Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
The area up by South Carolina has become a tropical storm, but won't do a lot of us. We are, however, supposed to get some unusually high tides today, according to Surfguru.
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| Surfguru.com. |
The Treasure Coast surf is starting to look more like Fall - just a touch bigger so far.
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The FBI and the Department of Treasury are warning the public that counterfeit coins are being sold on various online auction, social media and retail websites, targeting investors and collectors. There are three types of counterfeit coins: transactional coins (quarters, dimes, etc.), numismatics (high value collectables), and bullion (precious metals). Online advertisements used by scammers claim the coins are authentic; however, consumers are receiving fake coins and precious metals.
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...
Here is the link for the rest of that article.
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | The FBI Warns the Public of Counterfeit Coin Scams
Buyer beware.
I've said before, this is an age of fakes, counterfeits, illusion, and deception. It gets worse.
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Gurney, in his book, Couterfeit Portrait Eight Reales, refers to four classifications of counterfeit portrait eight-reales.
Class 1. Coins with significantly reduced (below .800 fine) or no silver content that were made to circulate as current money or bullion.
Class 2. Coins made of silver (at least 800 fine), assayed near or correct metal by assay. Unauthorized silver imitations which circulated along with legal coins.
Class 3. Fraudulent coin created solely to defraud collectors rather than to be circulated.
Class 4. Basically, all other coins created to defraud regardless of metals used or the method of production.
Gurney's classification is a little different than the FBI's. His is a little more detailed and complex. I simplified it a little. Gurney's classification was made particularly for portrait eight-reales by generally applies well to other cons as well.
His book is extensive and profusely illustrated.
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The Silvery Orb.
The Dollar Tree clerk handed me a small silverish disk bearing a picture of Thomas Jefferson and said thank you as he handed me the bag with my small purchase. He looked a bit puzzled when my thank you seemed to express more than the normal amount of sincerity. The clerk didn't understand the reason or depth of my gratefulness, but quickly passed to the next customer without any more thought. He had no way of knowing.
When I looked at the quarter in my hand, I saw old Grandpa Baker sitting on his rocking chair on the wraparound front porch of the old three-story white farmhouse as he did every summer day of my youthful life. He watched over the gravel road the locals traveled from the small village in the valley and up the hill past a cluster of small homes, including mine, and all the way up to the ridge at the top of the hill where the sun disappeared behind the distant trees at the end of each day. The ancient spreading oak tree on the other side of that gravel road shaded Grandpa Baker's sheep as they paused to graze before continuing parade single file down the narrow dirt path created by their daily trek to the lush deep grass along the creek in valley below.
The little boy I was, stood there in my blue jeans before Mr. Baker's throne and happily gazed at the shiny quarter that he just placed in the palm of my hand for the work I did in the hayfield that day. I was happy and proud to be paid for my work.
I can't really remember the work at all now. I really don't know if I did much of anything. I kind of doubt it, considering how young I was. I do remember the sun shining on the hay and the sweat on the farmers in the field.
I remember smiling when I looked down at the silvery disk that was just put in my hand. Old Mr. Baker saw me smile and smiled too. I remember that.
Mr. Baker had no way to know that I'd carry that day with me for so many years, or that I'd be thinking of him so many years after he was gone. I doubt he would have given it a thought. Who could have guessed the enchanting effect of that silver disk he put in my hand or how it would take me back through the years to that sunny summer day in the green valley of my youth where Mr Baker sat on his throne overlooking the pleasant kingdom between sunrise and sunset.
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Psalm 23:1-2. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net