How are counterfeit coins made?

Answer 1

It depends. Genuine coins are struck, while this makes them suitable for mass production, the equipment is fairly expensive and elaborate, so many counterfeit coins are instead cast. This is why many counterfeits will have a seam at the edge. Most cast counterfeits are struck in a lesser metal and then plated with the metal they are trying to imitate (for example, a silver eagle counterfeit might be made with lead then silver plated). Some collector counterfeits are made by altering genuine coins to more desirable dates and mintmarks. For example, a 1916 Mercury Dime generally retails for around $3-5 depending on condition. On the other hand, a 1916-D Mercury Dime sells for $800+ even in very worn condition. Because of this, some fraudsters will attempt to put a "D" mintmark on the genuine 1916 Mercury Dime, while grading companies and experienced coin dealers can easily detect these, beginning collectors may be easily fooled. Furthermore, some fraudsters have been known to make fake slabs of grading companies and proclaim them genuine despite the grading company never seeing the coin. Since many people don't give a second thought to buying a coin that's slabbed by a good grading company, they have managed to scam people because of this. Another way is to get a press and create your own dies and begin striking coins. While this is expensive, it is the only way to create high-quality coins, if using genuine blanks and if you carve your die correctly it is possible to make nearly undetectable counterfeits. However, they still may be found due to imperfections in the dies. One of the most famous examples are the "omega" 1907 high-relief counterfeit coins. These coins are of such high quality that they are nearly undetectable except that the counterfeiter put their signature on the coins. To date, no one knows who the Omega counterfeiter is, and their coins are such highly regarded that people have been known to pay several thousand dollars for one of these "omega" coins (though, the genuine coin sells for around 50 thousand dollars).