Whether it’s pirated software, poison-infused baby formula, cancer-causing drywall, luxury purses, or fake medicines, if you need a knock-off, China has traditionally been the go-to country, with a counterfeiter always willing to oblige.
Now, with precious metals prices on the cusp of possibly the biggest price explosion in centuries, fake gold and silver products are becoming a booming industry say Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants:
We have read about one Chinese counterfeiter openly bragging about producing 100,000 fake U.S. Silver Dollars per year, and that’s just one counterfeiter. At this point, we are telling all investors of gold, or silver coins, and or any type of precious metal bar to only buy from a reputable U.S. dealer, that has an established track record, and a money back guarantee. We fear this Chinese counterfeit gold, or silver coins, or bars, could be a multi billion dollar a year business, and we greatly fear many innocent investors could be taken to the cleaners.
…
Based on our research some of the Chinese counterfeit coins, are of such high quality, it is not uncommon for even experts to be deceived. We think its smart for every investor to have gold, or silver, our big worry is pretty simple, what if they invest 10%, or 20% of their net worth in what are counterfeit precious metal coins, that are basically worthless? We would call this a disaster for the investor, and out big fear is there are probably tens of thousands of investors in the United States, who have been duped. Even worse, once again for all intents, and purposes the U.S. Federal Government is a no show-once again.”
…
“The world needs to come to grips with the largest counterfeiter in the world, the fact that 10% of China’s GDP is a direct result of counterfeiting. If it’s not knock off pharmaceuticals, that can kill people, it’s high tech smart phones, or electronics. Our new worry is pretty obvious related to Chinese counterfeiters bankrupting innocent precious metal, or coin investors, with what could be their life savings. At what point do consumers in the United States, Europe, Japan, or the rest of the world say no thanks to any more Chinese products, given its uncaring attitude about flooding the global markets with counterfeits, or fakes?”
Gold and silver remain one of the few alternative investment methods to preserve wealth during crisis scenarios like inflation or government instability, but taking extra precautions now is absolutely essential to ensuring your wealth is protected when it comes time to sell.
Don’t assume that the dealer you are working with is legitimate, and even if they are, it is possible that they themselves have been duped by a counterfeit.
Those of our readers investing in gold and silver assets, especially if you are committing a large percentage of your net worth, should consider some safeguards.
- Work with multiple dealers who have been in business for several years.
Like any investment strategy, diversifying your eggs into multiple baskets will protect you if one of them happens to fall. In this case, buying different products from multiple dealers, all with solid reputations, will prevent you from losing your entire investment in the event one of the dealers was duped by counterfeiters. While not exactly ideal, it’s better to lose just a portion of your investment than all of it. - Trust but verify.
Buy from one dealer and get your investment appraised by another. If you’ve invested $5000.00 into precious metals, paying an additional $100 to have another dealer (most will take a look for free) verify the quality of the assets you purchased is not a bad idea. If you were sold a fake, you can then take immediate action against the offending dealer (as opposed to waiting five years only to find out you’re holding a worthless metal). - Understand dimensions and weight.
One of the best ways to determine if your asset is legitimate is to know what dimensions it should have (circumference, thickness, weight). Every government issued coin, and even privately issued rounds or bars, should have manufacturer dimensions available either online or by simply giving them a call (otherwise go with a different product). Get a digital scale and a caliper and take measurements. Even though fakes can come close to the real thing, the density of gold and silver are unique, so if a particular bar or coin shows an inaccurate weight or dimension, you’re likely looking at a fake. It may cost you a couple hundred dollars to acquire the appropriate tools, but if you’re investing multiple thousands of dollars into these investment then we’d consider the cost of doing business. Take the time to learn about your investments (it won’t take long) and you can save headache and heartache down the road. - Gold and Silver Acid Tests.
Gold and silver have unique properties when mixed with certain chemicals. While not exactly ideal, because you’ll have to ‘damage’ a tiny portion of a particular bar or coin, an acid test can be one of the best tests to perform in order to ensure you have a legitimate precious metals product. You don’t necessarily have to go through and test every single one of your one ounce silver eagles, but testing a few coins out of each batch wouldn’t hurt. - Try pre-1965 silver products. They call it junk silver. Chris Duane of Don’t Tread On Me refers to it as Constitutional Silver. Half dollars, quarters and dimes minted prior to 1965 contain 90% silver and are worth well more than their face value. While Chinese counterfeiters may be producing silver eagles, bars and other mints in mass quantities, they will likely shy away from US coin products for a couple of reasons: 1) why mint a fake quarter when you can mint a fake silver eagles worth significantly more? 2) minting fake US coins is a Federal crime, and while the Chinese may not be worried to much about being investigated by Secret Service, pressure from the US may force China to act against counterfeiting, something the Chinese knock-off artists would like to avoid. Pre-1965 silver coins, in our opinion, are the only option for those making purchases on auction sites.
Counterfeits will always be a concern when you’re dealing with assets worth as much as $2000 an ounce, but you can take steps to protect yourself. Don’t let the fact that counterfeits are out there dissuade you from making a good investment decision. Just do your due diligence and don’t let emotion overcome logic.
