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 Replies: 13 / Views: 2,928 |
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Valued Member
United States
286 Posts |
Hi, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this on the counterfeit forum but if it belongs there please move it there. I've been bidding on a lot of Braided Half Cents lately for my date set, and I've noticed that a LOT of the recent listings have been from Russian sellers. I didn't think much of this at first, I bid on a lot of them and even won one, which arrived as described. However, I'm still seeing them after a couple months and starting to get a little creeped out. All of the coins look very similar, more so than any given 30+ coins have any right to; all are in the same cleaned F-VF grade and the surfaces have a "cloudy" appearance that seems unnaturally smooth. Between the overall similarity of the coins, the Russian origin, and the basically identical listings for all of them, I'm becoming suspicious that they may just be dolled up Chinese fakes sold by the same seller running multiple accounts in case he gets caught. All of the sellers have under 100 feedback, and all are also selling Buffalo nickels alongside the Half Cents, strangely enough. Here are some examples: dendrapot: https://www.ebay.com/sch/dendrapot/...046732.m1684ravenrz: https://www.ebay.com/sch/ravenrz/m....046732.m1684makhemil1: https://www.ebay.com/sch/makhemil1/...046732.m1684tsetsa38: https://www.ebay.com/sch/Coins-US/2...046732.m1684The only ID that currently has Half Cents for sale is makhemil1. All I've bought is one 1851 Half Cent from ravenrz for a total of $20, so thankfully I'm not taking a hard hit if they're fake, but if the fakes are getting so good they're only noticeable when a bunch of the same type are listed, that's pretty scary. I cannot find anything about the individual coins that tells me they're counterfeit, but tsetsa38 has some Barber dimes that don't look right to me, and the whole setup is definitely making me nervous. Someone tell me I'm just overreacting. |
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Valued Member
United States
220 Posts |
They all look fake to me. I'm no expert and I didn't read all of your post before looking, but I noticed the same things you did. The mushy appearance and similar wear to everything. I think they look terrible even if they were real, but my gut says they're all fake. I'm sure someone who's an expert can tell you exactly what it is that makes it a dead giveaway.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I would completely stay away from those sellers. I don't have any specific diagnostics to point out for the coins, but if all they sell is braided HCs and Buffs and they all look eerily similar, there's a problem. I looked at a Barber dime from the last seller you posted and I'm 99% sure it's a polished fake. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
I don't buy anything from anyone who doesn't live in the US, Canada, or Germany, and even then, always with the highest level of suspicion.
Almost certainly fakes.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
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Valued Member
 United States
286 Posts |
I 100% agree with you, Spruett. Mind you, the one item I bought from them was long before I began to notice the overarching trends I highlighted here. The Barber dimes in particular appear to be the fakest-looking to me; the account I bought from isn't peddling those, but being under suspicion that they're all the same person, nothing that has been said so far is making me any more optimistic about my coin's chances. At least the comments seem to indicate that if the Half Cents are fakes, they are unusually good ones and I'm not a complete idiot for biting. I will be taking a hard pass on any future Half Cent offerings by these sellers regardless; it seems shady all around. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1277 Posts |
yeah don't buy coins from russia
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36738 Posts |
Agree, all look fake. I would not buy any coins from China or Russia unless you know who you are buying from.
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Valued Member
United States
413 Posts |
This reminds me of my friend who stupidly got excited and placed a bid on a gold coin from Russia.
When it arrived, he summoned me to his home. He handed a small coin to me and asked me if it is a gold coin or not.
I saw the coin and immediately told him no. It was a Russian 10 kopeck—very small coin made of brass. I explained to him that it is an ordinary "10 cent coin" used in Russia.
I helped him with returning the coin to seller but the bank simply told him that he does not have to due to the fact the item from Russia. I told him to stay away from Russian sellers.
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
One of the sellers you have mentioned makhemil1 is still selling several Braided Hair Half Cents Each week. Two are going off tonight . These Counterfeit Half Cents aren't even that great they all have the same diagnostics when you compare the pictures in this persons sold history. Such as lines scratches some dates actually share the same dies as other dates upon close inspection. I have contacted ebay over the phone once & sent several reports . They depend on the ebay community as they have no US Half Cent experts on staff. This is what I gathered from my phone call with them. Every coin they have sold is a fake Half Cent in the past few months. You can easily see this in their sold history. Most have been worn down & toned in a primitive manner although to a collector that doesn't attribute by Cohen Numbers & has no attribution guides they can be fooled by these fakes. |
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Moderator
 United States
188213 Posts |
 to the Community, middledates! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I agree with middledates. I just took a look at one of the 49's, a 55, and a53, and all three of them share the same reverse die.
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Valued Member
United States
286 Posts |
Edited by 1796NoPole
12/22/2020 5:40 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Most of the lots are now down or gone.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 2,928 |
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Posted 12/17/2018 01:58 am
