Fight against counterfeits gets new structure

Organized numismatics’ Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force has been transferred from the Industry Council for Tangible Assets to the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation.

This change was effective Nov. 15.

Retired Coin World editor Beth Deisher will continue to serve as director of anti-counterfeiting. She has a home office in Sylvania, Ohio.

The task force was created by ICTA in January 2017 following an industrywide summit held in August 2016, according to Deisher. It has 44 volunteer members.

Deisher summarized ACTF’s mission as mobilizing law enforcement to protect the integrity of U.S. coinage by educating officials about the growing threat that counterfeit circulating coins, collectible classic coins, and investment bullion coins and precious metals bars pose to the collecting community and the public.

In addition, the task force provides education and training for law enforcement, the collecting community, and the general public.

Foundation Acting President Gary Linthicum expressed the ACEF board’s appreciation for ICTA’s leadership, work, and financial support in launching the task force.

Linthicum said that ICTA is giving to the foundation the office equipment that it purchased for use by the director of anti-counterfeiting and will provide administrative support during the transition.

“We expect the task force and Beth to continue their work uninterrupted during the transition, and we look forward to making major headway in our shared mission of defeating the counterfeiters and making our marketplace safer for all buyers and sellers,” Linthicum said.

Meanwhile, ICTA will be free to focus on another problem facing the hobby and industry.

ICTA Executive Director Jimmy Hayes said the transfer to the foundation of its anti-counterfeiting effort will allow ICTA to focus on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding South Dakota vs. Wayfair, which permits states and localities to tax all retail sales (brick-and-mortar and Internet) based on the location of the buyer.

Hayes said ICTA will seek a legislative remedy to the costly and burdensome mandate requiring coin dealers to collect and remit sales taxes to every taxing jurisdiction throughout the nation. There are thousands.

With the transfer to the foundation, both ICTA and the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force will each then not be a distraction to the other. They each can laser focus on their core missions.

The task force and foundation are entirely funded by donations. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation at P.O. Box 903, Sylvania, OH 43560.

For information about making a donation, Deisher can be telephoned at 567-202-1795.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017. He is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."