Coin collectors are always looking for experts to assign their stamp of approval, but some at the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation recently stamped their disapproval on numerous coins, literally.

Representatives of the foundation, including its executive director (and retired Coin World editor) Beth Deisher and ACEF board member Mary Sauvain, counterstamped the word COPY on 35 coins presented to them by 13 attendees at the 2024 American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money, Aug. 6 through 10.

“The numbers are not the measure of success; it’s the amount of information that we were able to give out,” Deisher said.

Hundreds of collectors stopped by the booth to learn about the scourge of counterfeits and the legalities of owning and trading in them.

Collectors submitting coins for the counterstamping service believed they had fake coins but wanted to continue to own them legally, and the addition of the word COPY is necessary for the pieces to comply with the 1972 Hobby Protection Act.

Hobby Protection Act

“It’s perfectly legal to own a coin that’s marked with COPY, but possessing counterfeits is illegal,” Deisher said. “I think some people were afraid to walk in with a counterfeit.”

That fear helped tamp down the number of collectors using the service, she said.

The ACEF advertised ahead of the show that attendees could present up to three coins for the counterstamping, which relied upon the brute force of Sauvain and others to hammer a punch created by  Root River Mint’s Joe Paonessa, who donated it to the ACEF and also volunteered at the booth during the show.

Persons submitting a coin for punching were advised to ensure beforehand that the coin was indeed non-genuine and they had to sign a waiver absolving the ACEF of responsibility, in case of a change of mind or receiving a different opinion of a piece’s authenticity in the future.

In addition to coins countermarked on demand for collectors, Deisher said, the ACEF had a collection of more than 100 fakes that had been turned over to the organization since it became active in 2017, then under the Industry Council for Tangible Assets. Those pieces were also countermarked.

Collectors choosing to countermark their own fakes could choose where to apply the punch. Many pseudo-Morgan dollar owners asked that COPY be applied to the reverse field, Deisher said. Collectors with pretend American Silver Eagles usually chose to mark them in the sun on the obverse.

Future plans

Deisher said that attendees at other major shows in the future might be able to avail themselves of the same service.

“If it’s something that the public will make use of and we get the public support through donations, we’ll continue doing this,” she said.

To learn more about the ACEF mission, see its website, www.acefonline.org

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