Many U.S. numismatic items have been counterfeited or otherwise imitated over the years, some so often that authenticators such as myself are automatically suspicious of them. Near the head of this list are the Indian Peace Medals issued by the United States government from the 1790s up to 1890, of which perhaps 90% of the allegedly rare pieces are fakes.

In the other fields of numismatics, some of the lesser fakes that we see are so easy to identify that we can do it over the phone with one hand tied behind our backs. For instance, many early U.S. and Confederate banknotes have been widely reproduced in what is commonly called replica form. These replicas are similar to the genuine items, but significantly different in some important way so that the maker cannot be accused of counterfeiting with intent to deceive, an important legal point.

On the replica banknotes, the key difference is usually in the heavy, parchment-like paper used, which one replicator “antiqued” by dipping the notes in pots of tea and drying them on a clothesline in the sun, giving them a look and feel much different than the flimsy rag paper typical of the originals. When I was with the Collectors Clearinghouse department at Coin World, or later with the American Numismatic Association Certification Service in Colorado Springs, we kept a list of the commonly seen replicas in our desks, so that when people called about one of the bills we could ask them the date and denomination of it and be able to tell them the serial number of their bill from the list.

Many colonial and territorial coins were also issued in replica form before the passage of the Hobby Protection Act of 1973, and many of these had distinguishing marks such as misspelled words or incorrect designs or a cryptic “R” (for REPLICA) that made them easy to spot over the telephone. Unfortunately, when people called us about Indian peace medals, there was almost nothing we could do without seeing the pieces, as most of the fakes were originally made by the United States Mint!

An excellent article on the entire Peace Medal series written by Robert W. Julian appeared in the November, 1994 issue of COINage (q.v.). For additional information on the struck pieces in this series, the reader is referred to the Peace Medal section of Julian’s definitive “Medals of the United States Mint–The First Century, 1792-1892,” published by the Token And Medal Society and available to members of the ANA through its library at 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

To briefly summarize the history of Indian Peace Medals, the British, French and Spanish Empires had each produced elaborate pieces of various sizes to present to Chiefs of varying importance whose tribes were friendly to their respective causes. Upon achieving independence with the help of certain tribes, and faced with the hostile opposition of other tribes who had been paid or persuaded to oppose the independence movement, the young American government quickly decided to continue the practice of gifting medals to native American chieftains it considered to be its friends.
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The one-day seminar, “Introduction to Counterfeit Detection of United States Coins,” will be offered April 22 at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Mich. The seminar is presented through the ANA’s Florence Schook School of Numismatics, and is in conjunction with the Michigan State Numismatic Society’s Spring Convention, April 23-25.

Join instructor Mike Ellis, noted numismatist and variety specialist, and learn how to detect counterfeit and altered coins seen in the marketplace today. All types and denominations of U.S. coins will be discussed, with genuine and counterfeit specimens present for hands-on study. There will also be opportunities for group discussion and one-on-one instruction.

“Introduction to Counterfeit Detection of United States Coins” will be held Thursday, April 22 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuition is $149 for ANA and Michigan State Numismatic Society members, and $199 for non-members. To register for this seminar, e-mail education@money.org or call 719-482-9850.

For more information about the Michigan State Numismatic Society, visit www.michigancoinclub.org.
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Two Germans were caught in an Austria mountain town with 500 million dollars in counterfeit banknotes. It’s one of the biggest hauls of counterfeit dollars in Europe. But the culprits say they thought the 1 million dollar bills were real. Below is the article published in DER SPIEGEL Online.

He dreamed of living the life of a millionaire — with a villa in the woods and an Aston Martin V12, preferably in Quantum Silver, in the garage. Once a moderately successful provincial attorney, he had decided that he was no longer willing to simply look on while others made their fortunes with major business deals.

But his dreams of that villa, that Aston Martin and all the other trappings of wealth have vanished into thin air. Ralf Hölzen, 46, a tall, slender man with graying hair is sitting in a café frequented by retirees in the town of Goch in western Germany. On his plates sits a slice of Black Forest cake and he is removing the canned cream from atop his coffee. Once again Hölzen is living with his parents, only two blocks from the café.

At the end of January, Hölzen will face trial in a district court in Feldkirch, in Austria’s Vorarlberg region. Austrian prosecutors have filed charges against him and his accomplice, Dietmar B., 52, for attempted fraud and possession of counterfeit banknotes. (more…)