Oh man. So now I have to become a metallurgical expert, too? Will my worries never end?
I think I will take my FRNs and invest in one of Mr. Kalashnikov’s designs, so as not to worry about this sort of thing anymore.
You’re still gonna need to learn your values, or you may wind up buying a Century Arms made Kalashnikov and thinking it is worth something.
I’ve had the Kalashnikov aspect down for many moons. No worries there… =D
You would do yourself a huge favor if you were to invest them FRNs in a Simonov!
Dude I LOVE those! Great idea! =D
Another thing all good preppers might want to do before the grid goes down and the internet with it is to print out the names and addresses of all pedophiles listed in their area. I have 3 beautiful daughters and info such as this is very important to me for obvious reasons. Keep in mind that not all peds are listed due to the fact that not all of them have been charged or they have expunged the charges somehow. You need to remember that these predators will be waiting for any collapse type scenario to come out of the woodwork so that they may offer any type of “assistance” when people are at their most desperate dire straights. My family has been targeted by another prepper who reads this website quite often and I hope he reads this post and poops himself. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!! I am a former spec ops operator so this should help identify me to you… I love good people but peds hold a special place in my scope;)(+)
USMC…good advise as I have 3 grandkids. These subhumans have no value to humanity now…and far less then.
Thats great news. Keep them in your crosshairs. and remember squeeze don’t pull
I’m sure alot of people would become mobile if TSHTF, but knowing who these people are even today is one step towards protecting others. Weather the children are yours or not. And weather they are children or other vulnerable individuals.
Most are Chinese knock-offs…….
Even Kalisnikov design can be counterfeited. For all you know it’s made in Peshawar frontier in Pakistan. Heck it’s much more fun checking the weight and dimensions of a PM coin. BTW American Eagle is minted by the US government mint with a face value contrary to the authors implication that only the 90% silver coins are US government minted.
sir,
for gold coins, and some silver coins, look up fisch instruments:
http://www.fisch.co.za/home.htm
This precisely why I only trust KB’s hologrammed Karatbars. They cannot be counterfeited. I have no use for 1 ounce coins. When gold & silver goes parabolic, as we all know it will, a 1 ounce piece worth $5,000 or more reduces my flexibility, …especially in a SHTF scenario. 1 gram karatbars from KB provide the necessary flexibility required.
We just got this from Silver Magnet at Youtube, and thought we’d share. It’s a great way to test for fake silver:
great info thanks, really like the magnet test
Just turning on the recorder and starting to talk does an injustice to the knowledge you have taken time and effort to acquire, and the spirit of sharing useful information with others.
P L E A S E have enough respect for your content and your viewers to lock your camera down on a tripod, give dimensions and other material and construction data (such as the angle of the incline on your slide and where to purchase the special magnets, sources of the plexiglas and special adhesion chemicals needed) for your unique and very clever tools, and script out your presentation so it’s a useful piece of information and not a rambling “flow of consciousness” improvisation.
If a video presentation raises more questions than it answers, or if poor production techniques draw attention to themselves instead of imparting information to the viewer, the video is not successful.
Thanks for sharing your great video on checking counterfeit coins!!
ok, so is there anything china doesnt fake-make?
US Defense Department military grade chips and motherboards?
Oh wait… no, that too.
LOL… YUP… 🙂
Fortune cookies.
That’s it.
Mal
Wrong. the origin of fortune cookies is the US. It was even a matter which was ruled on in a federal court out in CA when two towns claimed their town was where the fortune cookie originated. Google: origin of fortune cookies and read any of several articles on the American origin. BTW, after we restored relations with the Chinese they came to us and asked us how to make and store food in the cans and other packaging you buy at the store. Good old AMERICAN ingenuity.
Hah! Learn something every day. So… just to be sure… They counterfeit Chinese fortune cookies too, right? LMAO.
Mal
It’s true. And we do make fortune cookies here and ship them to China. No kidding.
Like chop suey, fortune cookies are an American invention. They originated in California, but who the actual inventor was, and which city in California is the true home of the fortune cookie, has continued to be a matter of debate. Unequivocally not Chinese, the fortune cookie may in fact not even be Chinese American.
One history of the fortune cookie claims that David Jung, a Chinese immigrant living in Los Angeles and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. Concerned about the poor he saw wandering near his shop, he created the cookie and passed them out free on the streets. Each cookie contained a strip of paper with an inspirational Bible scripture on it, written for Jung by a Presbyterian minister.
Another history claims that the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara. Hagiwara was a gardener who designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. An anti-Japanese mayor fired him from his job around the turn of the century, but later a new mayor reinstated him. Grateful to those who had stood by him during his period of hardship, Hagiwara created a cookie in 1914 that included a thank you note inside. He passed them out at the Japanese Tea Garden, and began serving them there regularly. In 1915, they were displayed at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition, San Francisco’s world fair.
That bar in the beginning of that video is defiantly a fake. I have Johnson Matthey 100oz bars and this doesn’t look like any of mine. I called my broker and told him about this posting and he said that all of the bars and coins they get in go back to the depositories and are tested before the client is credited and the product is offered to the public again.
