Is It ? Or Is It Not ?

All we have is a photo, so no I can't say for certain what the item is.

But it appears to be a London Mint issue 2012 Tristan da Cunha gold £5. London Mint being a commercial company that produces many things that look like coins from countries that don't use them in various metals for collectors.

You'll note that the listing doesn't specify what carat of gold it might be (or if it's gold at all - it could be plated silver like these coins described here: http://www.24carat.co.uk/frame.php?...ddragon.html )

And there's no Certificate of Authenticity.

is it? or is it not a good idea to stay well clear of such crap on ebay? Yes. It is.

Bargains can be had. But you can also waste your money. In my view? One to avoid.

For some reason they decided the 2009 coin needed tarting up with rubies. I've not managed to find a photo of the 2012 'coin' at all, so can't confirm if it's correct.

As to the gold, well, I try to have my sceptic hat on when I look at ebay. 1oz gold £5 could mean a £5 coin made out of gold. But it can just as easily mean a £5 coin that is gold in colour. If it is gold it could be 24 ct. Or just 9ct. Both gold you'll note! As the link I posted shows, London Mint make TDC 'coins' in various metals and gold plated silver looks just like pure solid gold in the hand.

If you like it and are happy to take a risk .. go for it. Melt on 1 oz (28g) 22ct gold is just a bit under £750, so it has a way to go.

But for myself the fact that it's a private listing, from an antique dealer that ' inherited' the piece and there's no certificate that describes the 'coin' all make me want to run a mile I'm afraid.

Hi ,
Thank you both for your comments , I had noticed the neg feedback. I never did have any intention of buying this coin,I am looking at this sellers record as I believe he is up to no good with Shill bidding etc on items he has listed,I was hoping that someone could confirm that the coin was a definite fake so that I could proceed along those lines with ebay,who as we know have no real interest in getting rid of dodgy sellers.
Many thanks for your help .

Peter.

Seems unlikely someone would bother faking a TDC issue.

When I first started buying on ebay you could spot shill bidding by looking at the buyers. You could also contact bidders and either warn them off or because they had similar interests. A group of us regularly reported dodgy dealings this way.

I made a couple of valuable contacts that way from whom I have learned much of what I know about coins.

Unfortunately in 'improving' ebay, both these options were done away with. ebay claim they have means to spot shill bidding, but clearly that's not very effective. And while they will clamp down on a hint of fakeness related to branded fashion goods, they appear to worry rather less about other items where there isn't a multi-million dollar brand who will sue them.

Of course, they have stopped people selling contemporary counterfeits of numismatic interest on ebay.com. Leading to people having to use stupid terms such as 'non Regal' to avoid listings being pulled. And others claiming 'I inherited this' which seems to mean 'take anything I say about it with a pinch of salt because if it's duff, I'm claiming ignorance'

Sad really.

thanks for all the info .