travelcoin

I bid on a 1795 draped bust dollar on ebay, and I know there are a lot of fakes out there, especially sellers from china, but I could not resist to bid on the coin, and I won the bidding at a $1000. The seller says the coin is returnable and the purchase is guaranteed through paypal, but I still have my doubts about sending the money. If anyone has any time to check out the coin, please click below----

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110366170118&ru=http%3 A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll% 3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D%2B110366 170118%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

I have been reading on fake coins all day long and I do not have the knowledge to judge the photo. Nor do I expect anyone else to. Any input would help me out. I appreciate your time for at least reading my plea-
thank you---travelcoin

Hobo

Welcome to CoinTalk, tc.

If I were you I would not pay for this coin. I have VERY little faith that it is genuine. It would be better to take a negative for non-payment than to pay over $1000 for a coin that is very likely counterfeit.

From those photos it is hard to make a definite determination but it has the following going against it:

• The seller is in China.
• It is a raw 18th Century Silver Dollar. This type is HEAVILY counterfeited . . . in China (where the seller is located).
• This valuable (and heavily counterfeited) coin is not in a slab.
• The metal color looks like a typical Chinese counterfeit.
• The details are not sharp (which is typical for many counterfeits). Note the lack of details in LIberty's hair and the eagle's feathers.

I wish you would have asked about this coin before buying it. Oh, well.

Who knows? It may turn out to be genuine. And you may win the Power Ball tomorrow. Neither of those are likely to happen.

Good luck.

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Boss

I would listen to Hobo. He is pretty educated on such topics from what I could tell. I would never buy anything coin related from China. Don't pay. You won't get your money back if you try to return and you'll be out the fake coin. Take the negative feedback.

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travelcoin

Thank you the reply. I ended up talking to the seller from china and he had no problem canceling the transaction. I did ask a lot of questions about the coin and he repeatedly said it is genuine. I asked the weight and he said 27 grams. Now that I am out of the deal, it has me thinking otherwise. What I do not understand is, do draped bust dollar coins have a reason to be in china? I understand the trade dollar was used for trade in that area, but was draped or flowing hair also used? Thank you for your advice and your time. Greatly appreciated.

mrbrklyn

IMO - you can't buy a 1000 coin on ebay which isn't slabbed unless you know the seller well.

Ruben

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De Orc

Ok well lets see, the coin could theoreticaly be genuine as there is no reason why one coudnt exist in china or anywere else for that matter, but the odds are stacked against it knowing what we know about the chinese counterfiters
Reason for a coin been in any part of the world is quite simple people travel, yes even then LOL just think of the number of sailors who must have visited china and the coins they would have spent after all it would have been the weight of the silver or gold that matterd.
What I can not understand is why you bid on a coin that you were unsure about? Ruben on the question of slabs they are forging them as well!!

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travelcoin

I bid on the coin because the purchase is 100% guaranteed through paypal. I told paypal all of my concerns about the coin being a fake and they said they would cover the cost if it were a fake. I feel I had nothing to lose besides time. From doing all my reading and the great info from Coin Talk, I have not come across anyone who has purchased a real coin from china. I can find many stories on the fake ones puchased, but as for "the great coin find coming from china," I have yet to read about.

mrbrklyn

Not a good choice. Your still rolling dice and setting yourself for trouble.

Ruben

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CamaroDMD

There is a MASSIVE counterfeiting operating running in China to produce American coins...not just Draped Bust Dollars but a number of different varieties...common dates and rare. You are wise to get out of the deal, the risk is too high.

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ksparrow

The seller, lihaojiaoyi721 , is a well-known purveyor of Chinese fakes and has been featured in multiple threads on the Coin Forgery eBay group. Despite multiple reports to eBay, he continues to peddle his fakes, with eBay's blessing.

I would avoid buying any US coinage from Asian sellers (sounds harsh, there are some honest ones, but the majority sell fakes) and any scarce, expensive US type coins from ANYONE unless properly authenticated by a reputable tpg. The fakes are getting better and better and more are being sold by people with US addresses. (Although the Chinese have been able to falsify addresses in their listings, as well).

Hobo

Just to confirm, the coin in question is a 1795 Draped Bust Dollar, right? The reason I ask is you posted this thread in the "US Quarters, Twenty Cents" forum and you titled the thread "1795 draped bust quarter real or fake?" Just a tad confusing.

__________________
No state shall emit bills of credit, make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts, coin money . . . - US Constitution, Article 1, Section 10

ANA LM-3799; OHNS LM-59; SUSCC R-4005. All coins stored in bank safe deposit box.