Any metal I purchase comes from depositories in Delaware, Mass, or Ontario Ca. I would say buyer beware if you are buying off of Craigslist or out of a low end pawn shop.
With PM being the only “safe” harbor in the crappy economic times the world is facing, is it any wonder there are folks looking to pass off snake oil? I agree, pre-65 coins are the best route if you can get your hands on them. If SHTF, those beat-up coins will eventually (or immediately, depends on the situation) be of utmost importance.
I was talking with a friend about G&S the other day and he asked: “so what happens if the dollar collapses and you have some silver rounds that you intend on using to purchase goods from me. How do I as the seller know what you have is real?”
I replied by stating there are ways to tell as the article mentions but he came back with “so you think every person is going to have a test kit on them? Or is there going to be a line 4 miles long at each coin shop?”
It got me thinking – if that ever happened, is the grocery store going to accept my rounds on faith when the SHTF?
The stores will be closed.
==> How do I as the seller know what you have is real
If you, as a seller, take cash — how do you know the cash is real?
Same difference.
If you, as the seller, take a check — how do you know it’s not gonna bounce?
If you, as the seller, take a credit care, how do you know it’s not a stolen card?
jeeeeebus.
Your friend is probably one of those folks who thinks it’s not safe to pay over the internet with a credit card — all the while handing the card to the nice young waitress lady at the restaurant where she takes it away and can write down all the pertinent information, or even run up a few extra charges before finally giving you the legit one.
Thanks but this still doesn’t answer my question.
If the SHTF and the dollar becomes useless forcing us to resort to “something else” of value to trade for, how am I to know that the silver round John Doe is trying to pay with is real?
Faith? Trust? Or do I not accept precious metals as a commodity and only trade for things I need?
I would imagine that someone like me with a test kit could test it and give you a certifacate (fiat currency) stating I am in possesion of your REAL silver/gold and the vendor can redeem the said certificate to me for tested silver and gold.Vendors would take them after I was certified or trusted.
You see now how it all started!
Nothing ever changes.
I wouldn’t accept silver rounds. I’d only accept junk silver coins. I expect junk silver coins to emerge as an alternative currency during hyperinflation. Even if stores don’t accept silver coins directly there will be businesses buying and selling them.
Junk silver (halves, quarters, dimes) are your best bet for a metal-based currency during the SHTF scenario. Any other PMs should be considered an investment for post-SHTF.
For your best currency during the SHTF? Food, ammo, spare weapons parts & magazines, candles, matches, alcohol, medical supplies, books & magazines, board games, cast iron cookware, etc. Going to be a hell of a lot of bartering out there, and I personally wouldn’t accept coins, silver or not, unless and until I am confident what I am trading for it is replaceable by my own means. I would be likely to sell surplus eggs for silver coins, I’m unlikely to trade ammo for silver of any sort.
I buy with my credit card on line,the dealer holds off the shipment for two weeks(plus)by then they know whether
my card/check is stolen, I dont have a problem waiting, I’d do the same.
after the recent events here in jersey after a freak blizzard knocked power out for 5+ days, I’ve figured stuff is more valuable than g/s. If u needed it it wasn’t avail, ie fuel, firewood, batteries, candles etc. The g/s will possibly be valuable post crisis when stability returns. G/S is however portable and fungible so while some is good, I’m divesting into another generator, a good tent, couple more sleeping bags, and more fuel.
Generators are impractical for long-term use. It’s better to have kerosene heaters. You can run one for a day on a gallon of kerosene. If you search the web you can find kerosene cooking stoves too.
maybe – the larger ones that can be set up to fail over your whole house run on nat gas or propane. Obviously a larger investment, but as long as i’m planning on buggin in, might as well have that base covered. Small 5/6K watt gas might not be a viable long term option, but better than what I see a lot of folks having planned for.
Oh, yeah, using generators to create resistive heat is a big waste of fuel *UNLESS* you have the generator inside and use some heat reclaimation on the exhaust as you pipe it outside. Then, you can get 100% off of it. However, I recommend kerosene like above for quick, easy heat.
In my case, however, I recommend poplar, oak and hickory. 20 acres of old growth woods provides enough downed branches and dead stuff to keep you going most years.
…of course, I can alsway get out the shovel. I’ve got a 5ft vein of block coal right under the house that goes for at least 1000ft in all directions. The creek keeps cutting it out of the bank for me.
😉
Bring the test kit with ya…Duh !
The flipside is WE have to wonder who may be behind this throwing of grenades (or rumor) into bullion sales markets and poisoning investor confidence in buying a safe product. The CME, JPMC and CTFC would love a scandal working against the bullion prices.
Brad3000
I hope they don’t start making fake ammo.
I hear they were using steel cores instead of lead in their bullets, those bastards! 🙂
Mild steel cores. Lead in the front and steel in the back. For the purpose of defeating the Geneva Convention on the use of hollow points. So I am told.
