Timofei Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi, all,This is to alert you about confirmed massed distribution of iron 'occupation' series dated of 1916. Though the rumors started to appear this Spring, now we have it confirmed that PCGS (and possibly NGC) graded many fakes as Mint State. These fakes are made in Belorussia by a manufacturer URL to fake production factory. Apparently many coins were graded by grading companies and many were sold via eBay. For example this seller from Poland sold 12 fakes in the past 2 months: view listings User globaldjs made a sort of an investigation and he tried to identifyl PCGS numbers for some fake coins as well as their distinguishing features. Please check your collections and make sure you may return the fakes to the sellers. A brief list made by globaldjs is here. You may check the numbers from the list and see the pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Big eye opener - wow! Thanks for letting the rest of the world know Timofei. Figured there's unusually high amount of these UNC occupational coins appearing out of nowhere and the mystery is now solved. Thank you once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARENUM Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi Timofei, Any idea how long "manufacture" was working? Thanks Rarenum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timofei Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 It think that the set of the OST series we are discussing was made probably in the second half of 2012. I make this conclusion by the number of messages in the internet indicating rumors about 'Lithuanian hoard', cheap offerings of OST coins and the dates of grading. Speaking in general... The earliest message from the guy of Belorussian 'factory' I found in the web was from 2007, when he had displayed many dies 'made in the past'. As you may see from the URL I posted they are not hiding and their business is quite legal. They make copies and not selling forgeries )) They even pay taxes I guess ))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARENUM Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 I can't believe we're working legal. No identifications like"H" or copy . Thank you for additional information . Rarenum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Yikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultra Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Thanks for letting us know! Actually the seller is known also on the biggest polish auction platform - allegro.pl, he has very similar or maybe the same nickname. And that person is selling regularly OSTs in mint condition - usually 3 coins per auction (looks like he has pretty a number of it) and he always gets about 100USD for it or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timofei Posted August 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 If we were discussing a shady seller... The problem is that many people trust the grading companies. A slabbed coing gets good chance of being resold many times without much inspection. Even if the original seller discontinues, slabbed coins may reappear here and there. By the way NGC graded those fakes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigistenz Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Again and again - a slab means an increase of the price but it does not mean that the coin is genuine. In this forum we have seen quite some examples of fakes, ennobled by a slab. Slabbed coins are dangerous, they cannot be examined closely. Very often it is the edge that gives a fake away and I think the edge is less visible in a slab (I cannot say that with certainty because I have never touched a slab). Sigi - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shtirlic Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 It seems to be another one from one of the future auctions (MS65, PCGS slab) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grivna1726 Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Fascinating thread. Thank you to Timofei for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extant4cell Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Don't you hate fakes? They sabotage the prices. I can see they also make these: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timofei Posted August 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 I have already posted (about 3 years ago, my guess) another 'fascinating' product of the same origin. It was recorded here, on the Russian SM forum and by Monety i Medali auction blog. This is from your first picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timofei Posted August 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 It think that the set of the OST series we are discussing was made probably in the second half of 2012. It is my duty to correct this information. We have got first hand report from a user of coins.lave.ru forum that he purchased 2 of OST series coins (first identical tweens) in February 2011 from a Canadian-Polish seller. So far this is the earliest confirmed date. At that moment the 2 'coins' were not graded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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