Introducing FakeBullion.com

[natsb88]

Three new items added to the database this week.

[natsb88]

With a few recent additions we are now up to 40 different counterfeit items in the Fake Bullion Database. I have several more queued up that I just need to finish the photo work on, and then I will be looking to borrow some genuine examples again.

In response to feedback and requests, there is now a Monthly donation option on the site, and there is now a check / money order option for the Lifetime donation. The Monthly and Yearly recurring options still use PayPal.

I would also like to thank Bullion Exchanges as the newest affiliate to team up with FakeBullion.com. If you click through their banner to order something, it helps out the site

[natsb88]

Thanks to SD Bullion for supporting FakeBullion.com! Click through their banner before you order and it helps keep FakeBullion.com online

[natsb88]

I just added a 2013 25th Anniversary Silver Maple to the database, as well as added updated comparisons to current production samples for the Silvertowne Standard 1 Oz Bar and Silvertowne Eagle 1 Oz Bar (scary good match here). Several more in the pipeline to be added soon. I also have samples on the way of new counterfeit Pamp Veriscan, APMEX, and RCM gold in assay cards. They all look to be very high caliber fakes.

I hate asking for support, but I'm going to do it here briefly. The site costs money to maintain and host, I have to pay for most of the samples I analyze, and there are some fixed costs associated with maintaining an LLC. This year I also purchased a decent USB microphone and some video editing software to start making videos, and loaned a large box of documented counterfeit samples to the Numismatic Crime Information Center to use in training investigators at a law enforcement conference in Texas.

For 2016 I am a couple hundred dollars in the red, and going back further I still have about $2500 I have yet to recover from the initial entity formation, web development, and securing samples.

I have not been paid a dime for my time, which has been many hundreds of hours. I put as much into the site as I can, but it doesn't pay the bills. More contributions means I can spend more time working on it.

To those of you who have already contributed, a very big thank you!

To those of you who find the site useful and wish to contribute, here are several ways you can help out.

- Become a Supporting Member. You get to see new entries in the Fake Bullion Database 60 days before they go public and you can post "does this look fake to you" and related questions and commentary in the Supporting Members Forum. $5/month or $40/year through PayPal, or $150/lifetime through PayPal or mail-in payment.

- If you don't want to join but do want to donate, there is also a plain PayPal Donate button on the page linked above, or you can PM me for an address.

- If your favorite dealer is an advertiser or affiliate with FakeBullion.com, click through their banner on our website before you place your order. It doesn't cost anything extra and it helps support the site. Affiliates currently include Bullion Exchanges, SilverGoldBull, SD Bullion, Golden Eagle Coins, and Coin Supply Express. If your favorite dealer isn't listed there, tell them they should be! There are two large dealers that do have affiliate programs but are not yet partnered with FakeBullion.com. One expressed concern about being associated with a site that has "fake" in the domain name, and the other has just ignored my application and emails. Tell your dealers that supporting a site that is trying to educate the industry about a very real problem makes them look good! For those without affiliate programs, we offer inexpensive pay-per-click advertising.

- And finally, share links to FakeBullion.com on other sites! I have introduced the site on Bullionstacker, Realcent, and SilverStackers, and answered questions in a couple of Reddit threads, but there are many other relevant communities that I don't frequent. If you visit other sites, and the topic of counterfeits pops up, plop a link in there for FakeBullion.com. The more people that visit the site, the more it begins to pay for itself. And if you want me to a mail a postcard to your favorite local coin shop or coin club, send me their address.

Thanks for your support and Happy New Year!

[hobo finds]

I posted links on Treasure net and Scrap Metal Forum

[Copper Catcher]

Nate, I just sent you a donation....Thanks for all you do. Happy New Year!

[chris6084]

Would you be willing to ship a stack of business cards on a future order if we could put them in a coin store that allowed that type of advertising?

[natsb88]

Would you be willing to ship a stack of business cards on a future order if we could put them in a coin store that allowed that type of advertising?

Certainly!

Nate, I just sent you a donation....Thanks for all you do. Happy New Year!

Thanks CC!

I posted links on Treasure net and Scrap Metal Forum

Thanks, I saw some traffic from those sites

[natsb88]

The Royal Canadian Mint is our newest affiliate partner! Click through the banner on FakeBullion.com when you place your order and it helps out the site

[Thogey]

The Royal Canadian Mint is our newest affiliate partner! Click through the banner on FakeBullion.com when you place your order and it helps out the site

BULLY!
Great work

[natsb88]

One of these is real, the other is fake. Which is which?