The US military went to the 55 gr. FMJ at over 3000 fps. The bullet would yaw first to 90 degrees then to 180 degrees, at closer distances (150 yards), after it hit human tissue. This would create a wound channel similar to hollow point ammo. Thus defeating the Geneva Convention ban on hollow points.
Isn’t lead ammunition illegal in California now? I know we have to use steel or tungsten shot when shooting at flying meat.
I think steel shot has to be used all over now for shooting all water ducks,geese ect, as steel sinkers have to be used for fishing
The prisoners/slaves in the German factories made millions of “fake” rounds and shells during WWII
They counterfeit that too. Sold all over Afghanistan. They mix sawdust in with the powder.
Mal
make your own
Any ideas about where to buy some junk silver. I have been buying 2011 silver eagles from american silver eagles.com.
Do they buy back without a fee? If not, find another dealer.
Local coin shops are usually a good source for 90% silver coins. I’ve also had good luck on Craigs List. I’m a little nervous buying on ebay. You need to know how to determine a fair price. If the spot price of silver is $34, you multiply by 0.715 and that gives you the face value multiplier. In this case 34 x 0.715 = 24.31 so multiply the face value by 24.31 to get the exact price.
http://www.silverrecyclers.com/Calculators/coin_calculator.aspx
Coin calculator
I have bought almost all of my 90% silver coins on eBay. I have made over 100’s such purchases, from a variety of sellers, and have only gotten burned once, by a seller with perfect 100 rating who suddenly went AWOL on everyone (died perhaps? IDK).
That is precisely the valuation formula I use. Note that these coins in their original mint condition actually contained .723 troy oz of pure silver per $1 face value, but due to wear, the correct rule of thumb for calculating circulated 90% silver coins is .715 troy oz per $1 fv.
Try http://www.apmex.com or http://www.gainesvillecoins.com
I’ve bought a lot of silver maple leafs from apmex. They’ve always been good to me. I can’t imagine any of them being bad – they all look the same – hope they aren’t all bad….
Buy your junk silver locally if you can. Ask around.
If you are afraid of raising suspicians about yourself, … Tell people you are thinking of buying a few junk silver coins for your child/niece/nephew as a gift for their coin collection.
In most small communities, people tend to know those businesses and individuals who can be trusted and who cannot be trusted.
Gainesville coins sells junk silver. I have purchased from them in the past because they were very highly rated by inflation.us. I got a great price and very good customer service. http://www.Gainesvillecoins.com.
inflation.us is a penny stock scam. They give out good info to get you to subscribe but the entire point is to lure you into investing into penny stocks that they have already pre-sold the info to major investors prior to conning the readers into buying into it. Then the stock goes sky high from all the people buying at once, then the major investors sell and take the profits.
I’ve found some in my local antique shops.
I’ve bought and sold on ebay without any problems, yes I suppose Big Sis or Treasury could snoop around and see what I’ve bought. I like Ebay because it is as close to a Free Market situation as I can find. As mentioned here Craigslist, it’s a private cash sale with no record. I’ve done business with Gainsville and was VERY pleased.
I bought these:
http://www.providentmetals.com/1-face-value-90-silver-mercury-dime.html
Scott – there an easy way to check the precise dimensions and weight of gold coins but it will cost some money. The Fisch Coin Tester tests the thickness, diameter, and weight in seconds without the usual calipers and scales. The trouble is you need a different tester for Krugerands, American Gold Eagles, Philharmonics, Maple Leafs, etc. A five coin set costs $169 but it more than pays for itself the first time you pot a fake. So Scott, you don’t have to become a metallurgical expert if you have this contraption. Not sure how the Kalishnikov contraption is going to help if you don’t have the means to discover fakes.
Hate to break the bad news but when it comes to silver BARS (not coins) the challenge is much greater. If the crook silver plates a copper or steel bar you will need to know the exact dimensions of the original which is not always easy to get.
absolutely right on w/the fisch tester. A small scale and a caliper will suffice for most needs. Know your wts and buy what u know. I weight everything and have done ok. My hand is actually calibrated to spot fake morgans which i have done w/some regularity. A magnet will also work. Place a magnet against your “silver” and if it sticks it stays. A cheap coin scale calibrated w/20 nickels gets u to 100g. From there is u get a morgan or peace w/in a couple 1/10’s you’re ok. For gold i would stick w/fractional US that can be verified by wt, or as others state purchase from apmex/gainsville etc. No gold for me, I need stuff. Thinking there might be more bang for the buck on 80 proof investments and wine.
Precious Metal counterfeiting is still in it’s early stages of development.
Wait till they’ve REALLY got it down. Not everyone will have the means to detect the real from the unreal. The infusion of these fake coins/bars will become rampant some day. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me when the time comes, that 9 out of 10 coins/bars will be fake. Lot’s of confusion headed our way, especially when the black market will be the main stream form of barter.
If it’s fake, and you just traded for it, you may get some additional lead in return, partner. Or tarred and feathered before being strung up on the nearest street lamp.
And just how is this different from the Federal Reserve?
our own CIA-FBI could be counterfeiting silver and gold, what better way to break the people and get them under controll. Just look at the scam that the BATF done with the gun deal in Mexico.
yeah i bet the guards at Fort Knox are probably guarding lead bars painted with krylon.
