Why Would Anyone Buy A Replica Coin?

His ID is the giveaway.
https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?...eplica-world

Doesn't matter, not allowed on ebay.

Out of curiosity I just read ebay's policy on posting replica coins and it clearly states it's not allowed. However, I then searched "replica coins" and found this heading: "494 results for replica coins". I guess having laws on the books that are not enforced happens in a lot of places.

ebay rules aren't fairly applied though. I once listed a vintage necklace that had a small ivory center. Since it was old and the ivory was the size of a pea it didn't occur to me that it would be forbidden. I was threatened with lifetime banishment even though there were dozens of other pieces clearly listed as ivory that were never removed. ebay has a lot to clean up on their site.

ebay couldn't care less about the HPA, none of them are allowed.

I buy replica coins. I even have some counterfeits in my collection. To me it's about the education and I need to see these things in hand. I have a nice original WWII patch collection and I buy the replica patches too. They get better every week and you have to be on top of your game or you will get smacked one day. I just bought a replica Peace dollar at the PAN show in a junk bin for $5. It's part of collecting in my opinion.

To answer the OP's not-entirely-rhetorical question: there are lots of (perfectly honest) reasons why people would buy a replica coin.

- Some coins are attractive but utterly unobtainable, either for a reasonable price or for any money. People therefore want replicas of these coins as representative of the design. "A hole in the album is better than a replica" is one attitude, but not the only possible attitude. "A replica is better than a picture in a book" is another, equally viable attitude.

- Some countries forbid the sale or export of certain types of coins (usually those over a certain age). For people in those countries who want to collect those coins, they have three choices: break the law, collect replicas, or forget about collecting those coins and collect something else. As someone who wishes to encourage coin collecting even in countries where it is officially frowned upon, I see that second option as the best of the three.

- Replicas are often a cheap souvenir of your visit to a historic site or location. A museum or archaeological site is not going to sell you genuine coins found on the location, for ideological reasons; if you don't have the time or local knowledge to find a nearby coin dealer, the replicas are your only option for a numismatic souvenir.

- Unlike ebay's binary yes/no option for dealing with non-genuine coins, "replicas" fall on a continuum of historic significance, from cheap Chinese forty-thieves knock-offs to contemporary circulating counterfeits. And most collectors have some point on that continuum where the "replica" is a desirable and acceptable component of the collection. We always say "collect what you like", and that matter of personal opinion and taste extends to replicas.