About: Amanda Blommel

The Surface of a Counterfeit by F. Michael Fazzari Early in my career as a professional numismatist specializing in authentication and grading, I made the determination that I didn’t care to know how a counterfeit coin was made or what method or concoction was used to alter a coin’s surface.  I...

The Fabric of a Coin by F. Michael Fazzari The characteristics of a coin’s surface – its color and “fabric” – can provide important clues to its authenticity.  While color is an easy term to grasp, many readers may not have heard the term “fabric” used to describe a coin.  I...

The Attack of the Counterfeits by F. Michael Fazzari Our hobby is under attack in a way that calls for some drastic changes in order to protect the marketplace from a new plague of deceptive counterfeits. Let’s trace earlier generations of bogus coins and explore some of the new fakes...

Lots of Chinese Fakes Out There by F. Michael Fazzari At the American Numismatic Association Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colo., I had the opportunity to look in on a class dealing with the Chinese counterfeiting threat taught by Dr. Gregory Dubay and Beth Deisher. I could only stay about...

Grading by Photos? by F. Michael Fazzari They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, that is not always the case when grading and authenticating coins. Years ago, I remember seeing a very large photo of a 1913 Liberty nickel in another publication and thinking “That coin cannot possibly be...