Counterfeit Coin Remedy

Federal law prohibits the ownership of counterfeit coins, leaving duped collectors in a bind. Victims of counterfeits must turn in their coins to the nearest Secret Service agent or law enforcement official. However, some law enforcement officials are reluctant to take the time to recover only one or two fakes. Luckily, collectors have a solution. According to the Hobby Protection Act, if a counterfeit coin is incused with COPY, it is legal to possess. Few entities, however, have the ability to mark counterfeits as such.

Collectors can have their counterfeits marked at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money^® in Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center (August 7-10). The Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) will properly stamp COPY on up to three counterfeit coins per owner free of charge at Table 1928. Joe Paonessa of Root River Mint in Racine, Wisconsin, donated the punches and other equipment used to mark the coins.

“We want to help victims to legally possess the counterfeits they have been duped into buying, especially on the Internet,” says ACEF President John Albanese. “Perhaps more importantly, we want them to come to the World’s Fair of Money to see real coins and meet real dealers.”