People are being asked to be aware of fake €2 coins following the seizure of almost 1,500 of them.

Gardaí said that an investigation into the circulation of the counterfeit coins was undertaken by officers in Raheny in north Dublin.

As a result, a number of searches were carried out at the end of last month.

During these searches, €2 coins, with an apparent face value of €2,920, were seized and found to be counterfeit.

One person was charged and brought before the courts, and assets with a value of €73,986 have been frozen in bank accounts.

Superintendent Caitríona Gunn has said that a missing fada on the word 'Éire' is a giveaway sign if a coin is counterfeit.

Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, Ms Gunn said that if a coin is tilted slightly to the right, it will become clear if the fada is there or not.

"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," she said.

"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."

She said that Raheny Garda Station in Dublin worked on the investigation that led to the seizure.

"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," she said.

People are being advised to visit the Central Bank website, for more information on counterfeit currency.

Counterfeit coins may also display the following visual features when compared to a known genuine coin:

  • Poor quality image detail
  • Different colour ring and/or core
  • Edge lettering missing, incorrect spelling or font (using similar country coin)
  • Different sizes
  • Thickness, diameter
  • Different sized ring or core
  • Different weight