Fake €2 coins circulating, gardaí warn after ‘first seizure of its type’ in Ireland

Gardaí and the Central Bank have issued a warning about fake €2 coins in circulation following the discovery of almost €3,000 worth of counterfeit currency in Dublin.

Several searches were carried out in late July following an investigation by gardaí in Raheny into the circulation of suspicious coins in the local area.

These led to the discovery of 1,460 suspected counterfeit coins with an apparent face value of €2,920. A later examination confirmed they were forgeries.

Garda headquarters said it was the first large-scale seizure of fake coins in Ireland. “It’s very unusual to find these coins in such quality, mainly due to the effort it requires criminals to manufacture them and the relatively small pay-off,” a Garda source said.

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Investigators are trying to determine where the coins came from. The searches did not turn up any manufacturing equipment and initial indications suggest the coins were imported from elsewhere.

However, gardaí are satisfied the suspects under investigation have been involved in the trade of such coins for some time.

One person has been arrested in connection with the seizure and has already appeared before court. Assets worth just under €74,000 have been frozen in connection with the investigation.

The Garda warned if people come into possession of counterfeit coins they are obliged to hand them into the Central Bank’s National Analysis Centre (NAC), the Coin National Analysis Centre (CNAC) or a local bank or Garda station.

There are several methods of determining if a coin is fake, including visual inspection using a magnifying glass. A counterfeit coins may have odd colouring or weight or may feature spelling mistakes and poor-quality images, the Garda said.

Some counterfeit coins will bend if pressure is applied. Magnets can also be used to detect fakes, it said. Genuine €2 and €1 coins are slightly magnetic, while most counterfeit coins “are either very magnetic, non-magnetic or just the ring is magnetic due to the materials used,” the Garda said.