Counterfeit Euro coins…the facts
By Global Coins Agency Ltd. on Industry News
Much is made around Europe of the threat of counterfeit Euro coins, and indeed we support the efforts of OLAF and their affiliates to keep a close eye on the emergence of criminals who would try their hand at minting counterfeit Euro coins.
Most of the coin counting machines to be found in member states are compliant with EC regulations that demand that they recognize a counterfeit coin when it is submitted for reimbursement.
Together, these agencies and technologies are doing a fantastic job in virtually eliminating counterfeit Euro coins. Her are the facts as reported by the European commission on 14th. October 2015
(source: C(2015) 6960 final):
Total number of coins checked by designated national authorities: 5,942,444,047
Total number of counterfeit coins detected: 192,195
My calculator doesn’t allow me to enter the first number but that means that 0.00003% of coins processed in 2014 were classed as fake.
Oh and one more thing….if you were to guess where the 19 illegal mints of Euros are that have been uncovered since the introduction of the Euro, where would they be?
Hands up who said China?
Sorry think again! Maybe because the punishment for indulging in such criminal activity there is the death penalty.
So, for the record, here is the list(Source OLAF: http://ec.europa.eu/anti_fraud/documents/press-releases/2013_italian_counterfeit_coin_raid_en.pdf)
Italy……….10
Spain………2
Austria…….1
Portugal…. 1
Hungary… 1
Poland…….1
Bulgaria….1
Belgium….1
Greece……1
History suggest we should look to our own backyard for these criminals, rather than than reveal our innate prejudices.