sources aren’t exactly being forthcoming about this information.

Some of the photos in this gallery surfaced in coin collecting discussion forums earlier this year. I would like to acknowledge the anonymous owner of the BiddlesBank.com Web site for leading me to these photos, and for providing information that got me started tracking them all the way down to their Chinese sources. It is obvious that this Chinese counterfeiting operation is a large scale endeavor that is flooding thousands of fake coins into our coin collecting marketplace every month. As the photos will reveal, these fakes are dangerous, high-quality specimens that will fool all but the most observant collectors. Read full article by Susan on About.com

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa

Twenty-six people are under arrest over the discovery of 90kg (14 stone) of fake gold in the vaults of Ethiopia’s central bank, a senior official says.

The fraud was discovered after some of the supposed gold was sent to South Africa, where it was found to be gold-plated steel. Those held are expected to be charged in the next couple of weeks.

Rumours have been flying around the capital Addis Ababa about what happened to the real gold and who was to blame. Those being held include officials of the national bank, said Berhanu Assefa, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission has been investigating the case for three months along with Ethiopian police and intelligence officials.

“Around 26 are under arrest – seven from the national bank of Ethiopia, four from the Ethiopian Geological Survey and 15 businessmen and their collaborators have been arrested,” Mr Assefa said.

“No-one has yet been charged – we expect that… our prosecutor will charge them.”

The value of the missing gold was around 158m Ethiopian birr, or $16m for just one of the missing cases, he said, adding this was a huge amount for a poor country such as Ethiopia.
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