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 Replies: 20 / Views: 2,855 |
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Pillar of the Community
1028 Posts |
Morgan dollars are not my specialty by any means. I've actually never bought one and all the ones I have were passed down to me. I see several of these auctions; http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMaZing-189...em416e3fda20The seller has zero feedback, a silly description, and is offering absurdly low prices. I know the coins are fake. Can anyone point out to me anything they see which would indicate them as being fake. They look okay to me, but like I said, my Morgan knowledge stops at basic grading and key date recognition. Explain why they are fake
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Valued Member
United States
55 Posts |
I don't know much about morgans either, but it looks ok to me anyways. If I were selling fake coins on ebay (I don't and never will) I would use picture of real coins, myself. It claims 5 are available, so he could always claim it was just a "representative picture" and not the real coin. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Heh. He was gone before I could even report him.  It's not that the coin presented is fake. It's not fake. It just doesn't exist, not in the seller's hands. He has no coins. It's probably the same individual or group who have been offering Morgans at ridiculous prices for a long time, and we've been playing Whack-a-mole with them for equally long. Either they've slightly changed their modus operandi, or it's a new group. Usually they hijack an account and sell under it. This was a new account. The hints for this one - which you can't see any more, but I got a glimpse at - were obvious when you look at it. First, the use of English was *slightly* off. Grammatically correct, spelled properly, but not_quite_right for a native English speaker even though they were listed as being in Chicago. Second, the advertised 12-15 day turnaround time. That's enough time to get away with the money, as long as they're dumb enough to think Paypal would release the money to a brand-new seller offering high-dollar items. |
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Locked
822 Posts |
Yep, I get these removed in 20 minutes during the week. Images are stolen from Heritage. They don't have coins. This group has dozens of IDs of mine blocked because I buy one and neg them right away. They don't like me much.
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Moderator
United States
16679 Posts |
Nicely done scubu :-)
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Don't worry, scubu. We love you. |
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Pillar of the Community
 1028 Posts |
Hmmm, it's funny, that actually did not occur to me. I pretty much always assume the coin pictured is what is being sold. That explanation makes total sense, a real picture, and fake or non-existent items. It makes me feel better at least because I could not spot anything about the coins pictured as being fake.
Edited by hesgut
11/13/2012 4:57 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
952 Posts |
hesgut, never assume the coin pictured is what is being sold unless the seller specifically says that.if they don't, ask before you bid. I like looking on ebay but find it much more interesting to go to shows and talk to dealers and pick through their stock. I like my SLQS and some other varieties, and I find that the prices @ shows are not much diff than ebay, and I can see the coin myself before buying. |
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New Member
United States
30 Posts |
The sellers are usually based in Germany or some other foreign country. They will not send you the coin, not even a fake coin. They must be hoping/thinking that some how they can make some money quickly before they are reported. Some of the scammers have a few positive ratings but all the items they have bought are around a dollar each; they do it to have a few good positive ratings to make them look more legit.
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Pillar of the Community
2223 Posts |
Good for you Scubu  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
Hesgut, I'd like to add that (in the case of real coins, not scams) you should keep in mind that a photo is, at best, representative of what you will get in-hand. For example, I have a regular dealer on the Bay; he's an older gentleman selling off a 60+ years old collection, and he's not very good with a digital camera. The best you can say for his photos is that they're not blurry and they're close enough that you can at least see what they are (the lighting is flat and it's often hard to see small details). My first purchase from him was a fluke impulse buy, and when I got it in-hand I was pleasantly surprised to discover the coins actually looked better in-hand--much better, in fact--than in his photos. Part of the reason I buy from him with confidence is because I can almost guarantee the coin will be better in-hand than it is in his photos.
This will also work in reverse. It's possible to make a coin look better in the photo than it is in-hand, just like poor photography will produce the opposite effect. There are tricks both mundane (lights, angles) and digital (Photoshop, GIMP, PaintPro, etc.) to conceal a problem coin.
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Pillar of the Community
1028 Posts |
Yes, I am aware of the nuances when it comes to photographs. I have sold about 2000 coin transactions on more than 1 ebay account and purchased about 300 coin transactions. What happens positive/negative with photographs hasn't been lost on me. I just don't have much Morgan experience as I have bought and sold 0 of those. I couldn't see anything fake in the pictures provided and I didn't think that, outside of stock photos, somebody would just put up a real picture of a Morgan and be selling as a scam. I guess I wasn't thinking too hard as it seems pretty obvious now that it has been mentioned in this thread. |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
I didn't think that, outside of stock photos, somebody would just put up a real picture of a Morgan and be selling as a scam. It's only counterintuitive if you're an honest man. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1227 Posts |
 I don't understand a lot of scams. It seems to me just as easy and far less bad-karma-inducing to put on a shirt and go to work at my real job. |
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Pillar of the Community
2223 Posts |
Part of the 47%....  |
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Replies: 20 / Views: 2,855 |
Posted 11/13/2012 4:28 pm