Our own Government couldnt pour piss out of a boot , even if the directions to do so were printed on the bottom of the heel
So….
The ancient and honorable nation my ass!
They steal everybodys intellectual property with no regard or remorse.
They give away all their baby girls, I know because there are 4 of them with various
families in my small subdivision.
Their belief In the value of an individuals life is virtually non existent (seen the video of the toddler that was ran over repeatedly while people just kept walking by?).
They rip off our military technology.
They have set up over 1100 companies in the US, to steal what we have left of our manufacturing(industrial spies).
And on and on and on.
So…
I’m sure things will be great when they’re running the show.
What could possibly go wrong.
Things are going to be just great when they’re running the show
secrets that we didn’t already give them.
China in ka-hoots with the PTB ?
Anything to keep these fiat currencies afloat.
A PM dealer told me fractional coins ( 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz ) are safe ways to buy gold and silver. Mercury dimes, Franklin half dollars,,,, 90% junk silver is still affordable for most folks.
Gear Up & Good Luck
We weigh & measure all the coins we buy. However, we are currently pulling the statistics for each coins off of the internet. I wonder if there is a book out there that covers most weights & sizes. Does anyone know of one?
Mr. B,
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the silver drop test.
Nothing else sounds like a silver coin when you drop it a few inches.
I would only do that with junk.
Hope that Mushroom survived the Alaskan storm.
Gee wiz….Y’all are getting a little paraniod here….
After all….They are just “here from the Government to help you ” . I can’t imagine how anything could go wrong! I ain’t scared ’cause all my money is safe in the
Social Security Lockbox !
Montgomery County Texas
To quote a famous poster on SHTFplan:
#10 can full of crisp $10 bills.
“#10 can full of crisp $10 bills”
I understand your point, but aren’t you worried about (hyper)inflation?
That was an old joke Mushroom used to say!
only buy 1 troy ounce peices or less… educate yourself and research the companies prior to buying… only buy from precious metals/ coin companies that have been in business 5 or more years.
1 troy ounce or less keeps you safe usually! And it’s better in a post-shtf scenario to make purchases in a barter system.
be aware counterfeits are made here in america also… buy private and the feds… the federal gold depository at fort knox , sent china tons of fake tungston steel core gold bars , courtesy of bill an/ killery clinton and lawrence summers in the 90’s!
there is no gold in fort knox… it’s been stolen by the clintons and larry summers!
buyer beware, even from the feds!
I just received this one from an old friend and a consummate REBEL who lives in upstate NY. Its a pretty amusing explanation of exactly how our banking system operates. Hope you enjoy it. Please take the time to stop and laugh once in a while. It’s either laugh or cry …. so I think that I would rather laugh. God Bless & good luck to all.
It’s a slow day in the small town of Pumphandle and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.
A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.
As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.
The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her “services” on
credit.
The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states
that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town now thinks that they are out of debt and there is a false atmosphere of optimism and glee.
And that, my friends, is how a “stimulus package” works!
Ha!
The local hooker fell on”hard” times.
Good one!
Yeah yeah. I’ve heard this one before. And it wasn’t valid then either. In your “story” every person had zero net worth. Each person owed $100 and was also owed $100 in return. So nothing really changed when $100 was brought into town and subsequently left.
On the other hand, a “stimulus” actually injects money into the system so the net effect is not “zero”. But nice try at a bit of humor. Unfortunately, not only is it NOT funny but it makes you look like you have no idea what you are talking about…
Actually in a stimulus the net effect is also zero. The full plan of a stimulus is to inject money and when they want the money removed from the system they raise interest rates and remove the money. They same as when the customer left the motel. The feds haven’t raised the rates yet but the raising of rates is an integral final step in quantitative easing. (that is why rates on mortgages were over 20% in the Carter days)
Sales of 90% Bag, $1000 Face of junk silver are ALWAYS reported to the gov. Coin shops in person are best way to buy junk silver but most hold them for wholesale to bigger dealers. 24.6 times face is current melt value.
grammer correction:
pirated by private dealers and the feds…
Reminds me in Isaiah where people were throwing their gold/silver into the streets like refuse.
That’s also mentioned in Revelation.
My best guess is that it will be the time frame when the bankers/ elite think that they’ve finally achieved thier “New Order”, then God starts throwing the really nasty stuff at them.
They’ll realize then that all the wealth they own does them no good…
I even like the chicken if the sauce is not to blue
12 years ago when I started buying Silver and Gold, before I really knew what I was doing, I bought a 1 oz Chinese Panda at an auction, for about $5.00. I look at it now and think the metal does not quite look like an American eagle, it has a different shine to it. I have never had it checked out but I wouldn’t be surprised if its fake…which means if it is, they have been doing this for quite awhile.
I would be more than happy to give you $5 bucks for that Panda and take that worry off your mind.
no worries, that panda is is like a grain of sand to me….
