Just yesterday morning someone posted some information on the Zeno website (an oriental coin database) about a catalog of Chinese fakes of -- Norwegian coins! E-Sylum readers are familiar with the fake US coins being made in China, and collectors of Chinese coins are aware of how many fake Chinese coins are being made there.

A new book has been published cataloging known Chinese fakes of Norwegian coins: Kinesiske Kroner og Dalere [Chinese Crown and Thaler (Fakes)] by Kjetil Kvist, published in Oslo, Norway in 2009. The 61 page spiral bound book lists more than 60 different Norwegian coins which are being counterfeited in China.

Apparently the author visited one or more of the fake factories or talked to someone who had, and reports the following details:

1) There are around 100 fake coin factories in China today.
2) Each one is capable of producing 100,000 coins per month.
3) It takes about a week to make a new die.
4) The best known counterfeiting operation, Big Tree Coin Factory in Fujian province (opposite Taiwan) employs 30 people.
5) The cost to produce fake coins runs from US 8 cents to 50 cents.
6) The coin factories have a network of distributors around the world. They use eBay for advertising purposes (that is, to attract more distributors).

This information is from the Zeno website (www.zeno.ru) -- a database of images and information on oriental numismatics (that is, everything from the Mediterranean to the Pacific), ancient and modern. There are over 1,500 members around the world and the site presently contains images of over 97,000 items.

Members may upload images of their coins or the coins of others (with permission from the owner), and may make comments on items listed. Membership is free but it is not necessary to be a member to view the site. The site is particularly rich in Islamic, Indian and Chinese coins.

To visit the zeno.ru web site, see:www.zeno.ru