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Valued Member
269 Posts |
I took a look at ebay today and seen a fake 1923 Australian halfpenny about to sell for over $500. The same seller has a history with 1923 Halfpennies. The first image the current sale, the others recent.    *the crack is not from a die I am aware that there have been several posts on CCF about the 1923 halfpenny but I wanted to press the point that here in 2018 the trend has not only continued, but worsened. Over half (easily) of all 1923 halfpennies on ebay Australia are fakes. Not necessarily Chinese at all - those, such as the first here are obvious. There is no debate on my claim they are fake - they are. I'd accept any bet on that. To prospective buyers of 1923 halfpennies - may I suggest you search this 'How To Pick A Fake 1923 Halfpenny' and there is a nice beginner guide which is well written. To the seller of these - Please stop selling garbage and taking money from honest people, it's sickening. Cheers Edited by CoinOS
02/04/2018 10:58 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I am not a fan of slabbed coins, (most Aussies are only lukewarm to slabs) however,
I would not buy a 1923 Halfpenny these days, unless it carried an assurance that the coin is genuine.
All TPGraders should be well aware that all 1923 Halfpennies that are submitted, need be considered for authenticity.
The alternative is to take it to a dealer who you know is very experienced in the identification of fakes of these.
A large proportion of 1923 genuine Halfpennies carry evidence of die cracking. Unfortunately the fakers know this as well, and therefore evidence (or a lack of) of die cracking is not diagnostic of a fake anymore.
I admit that I can't pick any more than the obvious fakes with these; I haven't specialised in Australian coins since the mid 1970's.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
908 Posts |
Unfortunately many dealers aren't trustworthy these days so if you are unable to
pick a fake from a genuine coin then the only way to own one of these is to buy
a slabbed example preferably by PCGS as they seem to be more consistent IMO
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
599 Posts |
Yep there are heaps of fake 1923 halfpennies around.
Keep in mind that they are not rare anyway.
They have been hyped up by the dealers for decades as "rare".
Just don't buy them.
Watch your top knot
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
About 15,000 genuine examples are thought to exist.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
599 Posts |
15000 is the mintage number from McDonalds and is oft quoted by dealers to suggest that the coin is rare.
Collectors should forget this number, ignore the hype and check how many genuine examples are actually available for sale.
Heaps.
Just avoid all 1923 halfpennies altogether.
Problem solved.
Watch your top knot
Edited by echidna
02/05/2018 07:55 am
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Valued Member
 269 Posts |
There is no conclusive mintage for 1923 halfpennies. The best work into the mystery was done by Paul Holland and John Sharples, and their efforts both appear in Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia - all issues of which are free to view online. Holland Vol.20 article.4 Master dies and tools from The Royal Mint
for Australian pennies and halfpennies
of George VSharples Vol.1 article.1 Australian Coins 1919 to 1924It's a trophy coin and has little to no investment value unless you are buying it to bequeath down the generations. It is very attractive to many keydate collectors and the remarkable no. of duds being sold spurred me to put this here in the hope that shoppers will be aware, and do their homework. I would not touch an unauthenticated 1923 1/2d and if I was hellbent on owning one, I'd buy a nice one - which don't come cheap. Coinworks sold a proof example in 2009 for a half million dollars, and a well known Sydney shop currently has an AU50 for only  ten thousand. Edited by CoinOS
02/05/2018 08:34 am
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21583 Posts |
It's not only the Half Penny being counterfeited, here is a counterfeit 1931 Penny that I reported that is on ebay. It is listed for $50.00 US  |
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Valued Member
269 Posts |
As I type this .. another unstoppable ebay fraud.  I reported it - ebay did nothing. A friend reported it - ebay did nothing. Anyone that knows Australian coins does not have to examine that closely to see it's a fake. It's obvious to blind freddy. Apparently blind freddy's vision is better than ebay's. One question comes to mind: If a person cannot spot that as fake - why are they collecting coins? Bids are over $300 for a fake worthless thing that should never have been allowed on ebay. The seller should have his account closed today, but no.. Australian ebay's incompetence knows no limit. They need a staff shakeup. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2180 Posts |
What's the holder it's in?
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I sure hope PCGS know what they are doing. A good point to be made, is that not all dealers are completely savvy on how to pick fake 1923 Halfpennies. How do you pick which dealers are, and which dealers are not fully confident in this regard? I know one honest dealer who is not prepared to sell a '23 Halfpenny. (He sells mainly modern bright 'n shinies) My judgement with '23 Halfpennies is not perfectly reliable, either. I am forced to humbly admit occasional defeat on the most deceiving examples.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1039 Posts |
Quote:
A good point to be made, is that not all dealers are completely savvy on how to pick fake 1923 Halfpennies.
How do you pick which dealers are, and which dealers are not fully confident in this regard? Yep,not many of the old guard left,new breed are Internet savvy and will buy & sell just about anything. The 1923 half was probably the most counterfeited Coin in Australia up until the Chinese got into the market. The guy that got busted in Melb.in the late 1960's for the fake Florins had shoe box's full of 1923 fake halves. Still,IMO,this is the best Coin Collecting environment we have had since I was at School in the 1960's thanks to the Internet and the wealth of knowledge on there.eBay just has to get tough with fakes when their ID.listing cancelled or put in a section for Replica's. Edited by Basil
03/17/2018 6:45 pm
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Valued Member
269 Posts |
Sorry I forgot to ID the auction for that: 263548839469That coin was never graded, those holders are sold on ebay and various Chinese sites. Image resized and brightened>  The easiest way to spot Chinese 1923 halfpennies is the date. The 9,2 and 3 are all wrong - especially the 3 which is nothing like the genuine coin pictured below.  On a CCF thread it was stated that a fake 1923 halfpenny was graded and slabbed but none of the links work and I cannot find a photo. If it did happen - it's not a mistake that will be repeated. |
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Valued Member
Australia
185 Posts |
Hi all There is one Victorian seller who sold a 1923 1/2 penny for $360.50 + $12.90 postage on 17.3.2018 and allegedly lives in Seaford. That very same seller has a 1946 Penny listed for auction, yet now lives in the next door suburb of Frankston, Victoria. His other sold listings on the proud home of counterfeits, ebay, from early January 2018 indicates he lives in Frankston. So, he sold a 1923 1/2 penny on 17.3.2018 from Seaford, Vic, and yet has a 1946 Penny listed for auction today, 18.3.2018, from Frankston ?. It could be that this "sunnyone" is busy in his back shed in the suburb which has more sunlight beaming into his back shed on the day. Enables him to produce better quality outcomes to list for wood duck Freddies to buy. |
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Valued Member
Australia
222 Posts |
You may be referring to a fake 1923 halfpenny in an NGC holder in Heritage a few years back. Collector here noticed it, reported it to Heritage, and it was pulled.
Eric Eigner
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
There always remains the possibility of fake slabs.
Impossible to fully investigate the coin inside, unless you break it out.
With the modern ability to fake credit cards to a very high level, it is almost a retrograde step in terms of the ability of the Chinese fakers, to manufacture fake slabs.
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Replies: 23 / Views: 8,401 |
Posted 02/05/2018 05:00 am