Not all gold coins look identical in color. South African gold seems to have a bit of red to it. US gold, generally from the west, has more orange. British sovereigns were coined from gold of many imperial sources, there is variation in color. Not much, but it’s discernible.
its not just the color…believe me, I have become a minor expert in metals and there is more than one thing not right about the panda, I could be wrong but just not worth my time to investigate further, it is just a conversation piece now.
ALL of my 100 oz gold bars are real. LOL
Doesn’t it strike you all a little odd that there are so many PM dealers/sellers? What are they all doing with the fiat money that purchases the PMs? There is a limited amount of gold and silver.
This isn’t a good time to be buying PMs, the price is one main factor. The other is the need to buy items for prepping. (Yes, I understand the investment part.)
Many are presently losing (price wise)through purchasing PMs and will lose even more when it comes time to barter for needed goods. The seller will set the prices based on what people will pay. (Supply-n-Demand).
Get out of debt and buy what you need. Then watch even paper products go sky high. Are you willing, right now, to pay $5.00 per roll of TP? A loaf of bread at $20.00?
Stay in His grace.
Forgot to state, that inflation will eat at the value and buying power of the PMs.
@DRD … gee I thought that reason for purchasing PM’s was so that when rampant inflation came along, the value of the PM would keep pace with the rate of inflation. Maybe I’m wrong…
Navy Vet, remember who is setting the value of PMs.
It isn’t the free market (as we know it). When gold, for example, was at $22.50/oz., what could you buy with it compared to today’s value? Supply-n-demand sets the value (free market) not the stock market/gov’t. My main point is that after years of slow sales of PMs, now it is being widely promoted with limited supply. I know many don’t think the gov’t will confiscate our PMs again, but I do. Everything this gov’t does is to put this nation further in debt. How are they going to get the resources to bailout itself? Us! Our savings/retirement funds/SS have been raided/ravaged. Next our property and most likely our PMs. This gov’t has an unsatible appetite for what belongs to the American people. When they can call us vets terrorists, nothing is sacred, not even what you,I and many have earned and own.
What are the sellers doing with all the fiat money, purchasing more PMs? Does anyone trust the gov’t? How about wall street? The banks?
Hope this helps. I only trust in the Lord and what is being fulfilled as we all prep.
Stay in His grace.
Explain that thought process. Inflation will eat at fiat currency. Defined inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods.
Historically PMs we’re a hedge against inflation.
I’d rather use credit cards to buy what I need if I have to. It’s more important to be well supplied after the collapse.
Personally I never liked them or trusted them from the first time I watched the movie, “Pork Chop Hill”.
The interesting thing is the power elite are feeding them. Do they honestly believe that the Chinese would not string them up in a nano second if presented with half an opportunity?
Cabellas is selling 2100 rnds of 22LR with a nice box for $69.99…..I tend to think that has more barter value than a couple of ounces of silver now days. No counterfeit worries there…it all goes bang.
Maybe so but it’s bulky and weighs about 15 lbs.
Thanks Jim for the HU!
walmart has 550 round boxes for $15.45 so four boxes is cheaper and 100 more rounds..if you can bring yourself to buy anything at wally world
I can assure you that to the scumbags, scoundrels, thieves, bastards, whores, and criminals on Capitol Hill, it doesn’t matter for a single second.
Their insider trading is completely legal for them. They have given themselves the right to suck the blood of the American people like vampires, while violating the rules they expect you to blindly follow. They are the villains of this country!
Here are 12 facts everyone visiting SHTF should know:
http://lewrockwell.com/rep2/to-get-rich-get-elected.html
“THEY GET AWAY WITH MURDER!”
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/11/ron-paul-obama-presidency-on-verge-of.html
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS! WHERE’S THE REVOLUTION?!
Your articles just prove over and over what I’ve said in the past:
“Nothing murders, rapes, steals, poisons, destroys, lies or corrupts more than government.” – (c) 2010, NetRanger
And of the governments that have done those things, and they all have, the US Government makes all the others look like amateurs.
I love America and I love the American People, however, they have an enemy and as much as I love the American People, I dislike their enemy twice as much.
I see this at the state and local levels as well.
A small scale would be a good thing to have for this.
For gold coins: http://www.fisch.co.za Money well-spent, but not cheap. I bought a tester for everything and the entire package already paid for itself twice at the Long Beach coin show when i discovered a fake.
For silver: you all may be screwed unless you have an electronic resistance device that can specify the silver purity of your potential purchase.
The fisch products work, they are essentially ‘go/no-go’ gauges. But they are somewhat ‘pricey’ and you need a different one for most every type of coin. That’s a lot of little plastic ‘doo-hickeys’ to be hauling around with you also.
Get an economy 6″ dial caliper and a reasonable quality tubular type, spring scale. Pay enough to get an accurate scale that comes with its own protective case and then take care of it.
Make yourself a “cheat-sheet” listing the name and a brief description of all of the various gold and silver coins that you are likely to encounter, as well as their weights, diameters and thicknesses. Have a couple of these “cheat-sheets” laminated and store with your scale and caliper. The above and a small solar calculator, pen and a small notebook should get you headed in the right direction.
