Scams Made Possible by the "Silver Rush"
An representative from the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation (ACEF) stated that the current silver bullion panic has led to a surge in deceptive web advertising aimed at retail customers who aren't careful, with the goal of selling them fake US silver dollars.
According to Doug Davis, director of the ACEF Anti-Counterfeiting Unit, "the Chinese are blowing up the web selling fake silver dollars." So claimed Davis. It's not just Amazon and Facebook where we've noticed questionable advertisements.
The continued interest in the Morgan silver dollar market, along with the volatility of silver, has led to an uptick in complaints of counterfeits in the last two weeks. Ex-Texas police chief Davis claimed that the Chinese are actively promoting counterfeit silver dollars on Facebook.
The specialists involved with the Accredited Precious Metals Dealer program (www.APMDdealers.org) are reliable sellers, so it's best to know someone if you're not familiar with precious metals, according to Davis's advice.
The United States Mint produced the Morgan dollar from 1878 until 1904 and again in 1921; it was named for its designer, George T. Morgan. Each piece contains around 3/4 ounce of silver, making them popular among investors and collectors.
Professional Numismatists Guild president Richard Weaver stated, "We've definitely seen 'panic buying' of silver the past couple of weeks," despite a slight slowdown in the crush of retail buyers. "Regrettably, dishonest vendors are taking advantage of online shoppers who aren't careful."
There is a dubious Facebook seller claiming to sell 28 'authentic' Morgan dollars for only $199, despite the incredibly tight supply of genuine, century-old Morgan silver dollars. The value would be closer to $900 if these coins were authentic. "It seems like even the certification holders are hiding their fakes," Weaver said.
As part of their continuing support for federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors in their fight against counterfeiting and the selling of counterfeit coins, the ACEF is informing the Secret Service about the fakes.
For both the foundation and its Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force, the official authentication service is Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). Not only is NGC the official grading agency for the PNG and the American Numismatic Association, but it is also the largest third-party grading service for coins, tokens, and medals in the world.
Donations support the important work of the foundation and the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force," noted Robert Brueggeman, executive director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACEF). You can claim your donations as tax credits because the ACEF is a nonprofit organization
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