To add insult to injury, this morning, one day later, I got a scam call from “Amazon” and they had my name and all my information. I’m extremely paranoid about my information and I never get scam calls. Coincidence maybe.
Same thing happened to me a few years ago with Apmex. I bought $500 face bag of half dollar’s and got a fake walking liberty.. but they made it right and sent me back a real one.
There are only two coin shops in my city. I have bought plenty of coins from one of them, but the owner did sell me a fake coin once. I took it back and got a refund, but the shop owner just put it back on the shelf. Not very ethical. Just because you buy a coin at a dealer does not mean it's genuine. Dealers make mistakes, and when they do they don't want to lose money. So they try to sell it to someone else. Sad, but true. Other times I have seen fake coins get shoved off to estate auctions. Buyer beware. There is no guarantee of authenticity, and I have seen plenty of clearly fake coins at these auctions.
One thing to consider is they didn't send him back the EXACT same coin but another fake from that same casting. Also, if you look at the font but looking at the dots between the letters, the fake coin looks more like a dash than a dot.
Damn, I'd re-contact that business and speak to someone higher up the ladder! How insulting to receive the same FAKE one back, wow! The coin itself is obviously a fake, and I'd be blowing a gasket!
I just received a fake walking liberty myself. Funny / odd thing for me is that it's not even really on a key date. The normal coin (when real) is only worth about $12 - $15, so I was not even expecting a fake. One of things (out of many) to look for is the absence of the artist initials on the reverse.
Might be another possibility. Perhaps they have a bunch of those fakes not realizing that they are fakes (giving them the benefit of the doubt) and sent him a replacement from the same bunch of counterfeits. To me that even looked like a fake the entire surface looked grainy, and as you mentioned the date and font was way off too.
If this story is true, and I'm not sure how to verify it, I'd never shop with that company again. That was an obvious fake and anyone who can't tell that needs to either get educated or not deal in precious metals anymore
Getting a fake coin is obviously pretty crappy from a " Reputable" dealer.....but what would really pi$$ me off would be the fact they sent the same coin again...... THAT would be the reason I would never go back to them.
@johnstuartmill1500 .....and that's the problem with buying over the internet and not buying in person.....lol.....which myself....95% of my stack is bought online and it's basically because of the variety. If I had a real coin shop CLOSE to me with variety....I'd be in there often. But most of the shops around me are Pawn shops that want gold.....they look at silver like it's trash.
While going thru a bag of Walkers to pic out ones for slabbing I found one that was obviously cast rather than struck (cast lines on side). Thru assay the silver content was 90% . X-ray spectros had not been invented yet so we did an NMR and the Cu was 10%. Very strange as to motive. 😮
I think some of these big companies buy so much junk silver they don’t have the time to look through every single coin that’s why you have to do your own due diligence. It happens sometimes.
It's understandable that even a bullion dealer could overlook a fake that looks close to real. But for them not to worry about it and not try to make it right and investigate where they got it in the first place seems sketchy. Thanks for sharing Chico's story.
No, a reputable coin, bullion seller verifies all of their product for authenticity their reputation is at stake! What a rookie , ignorant statement! As a collector and retail store owner for over 30 years I speak. No offense intended, only stating facts! GOD Bless You Brother!
I recently bough 553 circulated Walkers from my LCS whom I've know for over 40 years. 1 walker was altered the reverse was turned 90 degrees as someone try to do some kind of funny business with it. It is 90% silver but weighs 5 grams less than all the others. I don't hold it against him as these dealers buy form other dealers and they don't have the time to examine every coin.
Great video information, Speg! Glad you put this out.... now, I hope the company steps up and makes it right. If so, please put out a post video saying so.... greatly appreciate it! Take care, be safe and God bless!
I've found a pewter or something similar walking liberty half before. It looked silver but was easily bent. It was super obvious but it made me wonder how many counterfeits have likely been passed over the years and no one was the wiser without technology
I’ve done business with Silver Gold Bull twice. Each time was unsatisfactory. First time “customer service” was a total @$$ hole, wanting me to prove I’d mailed my check one day after the order was placed. The second time I fell for what was advertised as a great deal, when in fact it was a $0.15 per ounce savings on a high premium product. I’m a lot wiser now. I don’t give them a second thought, don’t do business with them and don’t recommend them. While I might give them a break for inadvertently missing a fake coin, their sending back the same coin sounds just like these jerks. My recommendation as an ex customer is stay far away from Silver Gold Bull.
Chico thx for your service brother. Sorry for your experience with this dealer. The entire rim of that coin is off as well. Have never bought from that dealer and certainly won’t be in the future. Hard to believe a dealer is going to risk their reputation over a $9-10 “coin”. Thank you for the video Speg
I got burned with a morgan last week, but the store owner said bring it back and he'll make it right. It was in the 90%cull bin. I kinda want to hang on to it, but not for that price.
That disappoints me so much, thanks so much for doing this video so many people buy yhis stuff and putit away and never think about It untill someone decides to sell it. So sad.
I caught 5 fake Johnson Mathey 1 oz bars that came from a very prominent wholesaler, despite them having both the desktop and handheld XRF machines as well as Sigmas........so how did 5 fakes get by then? Turns out it was a relatively new hire that had only checked a few of the items in a lot that they had purchased from another dealer they do business with on the regular. NEVER discount nor underestimate the human error factor. Do your own due diligence.
Holy cow that is insane , it’s all a bit fishy. Why would someone risk there job and the reputation of a big company to make a few bucks on an obvious fake ?
I haven't done business with them myself - but it seems almost unbelievable that a reputable dealer would treat an issue like that in such a cavalier manner. I'm assuming Chico sent you legit copies of his packing slip and emails from the dealer - so you believe his story to be trustworthy. Maybe this was simply a case of an employee in a big hurry on a Friday afternoon dismissing what was actually a very real problem.
Awesome video Spegtacular, The Guru of coins, I might give them a call myself and order like 100 coins then at the moment when it's time to pay just tell them I don't need any Fake coins and hang up on them and block the numbers
I should send you a picture of 1921-D Walking Liberty that i was gonna buy back in November. I did not buy the coin, but the sore fellow who did buy it at $8000 on it has to be feeling pretty sick to his stomack
I would guess that a bullion company, with all the 90% silver they deal with, the could accidentally sell fake silver. But to resend the same fake coin is inexcusable.
Always wise to go thru your rolls and ck fakes or I have found 40%halfs in 90% ,rolls and recently found 5 foreign coins half size coins in a roll .Be diligent never asum
Just in case they reached out i would mark it somehow to prevent them from selling it to someone else as a legit. Probably write fake or something obvious with a dremel.😊
I've gotten 2 out of 3 stars for a fake coin as well....I would say unless it says 3 out of 3 it's not a pass for me. These jerks are cunning its not worth wasting your fiat on a questionable coin.
