From: Reid Goldsborough

But hundreds if not thousands of auction houses, dealers, and
collectors keep counterfeits of collectible coins on hand, and the ANA
recognizes this.

The ANA has made no such statement. Reid's presentation above is simply a
reading-between-the-lines on his part.

Those who elect to keep counterfeits should clearly
identify them on the labels of their holders to help prevent them from
someday inadvertently being sold as genuine coins, says Robert W.
Hoge, former curator at the American Numismatic Association, current
curator at the American Numismatic Society.


US law says that the word "COPY" should be on the item:

(b) The word "COPY" shall be marked upon the item legibly,
conspicuously, and nondeceptively,
and in accordance with the further requirements of these regulations.
(1) The word "COPY" shall appear in capital letters, in the
English language.
(2) The word "COPY" shall be marked on either the obverse or the
reverse surface of the item.
It shall not be marked on the edge of the item.
(3) An imitation numismatic item of incusable material shall be
incused with the word "COPY" in
sans-serif letters having a vertical dimension of not less than two
millimeters (2.0 mm) or not less
than one-sixth of the diameter of the reproduction, and a minimum
depth of three-tenths of one
millimeter (0.3 mm) or to one-half (\1/2\) the thickness of the
reproduction, whichever is the lesser.
The minimum total horizontal dimension of the word "COPY" shall be six
millimeters (6.0 mm) or not
less than one-half of the diameter of the reproduction.
(4) An imitation numismatic item composed of nonincusable material
shall be imprinted with the
word "COPY" in sans-serif letters having a vertical dimension of not
less than two millimeters (2.0
mm) or not less than one-sixth of the diameter of the reproduction.
The minimum total horizontal
dimension of the word "COPY" shall be six millimeters (6.0 mm) or not
less than one-half of the
diameter of the reproduction.


Vartian, a lawyer, numismatist, Coin World legal columnist, and author
of the book A Legal Guide to Buying and Selling Art and Collectibles,
says it's illegal to own counterfeit coins if your intention is to
defraud others with them (sell them as genuine), and it's illegal to
refuse to surrender them if the government asks you to, which it's
entitled to under the law.

Vartian wrote a book "Legal Guide to Buying And Selling Art And Collectibles",
which Reid may refer to later on. The word "counterfeit" appears in one
paragraph in the book, on pages 28-29. In part:

"Counterfeiting of items such as coins and stamps is prohibited by federal law,
and it is actually a crime to sell counterfeits of such items."

Note that Vartain says nothing about intent, just plain and simple that you
cannot legally sell them.

That's why Vartian and others recommend
that those who maintain black cabinets of counterfeit coins do so
quietly.

Reid has never attributed these supposed remarks of Vartain to anything in
print, nor named the "others".

Others feel, however, that mere possession of counterfeits of
collectible coins is illegal.

The reason being that if they have to be surrendered without need for a
warrent, court order, or other form of "due process", that the requirement to
surrender them on demand equates to ownership being illegal.

4. Ring test

Modern silver coins ring when you tap them.

This has been stated to be misleading due to impurities in the alloy of even
modern coins. For some reason, Reid still leaves it in his posting.

--
mark