Those fearing counterfeit dollars turn to gold: The crisis benefits gold

A crisis erupted in the foreign exchange market following reports that counterfeit dollars printed abroad were being attempted to be circulated in Turkey. While some banks and exchange offices stopped accepting dollars as a precaution, citizens who had purchased dollars for investment purposes turned to gold out of fear of 'counterfeit dollars'.

Pointing out that the issue regarding counterfeit currency lies with money counting machines and ATMs, Yusuf Yaşar, President of the Konya Goldsmiths and Jewelers Association, said, “The problem is not that there are counterfeit dollars. Counterfeit dollars have existed for years. As with all world currencies, they have always existed and always will. The real problem is with our money counting machines and ATMs. They have made such realistic counterfeit dollars that they pass through both ATMs and our money counting machines. When this happens, exchange offices and banks are anxious about what will happen if counterfeit dollars pass through the machines. That is why the purchase of 50-dollar bills, in particular, has been stopped. Also, as you know, there are 2 types of 100-dollar bills. One is the old type, one is the new type. The new types are very rare, they are not seen. That is already obvious, but there is a big problem with the 100-dollar bills we call the old white dollars. They pass through the machines' counterfeit scanners. When this happens, everyone is worried. If we ask how this will be solved; both banks and exchange offices have stopped buying dollars until new programs are installed in the machines we use. Once new programs are installed in the machines, the old order will return and buying or selling will continue.”

Yaşar stated that the anxiety over counterfeit currency has reflected on people, saying, “If we look at the reaction of the citizens, those who had bought them before have started to become anxious. Thoughts like ‘How will I sell this, is it stuck in my hands’ have emerged. It will be solved, but this solution takes time. After 1 week, 10 days, or 15 days, when new updates and machines are made, it will continue on its normal course. Because of the counterfeit dollar anxiety, our citizens have started to think that almost all of them are fake. Actually, there is no such thing. Investors are now worried and afraid to buy dollars, and as a result, there has been a shift toward gold. I don't know what will happen in the coming days, but it will get back on track, it won't go on like this. A customer called me the day before yesterday and said, ‘I have 20 thousand dollars. It's the old type, I need to sell it, what should I do?’ There is no remedy for now other than waiting.”

Mustafa Tok, who constantly prefers to invest in gold, said, “After the news about the counterfeit nature of the dollars came out, we were inevitably worried. Of course, as it has been for years, gold is an indispensable investment tool in my opinion. Gold is an investment that will never lose its value and will always gain value. Gold is our own unit of investment, but foreign currency is not like that. Gold is always the best.” Muzaffer Yılmaz, who explained that he invests from time to time, said, “I don't think you can incorporate the dollar into your life everywhere, but I think gold will always be in your life. Our investment is directly in gold. My opinion is that gold is a more solid resource,” he expressed.

Muharrem Dölek said, “I bought dollars from a customer 1 month ago, and I have been carrying them in my pocket since then; no one is buying them. My investment is definitely in gold,” he stated.