Who knows? Perhaps having a set of demonstrably accurate scales suitable for commercial transactions and your “coin-evaluation-kit” (above), could become a very ‘barterable’ job skill in the future. For a %age of the transaction you facilitate the deal and make sure that everyone involved is treated fairly.
God Bless and good luck to all.
stop shopping at walmart..that will teach them.
Re: Pre 1965 coins – they fake these too. Especially Morgan dollars and the also popular walking liberty. However the so called junk silver, well worn, is unlikely to be faked.
Yes sir….just when you think we are approaching a blast off in the precious metals….you need to worry about whether or not you are buying the real deal. There has got to be the hand of the dirty money masters somewhere in the story. Let’s see how can we put fear into the market…maybe they will stick with the tried and true frn’s !!! Yep..let’s create the story and wait for the reaction !@!
A magnet is a good thing to have.
after watching this i wont be accepting any metals if shtf. only other tangables.
A month or two ago I was at a local gold/silver buyer and a guy came in, not to make stereotypes but he was a sort of portly, Middle-Eastern guy, the kind who’s been in the US a while so his English was accented but fine. The kind of guy who owns a drycleaners or something. So, he was in to sell his golden eagle. Except it was a big fat FAKE, you could tell from across the room! The poor bastard had been conned, I felt really bad for him. This is a guy who probably knows drycleaning or whatever he does very well, but doesn’t know dick about gold coins.
So there are even fakes out there that are not very well done, and people are falling for them.
Yet another reason for pre-65 coins, and a big argument for why I personally just don’t do the gold and silver game.
What i mean about the magnet, is that any magnetism would certainly weed out most counterfeits made with an alloy metal that has been plated with a PM.
I have bought alot of coins and bullion on ebay.To the best of my knowledge,i have not recieved a bad one.The sellers,who are mostly coin dealers have a reputation to withhold.A bad feedback score hurts them in more ways than one.
…and people call the Wall St crowd cockroaches..
Damn chinese – if they had to put 2 yr warranties on their junk, they’d have been insolvent a decade ago.
Time for an anti-chinese crap & fakes global backlash methinks…
I reload ammo so I have a set of calipers and a powder scale. You can get the precise dimensions and weight of various coins on the internet. I can compare what it should be verses what it really is and tell if the coin is fake. Very simple.
I like junk silver coins. You can read more about them here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_silver
I bought some junk silver coins from this place:
http://www.providentmetals.com/1-face-value-90-silver-mercury-dime.html
I got them for 6% over the spot price. That included shipping, insurance, and the credit card surcharge.
Greetings Everyone!
Heard about the fake “PM’s” coming out of China some time ago.I used to doubt what is said in the Bible about people throwing their PM’s into the street as worthless.All this during the times called the “Great Tribulation” before “Judgment Day”. The Chinese are also sending us their toxic honey and dog food as well as fake airplane bolts mis-marked on purpose,is there any wonder they are into ruining our PM’s?The sad part is the FDA both state-wide and Fed are doing their best to avoid inspecting this imported crap while attacking the folks who “grow organic”.
Events are certainly fulfilling Bible prophecy,intentionally or not.
Just my own take on this nonsense by the Chinese.
The Bible DOES make mention of “bringing to ruin those ruining the Earth”.Doesn’t explain what method or specific actions,.But since the Chinese are destroying their own country’s air and water in their part of the planet,I’m guessing that they are becoming desperate and are now driven by their lust for riches power and control to export their brand of evil and wickedness to everywhere else on the planet.
And you thought the Gulf Oil spill was a isolated problem!
Take care Everyone!
Best to All
GFG
Because of the fake products, especially the imitation 1oz slabs, I unloaded my 1oz gold and platinum slabs, for prep cash and traded some for more junk silver coin. I kept the Eagles, Mapleleafs and Kruggerands. I believe if push came to shove the latter three would make terrific ‘pieces of eight’, just like long ago, when gold coin would be chopped into 8 pieces like a pizza,,, yielding a handy denomination size.
I have bought and sold on ebay and had no problems re PMs… If I may plug two dealers that consistently give me the best prices when buying OR selling, in the Midwest, and I believe are honest and have been at it for a while: Archie’s Coin in Chicago ‘since 1953’ (Northside, Edgebrook)ask for Archie… and Nashville Coin & Currency, in Brentwood, ask for Mike – and NEVER goto to anyplace that advertises ‘as seen on (some TV show)’ The bids I’ve gotten from some of these retail outfits are laughable, compared to the guys above that really move metal for a living.
