DUBLIN: Gardaí have issued a warning over fake €2 coins following the seizure of almost €3,000 worth of them in north Dublin.
Officers in Raheny, north Dublin, conducted an investigation into the circulation of the counterfeit coins at the end of last month, and they seized €2 coins with an apparent face value of €2,920.
One person was charged and brought before the court and his bank assets of €73,986 were frozen. Gardaí seized almost 1,500 counterfeit two-euro coins.
Superintendent Caitríona Gunn has said that a missing fada on the word ‘Éire’ is a sign if a coin is fake. If a coin is tilted slightly to the right, it will become clear if the fada is there or not.
Ms Gunn said: “The majority of the coins are purporting to originate from Ireland or Germany and just in relation to a €2 coin, what to actually look out for in this particular seizure is the quality of the coins.
“They’re excellent quality, but on the Irish ones, on the ‘Éire’, there should be fada on the ‘e’ and also the majority of the coins emanate from the year 2007.”
“This the first large seizure of counterfeit coins in this jurisdiction. We’ve never had to this scale, a seizure of such significance, so it’s great success for Raheny Garda Station in relation to the investigation team on that.”