On 11/18/2010 1:46 PM, Phil DeMayo wrote:
Brian Silliman co-authors a column in the ANA's monthly magazine "The
Numismatist". One of the columns mentioned that counterfeit coins
were illegal to possess. I bet you can't guess who wrote a "Letter to
the Editor" saying Silliman and his co-author were wrong.

That's very relevant. Yes, because I agree with someone about something,
that means I should agree with him about everything. If not, I'm being
hypocritical. Or something.

Brian Silliman is an expert coin authenticator and grader. He has no
doubt looked at many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of coins,
and as part of this he looks for signs of doctoring. He has no doubt
gained considerable knowledge of coin doctoring. That's one reason I
cited his opinion about this subject. But does this also make him an
expert on the legalities of owning counterfeit coins? I don't think so.
This in not in his realm of experience. He and other authentication
service employers in fact send back to their owners coins that are
blatantly counterfeit or whose authenticity they can't vouch for.

On the other hand, another coin publication columnist, Armen Vartian,
who's a lawyer and has written a book on collectibles and the law, has
said in one of his columns that there's nothing illegal about owning
counterfeits without the intent to deceive others with them. His
credentials and experience on this subject make his opinion far more
weighty.

But like the issue of whizzing moving metal, the issue of the legality
of owning counterfeits has been discussed here in the past in great
detail, and like Jeff R. you bring this up without adding a shred of new
information. Same tired old arguments, long refuted. Like him, you've
dug in and haven't budged one iota from your original views, and like
him it's clear you never will, no matter what. Also like him you bring
this up in discussions about completely unrelated subjects, some kind of
fixation or compulsion.

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Consumer: http://rg.ancients.info/guide
Connoisseur: http://rg.ancients.info/glom
Counterfeit: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos