Counterfeit coins

L

LDFerguson

Registered User
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4,663
I think this is a strange story. Who the hell goes to the trouble of producing fake €2 coins? Can they really be manufactured for so little that passing them off for €2 each makes it worthwhile?

I also think the advice given in the article is funny. Picture the scene … you’re a barman or a shopkeeper in a busy place, with a queue of customers to serve. Some lad hands over €10 in €2 coins. “Wait now sir while I get out my magnifying glass and magnet…”

https://www.independent.ie/irish-ne...t-if-your-coin-is-a-counterfeit-41887485.html
 
Another common kind of scam is mixing up the coins from Thailand & the Philippines as they look identical too the €2 but are worth a fraction of it.
I’ve fallen for the above.
A massive problem if done on a large scale.
 
Hi Liam

I suspect that most shops would not check €2 coins, whereas they tend to check big notes.

So they would get away with more. But they would have to manufacture a lot of them for it to be worthwhile and how do you launder lots of coins?

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Hi Liam

I suspect that most shops would not check €2 coins, whereas they tend to check big notes.

So they would get away with more. But they would have to manufacture a lot of them for it to be worthwhile and how do you launder lots of coins?

Brendan
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I wonder would the coin machines in some supermarkets recognise the fake €2 coins? They can change 100's of euro in one go.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
But they would have to manufacture a lot of them for it to be worthwhile
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This is one of the parts of this story that I find intriguing. I know absolutely nothing about the cost of manufacturing small metal discs, but given that €2 coins are two-tone and are have raised lettering, I would have thought that the machine required to make them would be very expensive. Somebody somewhere has invested heavily in tooling up for this scam so I assume they're expecting to churn out huge quantities to make it worthwhile.
 
Horatio said:
Arcade & vending machines.
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What arcade machines can you pump lots of money into and get a high percentage return from that's paid out in cash other than that you have put in?

You could certainly buy lots of stuff from vending machines, but stuff in these machines already tends to be very expensive so you'd have a hard time selling it to gain any kind of return on an expensive counterfeit.
 
Over 30 years ago , you could use one of the small Irish coins (5p I think) in German vending machines and it was accept it as a 1 DM coin . By the mid 90s vending machines in German were sophisticated enough to reject them.
 
I had in mind that your fake coins could be layered in with legitimate coins & laundered as such. I didn't really have in mind to cash them out in the form of Pikachuu plushies. :D
 
I've searched google & youtube for how they do actually launder them - no joy.
There is content on laundering fake collectibles but nothing on Fiat coins.
 
Horatio said:
Arcade & vending machines.
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Cigarette machine in pubs.
Also a person who works in any cash business is the ideal candidate too do so in giving change too customers.

Dublin bus had a major problem with these fake coins as the driver couldn’t check the coins once they go into the basket.
 
Horatio said:
I've searched google & youtube for how they do actually launder them - no joy.
There is content on laundering fake collectibles but nothing on Fiat coins.
Click to expand...

Be grateful that we don't live in a country where your internet searches are monitored. It would make for an interesting conversation with the fraud squad. "See there's this website called Askaboutmoney.com and we were having a discussion ... honest."
 
The usual method for using fake money is the maker sells bulk amounts at a low price. The money is divided and sold at a mark up and on it goes. The person who produces the fake money doesn't try to launder it, they sell it. The eventual end user only buys a small amount at a much smaller discount than the first purchaser in the chain.
 
noproblem said:
I wonder would the coin machines in some supermarkets recognise the fake €2 coins? They can change 100's of euro in one go.
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Just make sure you have a mask on you and not use a car. Their systems will show what you paid with and the cameras will have a nice photo.

And if course, don't use your clubcard
 
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