OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Army veteran Chris Bowen bought 50 silver dollar coins online to give to fellow veterans. A coin expert said the coins are fake.
Bowen hands out silver coins to veterans he meets who served in all branches of the military. He spent about $1,500 on the coins from a New York seller. He said he will not give them to other veterans.
Veteran suspected coins were counterfeit
Bowen said he suspected the 50 silver dollar coins he bought from a New York seller might be counterfeit.
He compared one of the coins to a silver dollar from the U.S. Mint.
“Once you look at it close enough, you can see the luster is completely different,” Bowen said.
“The weight of them is very close to what the real silver should weigh,” Bowen said. “Someone took their time to make these things.”
Coin expert tests the collection
Chris Holtberg of Millard Jewelry and Coin to examined the collection. How to tell which coin is real and which is fake?
“On a machine,” Holtberg said.
Holtberg said the machine is a precious metal verifier that can measure a coin’s density.
“Well, the density is different, and that’s what the machine records and tells you it’s fake,” Holtberg said.
Cost to the veteran
Bowen paid an average of about $30 each for the silver dollars, which are likely worthless.
“I feel absolutely taken, but I should have known better. The price was too good,” Bowen said.
Holtberg said people who buy coins online can bring them in for testing.
“Even if they buy online, they can bring them here and I’ll test them so they know if they’re real or not,” Holtberg said. “Because I’ve had some like this gentleman who bought them online, thought they were real and they’re all fake.”
What happens next
Bowen hopes the Omaha office of the U.S. Secret Service will take the coins.
“I can’t sell them, can’t give them away because I could get in trouble,” Bowen said.
The resident agent in charge of the Omaha Secret Service office said counterfeit coins turned in to law enforcement are destroyed.
The Secret Service sent tips to help avoid buying counterfeit coins. They will be posted on the station’s website.
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