Welcome to Coin Fraud Help

Rare coin expert Mike Fuljenz describes this coin as “a national treasure.” Besides being aesthetically unrivaled, he points out, it also contains nearly one full ounce of gold, so it represents a substantial store of value just as bullion.  Most of these coins were universally considered bullion coins at their time of issue.  And the series includes a number of high gold bullion content coins with low mintage figures – several of which have changed hands for prices in the millions. One of those coins, dated 1933, sold in 2002 for more than $7.5 million, the highest price ever paid for a single coin.  What is this special coin type?

If there were a hobby heaven, the angels would reserve a first place of honor for the Saint. That may be a play on words, but it’s also a fact. Mike Fuljenz noted that by almost universal acclaim, the most beautiful coin ever produced by the United States Mint is the stunning double eagle, or $20 gold piece, designed by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. This masterpiece of American coinage art, minted from 1907 to 1933, doesn’t have a halo: It features a dramatic portrait of Miss Liberty on the front and a majestic flying eagle on the back. Hobbyists call it the “Saint” as a shorthand form of its creator’s last name.

Although their gold bullion content provides a high base value for genuine Saints, even common-date specimens are generally worth more as collectibles than as precious metal. In mint condition, they can be worth much more. Because of their high value and broad appeal, these extraordinary coins have caught the eye of disreputable companies –including online businesses and auctions – perpetrating scams on unwary buyers. The elderly are especially susceptible to such fraud, which sometimes involves counterfeit coins and other times genuine but overgraded, overpriced coins.

Choosing a reputable coin dealer beforehand can make life easier than hiring a lawyer afterward to file time consuming and emotionally draining lawsuits.


Mike Fuljenz is a skilled coin and bullion expert and a 2009 award-winning author.  He provides inestimable experience and knowledge of all things numismatic.

Mike Fuljenz says colorization is not always a good thing.  Technicolor movies transformed the “silver screen” into a visual rainbow and brought new vibrancy to American pop culture. Color TV consigned black-and-white “boob tubes” to the fringes of national life and soon became a universal presence in Americans’ living rooms. Color photographs now enliven most leading newspapers; many, in fact, reserve the front page for the splashiest full-color photo every day. Color, in short, can be a powerful tool for enhancing the appeal of a product.

There’s a very big exception to this rule. Adding color to a coin could reduce – if not erase – any value it might have had as a collectible. Mike Fuljenz, a leading expert and author on coin and bullion values, cautions collectors about offerings of “colorized” coins for sale through TV commercials and newspaper and magazine advertisements. Typically, he says, some businesses add eye-catching colors to 50-state quarters and other special coins produced by the U.S. Mint, then peddle the debatably “enhanced” coins for prices many times their small face value, to the young and elderly alike.

The average man and woman in the street might find these coins’ bright red, green, blue and gold colors attractive – even artistic. But, Mr. Fuljenz cautions, collectors typically view such coins as damaged goods. One of the first rules new collectors learn, he says, is: Never touch the surfaces of a coin. That means no contact, no cleaning – and no colorizing, especially outside the manufacturing mint.

Selling coins that have been colorized outside a mint might not be illegal, Mr. Fuljenz says, but any sales spiels suggesting that the colorizing process adds substantial value would be misleading if the claims become too outrageous. At the very least, he says, buying quantities of them for high prices over the coin’s face value should only be done after careful research and consideration.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; those who buy colorized coins because they find them “pretty” might think they’re getting their money’s worth and truly enjoy them. But those who buy them in hopes of making money are probably doomed to disappointment.

Mr. Fuljenz states, “Simply stated, colorized coins in most cases will never be worth a pretty penny.


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Mike Fuljenz is one of the most universally decorated coin experts of the last 30 years.  He has won the Presidential Service Award from the American Numismatic Association.  Coin marketing is a tough business in the best of times, but with so many coin frauds and scams operating out of fly-by-night buildings, manned by aggressive telemarketers, his well-established coin and bullion company must overcome the natural resistance of consumers accustomed to cold calls from unfriendly and anonymous coin salesmen.  That’s why time-tested stability is the first thing buyers should look for in their coin dealer.  Verify that a coin business is a member in good standing with the Better Business Bureau.

In order to test the validity of a coin dealer, the first thing you must do, Mike Fuljenz says, is buy low-margin gold bullion coins, to see if coin dealers mark up their bullion too far.  In normal market times, the mark up should be about 6% over spot bullion for one ounce pieces.  If you see a coin dealer charging 10% of more over spot gold prices for a commonly traded one ounce bullion coin, that’s a red flag.  The dealers should also honor a “Do Not Call” request.  Most phone salesmen try to change the subject or attack the elderly person’s resolve by intimidation, but any telemarketer should always honor any such “do not call” request.  Finally, always ask if dealers buy back the products they sell.  Reputable coin dealers typically pay more for coins they previously sold.