The surge in precious metals prices has revitalized an unscrupulous business that’s been ripping off investors for thousands of years – the counterfeit bullion trade.
Today, the business of phony gold and silver dupes hundreds of millions of unwary investors every year.
In fact, one Chinese counterfeiter recently bragged about producing 100,000 fake U.S. silver dollars a year.
And he’s just one guy – the tip of a monstrous iceberg that America’s top counterfeiting watchdog calls “a global economic train wreck waiting to happen.”
Counterfeiters – especially from China – are becoming more and more sophisticated with their dishonest art. And modern counterfeit bullion can sometimes even deceive experts. But with a bit of information you can properly authenticate your precious metals and your investment will be guaranteed.
China has been the source of bogus retail goods for decades. From phony high-end watches to designer purses and luxury sunglasses, everyone knows that knock-offs are “Made in China.”
Global Piracy & Counterfeiting (GPC), America’s most quoted source on counterfeiting, says 10% of China’s GDP is a direct result of counterfeiting, and that China is the world’s leading manufacturer of counterfeit gold and silver bullion.
Most recently, the watchdog group has issued urgent warnings for precious metal investors about the dangers of today’s counterfeiting bullion trade. A few weeks ago, the group put out a press release stating:
The Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants is calling counterfeit U.S. Silver Dollars, precious metal, coins, or bars, or counterfeit gold coins, a global economic train wreck waiting to happen, courtesy of the Chinese. Ten percent of China’s gross domestic product is related to counterfeiting, and the Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants fears the problem is much worse than anyone knows.
Laser-imaging 3-D technology has made it much easier for counterfeiters to produce near-exact copies of mint dies. And today’s counterfeit bullion is of such high quality it can very difficult to spot, even to the veteran eye.
Counterfeit vs. Copy
It’s important to make the distinction between “counterfeit” and “copy”bullion coins. A “copy” is a coin that has borrowed its design from another coin. These coins may or may not be made of precious metals. There are many legitimate private mints that use copies of popular coin designs on their bullion. The term “copy” or “replica” just refers to the design, and is not generally intended to deceive.
More to come soon...
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