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| Cone for Lee. Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
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| Lee's Position on Friday a Week From Now as Determined by the ECMWF Model on Windy.com. |
Online estimates reveal that consumers spend millions of dollars buying valuable or rare coins, but most receive near-worthless foreign-made counterfeits. An increasing number of counterfeit coins are being seized at US ports-of-entry. For example, in April 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Chicago’s international mail facility seized 279 shipments from China containing counterfeit coins and currency. In 2020, CBP seized over $1.64 million in counterfeit cash and coins at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Scammers capitalized on the financial uncertainty and nation-wide coin shortage brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of amateur investors online. Many victims find purchasing online an easy method to make investments, as they can easily find what they are looking for, pay cheaper prices and have their investments delivered right to their door. Do not let online scammers rob you of your investment. Protect your wallet and your personal data by purchasing from reputable, registered coin dealers. If you decide to purchase outside this venue, ensure that the coins are tested by a certified organization, before making a purchase...
Here is that link. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | The FBI Warns the Public of Counterfeit Coin Scams)
The PCGS web site says, In recent days, counterfeit coins in counterfeit PCGS slabs have begun to appear on eBay, the online auction site. All of the counterfeit coins/holders seen so far are coming out of China. Alert members of the PCGS Message Boards were the first to notify PCGS of the counterfeit coins/holders.
The coins themselves range from poor-quality counterfeits to well-made fakes. The counterfeit PCGS holders are well-executed, but with minor differences from a genuine holder. PCGS anticipates that authentic coins will eventually be placed into counterfeit PCGS holders in the future, perhaps with elevated grades and/or inappropriate designators (Full Bell Lines, Prooflike, etc.), although none have been seen to date.
(For tips on identifying fake coins, you might want to read Treasure Beaches Report: Pt. 2. (2020 and Beyond). : 1/3/22 Report - Fakes, Counterfeits and Imitation Coins. Some Examples and Signs to Look For. (tbr2020.blogspot.com))
And for the aspiring counterfeiter, Coinworld.com says, A Chinese online distributor of counterfeit United States coins is now offering what amount to “starter kits” of counterfeit Professional Coin Grading Services holders with fake grading labels.
PCGS President Don Willis said little can be done legally to combat the counterfeiting until the material hits American soil.
Source: The Vast Majority of Antiquities Sold Online Are Probably Looted or Fake, a New Report Says (artnet.com)
I was watching a magic act on YouTube. I don't know how I got onto that, but I stumbled onto it somehow. At first, I thought maybe advanced large-scale holograms were being used, but after watching a few more videos of magic acts by same group, I discovered that the illusion was even bigger than that. I noticed that the audience reactions showed the same old clips of the same people in the same clothes reacting exactly the same over and over again even though the performances were supposedly from a variety of different dates. It became obvious that besides the staged magic tricks, there was a lot of other faking going on that took it to another level. The audience reactions were fake and could not all have been in response to the particular tricks that they seemed to be reacting to. I had to wonder how much, if any of what the video showed, was real. Then I had to remember that the I was watching the entire video on a digital display screen. I often heard that the media is the message, but never knew exactly what that meant.
When I asked a magician how David Blaine, who did street magic for TV, did his levitation trick on the street in front of an audience, I was told he used video editing. That means the audience reactions would have been fake too because the audience would not have seen the trick in the same way the TV viewer would.
We all know that you can accomplish a lot with basic video editing, but now technologies such as AI are taking it to still another level. I hope you know about how AI is used to simulate voices of loved ones for phone scams, but AI is now used for even more impressive deceptions.
Probably close to fifteen years ago, I watched a hologram of a famous actor doing a presentation at Universal Studios. It seemed very much like the actor was actually there. It was amazingly realistic, but that was years ago and the technology has undoubtedly been improved a lot since then. Actors and writers are afraid of being replaced. That is part of the reason for the strikes.
... Technology that replicates individuals’ faces and voices is becoming more prominent in Hollywood...
The actors’ concerns highlight a broader anxiety among entertainers and people in many other creative professions. Many fear that, without strict regulation, their work will be replicated and remixed by artificial intelligence tools, and that such a transformation will both cut their control over their work and hurt their ability to earn a living... (Source: Actors vs. AI: Strike brings focus to emerging use of advanced tech (nbcnews.com))
Just after watching the Youtube video of the magicians, I stumbled upon a video of a supposed conversation between Jim Caviezel and Jordan Peterson, both of whom are very famous. Jordan Peterson is a very hot social media personality, and you probably know of Jim Caviezel as the lead in The Passion of the Christ and other movies. A video of a conversation between those two personalities would certainly attract a lot of attention, but in my opinion, the video of their conversation looked fake.
Then I stumbled onto a treasure hunting YouTube video in which a masked treasure hunter explored extensive ancient ruins and found amazing ancient treasures. It was fake too. If it was not, it was a clear case of looting.
The artifacts looked very fake. The holes they were extracted from looked very fake. As if it were not odd enough to watch a masked treasure hunter (a full-face mask, not a Covid mask), to camera angles were odd, but facilitated the illusion as the artifacts came out of vacuous holes filled with loose dirt. Of course, you never saw the camera crew although they were obviously there.
My point today is the tools of deception are more elaborate and effective than ever. It can be very difficult to tell fact from fiction, and with the current decline in morals, those seeking to benefit will use any opportunity to use them. It is said that power corrupts, and although I was never particularly convinced of that, even if power does not corrupt, power provides the greatest opportunity for the greatest abuse and those seeking it will be drawn to power, so you will tend to find the greatest abuse to power where the greatest power resides.
For treasure hunting and metal detecting, it can be difficult to identify fakes, but you can refine your skills. There is so much deception in the modern world, that those same observational and discernment skills will often prove of benefit.
Do not be deceived. Your discernment will be tested.
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There are several reasons I try to provide sources along with my posts.
One is simply for additional reading if you want more depth or details than can be provided in a short blog post.
Another reason is to support what was said, and to show that the same thing or something similar has been said elsewhere, sometimes by very authoritative sources.
Sometimes it is simply to credit the original author or source.
And sometimes it is to provide an alternative view.
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I went on a little bottle hunt a couple days ago and found nothing other than some uninteresting bottles, most of which were covered with barnacles.
Of course, I'll continue to follow Lee and any other weather or events that might affect Treasure Coast or Florida metal detecting conditions. I have some additional posts already planned.
I'm hoping that we get something that removes a lot of sand from our beaches, but I don't want to see us get a direct hit by a hurricane.
Somebody asked if the original TreasureBeachesReport was still active. It is and has been getting thousands of views daily. He suggested I put a link to it on this blog, which I will be doing. Until then you can always go directly to it by using treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Good hunting,
Treasureguidee@comcast.net
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