Crown Courts
| Published date | 01 January 1977 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201837704100103 |
| Date | 01 January 1977 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Crown
Courts
Comments
on
Cases
ALLEGED
MAKING
AND
UTTERING
OF
COUNTERFEIT
COLLECTORS'
COINS
R. o,
Jackson
and
others
Ten
defendants
were
tried
in this case before
O'Connor
J.
at
Manchester
in
the
Autumn
term
on
charges
of
conspiracy
to
utter
counterfeit
coins,
and
to
import
or
receive
counterfeit
coins
into
the
United
Kingdom.
The
coins were
not
copies
of
those in
circulation,
but
of
various
issues called in,
some
over
a
century
ago.
They
were gold or
silver coins;
and
some
were
prized
by collectors for
their
beau
ty, like
the
Gothic
Crown,
and
some
for
their
rarity.
Being
of
precious
metal
the
coins
had
considerable
value,
even if fakes.
A
certain
Chaloud
in
Beirut
was responsible, by
himself
or his
workers,
for a
supply
of
counterfeits
of
rare
and
beautiful coins bril-
liantly
executed
from dies for the
genuine
originals.
In
time he
arranged
a
distrubutor
in
England,
where
he knew to exist
many
dealers,
coin
fairs
and
advertising
mediums,
as well as
private
collectors.
But
this
dealer,
Mr.
Stocks,
was
deported
in 1972
after
the
discovery
of
his
coining
offences.
Chaloud
recruited
from
the
fringe
of
the
coin
trade
to
replace
Stocks.
He
wanted
a
high
price
for
the
first
hundred
of
each
set
of
counterfeits,
and
they
had
to be collected from his
staffin
Beirut
and
carried
via
Amsterdam
to
England.
It
being
highly
unwise
to flood the
market
in
England
for
the
sake
of
quick
returns,
the
accused
Walmsley
and
McAllister
financed the
venture
to
the
extent
of
£15,000,
and
Jackson
also
regulated
the
"issues".
Davies
carried
specimen
coins
which
were
found
on
him
by
the
police
and
were
counterfeit. A
small
honest
trade
in copy coins
did
exist.
The
value
of
the
coinage
involved in
the
case,
had
it been
genuine,
was
half
amillion
pounds.
The
youngest
accused,
who
had
delt
in coins
since
his
'teens,
was
used by
Jackson
to
get
the
bags
of
coins from a
locker
at
Schipol
airport,
through
the
customs
and
over
to
England
for
£75
or
£50 a
trip,
with
expenses
paid.
A
large
number
of
witnesses were called;
and,
as well as
private
collectors
who
had
overpaid
(often for
Gothic
crowns),
staff
of
well-
known
coin-dealers,
and
of
the
Royal
Mint,
gave
evidence
of
testing.
The
latest
of
the
coins
represented
were
about
the
DiamondJubilee
era:
and
the
small
number
minted
of
some
Georgian
sovereigns
explained
their
high
value
when
genuine;
although
the gold
content
of
such
acoin
is in
any
case
now
worth
much
above
its face
value.
One
of
the
accused,
Conway,
pleaded
Guilty,
was
sentenced,
and
gave
evidence
for
the
Prosecution.
Mr.
D. McNeill,
Q.C.
in
the
final
3
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