The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 18, May 4, 2008, Article 12

CHINESE FAKE FACTORIES MAKE BANKNOTES AS WELL AS COINS

Dick Doty writes: "Fascinating stuff about the Chinese
counterfeiting.  I once bought an 1882 Mexican eight-real
piece from Hermosillo that was a Chinese fake, and I bought
it precisely because it WAS a fake, and an awful one that
that.  Since when did Mexican eights of that era have reeded
edges?  I got it for twelve bucks and consider it money
well spent."

Don Cleveland writes: "Coins are not the only fakes coming
out of China. When I was in China in September, I paid a
visit on the large, famous, 'Dirt Market', so called because
80 percent of the merchants have stalls on the ground.  The
other 20 percent, however, have small, regular places of
business in a very large two-story shed.  Collectables, coins,
stamps, Mao memorabilia, and banknotes tend to be concentrated
on the upper floor.  Among these shops, it is possible to buy
nearly complete sets of the early Peoples' Bank of China issues
P-800 to P-859.  These are extremely well made reproductions,
the only flaw seeming to be the paper, which is just a tad bit
different than the originals.  (Comparisons are fairly easy to
make, because the same shops usually had genuine notes in used
condition for sale.  The fakes are perfect uncirculated.)

"On my first visit to the Dirt Market to look around, I did
not realize some of the banknotes displayed were fake.  I saw
a set of about ten notes and asked the price.  The lady running
the shop said 3000 renminbi -- reasonable for the condition
and issues represented.  I told her I only had 300 on me.
Without hesitation, she said 'Okay'.  At that, bells started
to go off.  I told her I would be back later, but looked at
some of the used notes of the period she had on display.  Only
then, did I see the paper was slightly different.

"This series of banknotes often appears on Ebay.  They might
be genuine, but I can't help but be suspicious about them.  I
also note some Ebay sellers make statements like 'These are
genuine banknotes, not the counterfeit banknotes made in the
mountains,' or visa versa.  Can anyone tell us what they are
talking about?  Is this a reference to contemporary or modern
reproductions or counterfeits?"

 FEATURED WEB SITE: COUNTERFEIT COINS FROM CHINA
 esylum_v11n17a17.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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