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[hobo finds]

I say the one on the right is fake

[hobo finds]

Also when I go on your web site I check out a few ads in order to help out a little bit!

[natsb88]

Also when I go on your web site I check out a few ads in order to help out a little bit!

Thanks!

[natsb88]

This particular fake has been floating around for nearly a year. I wonder how many have been sold to unsuspecting buyers on Craigslist and eBay and at pawn shops and even coin dealers? And how many of those have unknowingly been resold by innocent victims? And how many are stashed away in safes and will hit the market again in 1 year or 10 years or 50 years?

It's a problem, and it's only going to get worse as more fakes come into the country and accumulate.

I just got some interesting specs on "in stock" gold-plated tungsten fakes directly from a Chinese seller, as well as a screenshot of an email from somebody in the US to the counterfeiters discussing plating thicknesses. I'll be posting those shortly in the FakeBullion.com members only forum and eventually I'll write a public piece up about them.

pre24.jpg (129.06 KiB) Viewed 8833 times

The full comparison is posted in the Fake Bullion Database. Available now for supporting members, available in 60 days for the general public. I will be removing the bars from the cards to do a comparison of the bars themselves next.

https://www.fakebullion.com/index.php/c ... card-gen-3

[natsb88]

I just got some interesting specs on "in stock" gold-plated tungsten fakes directly from a Chinese seller, as well as a screenshot of an email from somebody in the US to the counterfeiters discussing plating thicknesses. I'll be posting those shortly in the FakeBullion.com members only forum and eventually I'll write a public piece up about them.

This stuff is up in the FakeBullion.com Forum now, along with a bunch of pictures of gold-plated tungsten eagles that appear to be dead-on in size and weight. Go check it out if you're a member.

[natsb88]

I just added the Pamp Veriscan 1 oz gold bar to the database here. It's another scary good counterfeit. I am in the process of getting set up with Pamp's Veriscan system. I have the scanner and positioning frame and a 2d barcode scanner all set up, just having some issues downloading the software (and the time difference causes a bit of a delay). I will eventually put it to the test and make a demo video.

[hobo finds]

When you get new advertisers on your site you should mention it here. That way we can click on your site and than visit them from there...

[natsb88]

This happened this morning to a dealer I know from a Facebook group

Large Collection of Fake Silver Brought to Coin Dealer in Georgia



MARIETTA, GA - Approximately 250 pieces of counterfeit silver walked through the door of the Gold & Coin Exchange in Marietta, Georgia Saturday morning. A long-time store customer, who was considering purchasing a collection from a third party, became suspicious of the items and brought them to the store for testing.

Read more on FakeBullion.com

[natsb88]

Felony charge for selling counterfeit coins in Blair County

FREEDOM TOWNSHIP, PA - A Huntingdon County man is facing a felony forgery charge after being accused of selling rare counterfeit coins in Blair County.

Freedom Township police said Johnathan R. Peck, 34, of Petersburg, was selling counterfeit pennies from 1909 and 1955 and $50 gold coins.

Read more on FakeBullion.com.

[natsb88]

Good deal on gold proves fake, Portland man cited for theft by deception



BEAVERTON, Ore. - Police are warning the public of an online sale that proves not all that glitters is gold.

The incident started when a man arranged to buy three ounces of Swiss gold bullion through the online app called Letgo. He met the seller, who called himself Joshua Allen, at the Home Depot on NW Science Parkway.

Click to read more and watch the video.

[natsb88]

Oklahoma man arrested for selling fake gold bars



OMAHA, NE - The subject pictured above was arrested in Omaha, NE for selling fake Perth Mint gold bars. He also has an outstanding warrant out of Bellevue, NE for selling over $8,000 in fake gold bars.

The subject has been identified as Bradley M. Barney of Moore, OK. Barney uses an Oklahoma issue ID card for identification when selling the fake bars.

Anyone who has come into contact with this individual contact:

Doug Davis
Numismatic Crime Information Center

https://www.fakebullion.com/index.php/n ... -gold-bars

[natsb88]

Person of Interest Sought in Counterfeit Gold Case



OKLAHOMA - The Numismatic Crime Information Center is currently working with several law enforcement agencies to link several suspects from Oklahoma selling counterfeit/fake coins around the country.

Click to Read More

[natsb88]

Two new items added to the database this weekend.

[JadeDragon]

This page needs links to buy the testing solutions - Amazon or ?? https://www.fakebullion.com/index.php/r ... id-testing