CBC News, the largest news broadcaster in Canada, reports an “explosion in fake U.S. Silver Eagle coins being discovered in Hamilton, Ontario.”

Hamilton, a popular destination for travelers en route to the Greater Toronto area, has just recently seen a meteoric influx of counterfeit bullion. Local coin collectors and pawn shops “are getting duped.”

Hamilton police are warning “fake U.S. silver eagle dollar coins have been circulating in the city and have been sold to various establishments over the past few months.”

And it is not only U.S. Silver Eagles: in Traverse County Michigan, detective Kevin Gray is now looking for another suspect who sold boxes of fake 1-ounce silver bars to “at least three different precious metal buyers in the area.”

Basically, people are buying counterfeit coins or bars online, having them shipped to the United States, and are then driving around trying to sell the fakes. The Oklahoma City and Tulsa area also “get crime reports every other day… the flea markets, gun shows, the consumer is wide open for fraud," says Rod Powers, a numismatist.

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In another video from Canada, Constable Mike La Combe states, “You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference (with) the naked eye. The coins are actually very high-quality fakes... they are silver and nickel-plated, which gives them the look of an actual silver dollar. However, when you cut them open, you can clearly see on the inside, they are brass filled.”

Best selling author, Mike Maloney of GoldSilver.com, says the “high quality fake silver coins and small fake silver bars are being produced in high volumes in China.” We're doing our best to get the word out so fake silver and gold scam artists have a harder time taking advantage of unknowing, innocent people. For example, we explain different methods of testing and findings in a recent GoldSilver Special Report: How To Avoid Fake Silver & Counterfeit Gold Products.

Mike says counterfeiting legal tender is in essence an “act of war…[and] this is very, very serious business.”

Your best defense against fake silver scams is to buy bullion only from reputable dealers, “a place that is established,” to ensure you are dealing with an expert “who knows the difference between real and fake." Dealers who gaurantee the authenticity of every product they offer.