Seataka
How to tell gold plated tungsten from solid gold
KISS IT
Gold conducts heat 75% better than tungsten. Human lips are the most sensitive to temperature. A sold gold 1oz slab will feel distinctly cooler than a plated tungsten fake. (assuming both are at the same temperature) Google “heat conductivity properties metals”
If just before you’re about to be ass-raped in prison you throw a few punches, you’ll still get ass-raped but you’ll get some respect and maybe some assistance next time it happens. Fortune favors the bold. Be bold and unseen forces will come to your aid. If the Jews in Nazi Germany had put up a fight the outcome may have been the same but it surely would not have been any worse. Winston Churchill (SOB) famous quote: “If you will not fight when it is easy to fight, then soon you will HAVE to fight when it will NOT be easy and have no chance of victory.” (Gross Paraphrase) Fifteen years ago friends would ask me,”Why are you doing this? Why are you making yourself a target?” My reply was always,”They may have gotten a fight out of me NOW, but one day they will get a fight out YOU. It will probably concern your children and it will be too late for you to fight. The first and most important question asked of a rape victim on the witness stand is,”DID YOU SAY NO”. When are we going to refuse to have “quasi-consensual sex” with our rogue/outlaw/illegitimate usurpers and just say NO!
glad my stack is silver dimes quarters and halves rather than troy oz rounds now…
or silver dollars – didn’t expect morgan dollars to be faked but…I feel bad for people buying now – I think when I was buying it was not expensive enough to justify faking the smaller coins, but when it goes over 100 an ounce it will be worth faking dimes too.
anyone buying silver and gold at these prices are being taken anyway, they should have been buying before gold reached 300.00 and silver reached 3.00 an ounce.Now invest in rice,beans,lead,whiskey,wheat,sugar,salt,coffee,tea,ect. When the SHsTF,sell those items at your price for their silver and gold.
Thank you for the heads-up…great article!
Buy two or three small(heater buddies) propane heaters. They connect to small or larger tanks, and heat a very large space for their size. Just “Google” heater buddies” and go from there.
Take care and GOD Bless.
The summary of the article says “Pre-1965 silver coins, in our opinion, are the only option for those making purchases on auction sites.” But, the coin SHOWN by the reporter as counerfeit was … a pre 1965 silver coin! It was a Morgan silver dollar. They are counterfeiting those as much as anything else. Maybe you need to distinguish what you mean by “pre 1965 silver”? Since Morgans and Peace dollars ARE pre 1965 silver coins!
So has anyone ever done business w/ Scottsdale silver? I am thinking they are legit but now after reading this im even more paranoid. . . been preping for about 4 months now. could use some advise on this place thanks>
I don’t have any junk silver coins, my kids robbed them and spent 30 bucks face value at the store trying to be helpful with groceries! This was last year and the oldest was 12.
I now invest in lead molds, alloys, bullet molds and equipment to rework batteries for use until they die and get turned into things that go bang or splash.
Lock up silver or someone will spend dad or grandpa’s change.
This proceeding message was brought to you by your all-knowing & all-seeing Federal Govt. Thank you for spreading another rumor to get this message out about unsafe Chinese bootlegged precious metal items flooding domestic markets and congrats on putting even more fears & doubts in the precious metals and their markets than previously existed. So your Govt that always has the best interests of the American taxpayer in mind, while always watching the taxpayers back too, recommends AGAINST buying any gold or silver at the present time. It’s much too risky and besides what’s better than our genuine US dollar or Treasury Bonds?? So next time the price of gold and silver falls, your Federal Govt recommends that you go down and sell those Chinese knock-offs and re-invest that money into good as gold US dollars or T-bills. And you thought we were just about bailing out our banking friends, enlarging corporate welfare for millionaires, or even more empire building and endless worldwide conquest & warfare.
everyone should have pre 65 dimes quarters, and half dollars, both as a headge against inflation, and as gov. minted real money when the fiat dollar collapses. an excellent way to save, and some even has collector value on top of the silver content value. and silver has always been part of the gold standard through out the ages. but now it is used up in manufacturing of electronic devices, batteries, solar panels and many other widely used applications. record sales of u.s. minted silver coins this year. all these things leading to a supply and demand condition that will cause silver value to keep going up. protect your families’ savings and buy while the price is fairly low. it will be the best investment and peace of mind you can aquire. but only after you have adequate canned food, bottled water, and ammo built up. good luck
I like the “sound” test. Not nearly as scientific as is shown on this vid, BUT….silver coins (be they new Eagles or old “junk”) have a distinctive almost musical ring when spun out on a table. Every base metal coin I ever tried has a very dead sound. Check it out.
The sound test works. I bought some Cyprus silver crowns on Ebay last year, they were Chinese fakes. They looked pretty good, but I had a real one in worn shape to compare the details. The sound test confirmed it. The coin dealer I showed them to got out $10,000 worth of ‘rare’ coins he had bought, all Chinese fakes. They were even more detailed than the crowns I had brought in, and you can get them in any numismatic grade you want, to order.
Shipped ’em back and got refunded by PayPal in full.
In response to your point about Chinese not counterfeiting pre-64 coinage. I have in my possession 4 fake Morgan & Peace Silver dollars. I bought them (cheap!) in Southern China several years ago. It was obvious when I bought them that they were fake, the workman ship is awful. There were some trade dollars that weren’t so obvious. I would strongly suspect all silver dollars at this point.
I’ll stick to lead and brass and steel hand tools, knives; I had silver for y2k, then it went bust; no more silver or gold..been there done that; it’s no different than playing the stock mkt.
Is there ever anything evil going on that China is not a big player in? Godless Communists is an understatement.