Let's Start A Fake World Coin Seller Thread!

I agree that the Private seller thing is a huge warning siren but I'm surprised that the fakers still actually use it. Bidders names are surpressed anyway and are uncontactable. I can only surmise that they use it to mask shill bidding.

Thanks Swamperbob! A lot of collectors here benefit from your expertise--especially with Spanish colonial coins.

Here's another fake of a Norway 1 Kr type that's getting bid up on ebay. The can be different coins and years, but they all have very similar 'wear' patterns on the king's portrait, as shown below. Compared to a real Kroner, the absence of protected details are probably the best diagnostic.

I have personally reported over 30 auctions involving that same coin in the past 30 days - all but two were cancelled and I can not figure out why those two are still up.

This one of the BAD FAKES I refer to as junk. It is utterly worthless (unless it is pure nickel as they were some time ago). It is also the kind of coin that no serious collector should believe could possibly be real - the design is hideous for 1882.

I know there is a lot of variation in the 8R series BUT NOT BY 1882. People need to keep their heads screwed on straight and just ignore these auctions.

I have an ebay hit-list of a dozen or so bad fakes (junk) that I think need to be reported. Most of the others DO NOT. But certainly NO early Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits are not on that list. I follow several big auction houses and European bidders are far more sophisticated in relation to collecting counterfeits that have a significant history behind them. Rare contemporary counterfeits routinely sell (for some countries like Russia) above $500.

I also have a problem with bidders who place high bids on anything they recognize as counterfeit and then refuse to honor their bids. I know that may sound odd, because these people think they are protecting someone. But if one of these junk copies starts at 99 cents and a new counterfeit collector wants one for fun - why run up the price for someone who would be interested for educational purposes?

I have a pet peeve against people who run up counterfeit coins with no intent to buy because counterfeits are what I am interested in. In one case my $500 snipe was topped and the high bidder then refused to pay. The seller then comes to me asking if I want to honor my bid! If that idiot had not bid - I would have won the coin for under $50 instead I had a hard time getting the coin for $200.

So that "nice guy" cost me $150. They obviously only knew the coin was a counterfeit - they had no idea what it really was. A little bit of information can often cause a lot of problems.

In the case of this 1882, the seller knows because I wrote to him as well as the ebay review committee.

Chinese copy of a 1913 Australian half-penny, currently listed on ebay as genuine.

1913 Australian half-penny

This particular seller has been trying to shift altered date 1930 Australian pennies recently, with little or no disclosure.

At least one other of his current listings looks very suspect to me, which casts doubt on several of his high grade items.

wonghinghi The committee will and does review postings and reports from all areas. Last week I know there was a problem and a substitute was sending TPG reports for a few days. That may have delayed your report.

I can tell you that I never saw it but I did see another report made YESTERDAY by another member - so it seems that ebay is up to date as of last night - less any losses that occurred last week.

I looked at the auction and it clearly violates ebay policy. BUT NOT because it is a counterfeit coin because counterfeits are legal to sell in the UK. The violation is that the seller will ship to the US. The illegal activity is IMPORTING and unmarked counterfeit into the US. So I asked if it could be terminated for that reason.

Many countries like China, Spain, France and Italy have laws that allow some counterfeits to be sold. The normal violation on ebay is shipping to the US. ebay can not terminate an auction in a foreign country for an action that is legal there. BUT they can stop the auction if the seller says he will ship to the US. They also seem to stop auctions on US ebay posted by overseas sellers when they clearly describe the item as COUNTERFEIT.

I have asked for a specific clarification in this case to see what happened to your report.

Swamperbob : you mean that anything fake on ebay which is not sold in the US will not be removed ? Sh*t ...

I guess where I would take issue with online market places and their positions on counterfeiting, copies, etc., is that while it may not be illegal in all countries to manufacture or sell reproductions that are not clearly identified as such, it is almost universally illegal to attempt to defraud through misrepresentation.

My problem isn't with having copies out there, but with having unmarked reproductions, deliberately designed to deceive.

IMHO, by facilitating such practices, surely one becomes complicit in the fraud, particularly once informed.

For an individual, being 'too busy' is not an excuse - In no other area of commercial practice is 'being too busy' a legitimate excuse for not complying with legal obligations.

I suppose the much bigger issue for such on-line marketplaces would be liability for the facilitation of sale of stolen goods, as it isn't restricted to collectible items.

Call me cynical, but I have no doubt at all that the big online market places have thought long and hard about their positions on these sorts of practices.

I am sure they are very aware the impact it would have on their turnover if they were to become pro-active (such as reporting to authorities, etc), and have instead moved to insulate themselves by moving headquarters to states and countries that have laws more suited to protecting them from prosecution or liability, and modified their terms and conditions to further insulate.

OK - so I've accepted that the world isn't fair.

The one positive that does come from all of this, is that honest, reliable, and fair operators can build up a reputation and develop repeat business a little easier.

Hardly a satisfactory position, but it's what we have, so if I want to be involved I need to accept this,(of course with the aim to improve).

I wonder, will it be the eventual downfall of such online marketplaces? Only history will tell.

For all of the reasons above, and more, any step in the right direction is very significant and should be encouraged, IMHO.

Go hard Swamperbob - you certainly have my support.