Beware of people selling coins at flea markets. Lots of counterfeits.

Then we send in Chuck Norris!

 

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Is is never the victim's fault.

 

I had this happen to me. I should know better. I was at a flea market and at this one space the guy had tons of everything. Cloths, toys, junk, and lots more. In a small case over on the side he had old jewelry, knives, buttons, and a few coins. One coin was a 1883 S Morgan Dollar. This coin looks and feels real. I had a magnifier with me I did not spot any problem. I ask what the price was and he said $40.00, At the time silver was $45.00 melt. I said I would give him $30.00 he acted like I was ripping him off, but he sold it to me for $30.00. This flea market was 100 miles from where I live. When I got home and took a picture and enlarged it, is when the marks and detail showed it was counterfeit. The weight was off but not enough to tell with just holding it.
So even us seasoned guys get tricked too. The guy that had that booth is set up there for a long time and everything looked like just house hold junk. He probably had no Idea or maybe he did, I don,t know. Be careful at all places where coins are sold, you just don,t know anymore.
Big ED

 

Scenario:

You receive an email from a "diplomat" (or agent or lawyer) in Nigeria. He says that someone in the Consulate has passed away leaving you (or someone with your name) $25,000,000 U.S. in an account in that country and they can help you obtain it just by having you sign a few documents and sending a "consulting fee" of $5,000. Now, you know that you have no connection or relationship to anyone in that country. But, to give up only $5,000 to get $25,000,000!!! Okay, you do it because there's alway a possibility the money is actually there (yeah, right) even though you know you have no right to the supposed millions. After you send the money and discover you've been taken on a ride you complain from the rooftops that you've been ripped off!

But.... you knew you weren't entitled to the money whether it existed or not....

Buying a coin that is potentially a valuable coin, say $100.00 for cheap , say for $3.00 (and taking advantage of the seller who you could have explained to that the coin might be much more valuable than his asking price) and then complaining when you find out you've been had because you didn't get away with a cheap valuable coin is your fault because you put yourself in that position.

 

People love to attach big flowerly numbers to their statements to draw attention. It would be accurate to say there are "several Chinese sites" that sell....ect. They would be hard pressed in a court of law to prove these over zealous statements. That's why they are not lawyers.

 

Just to finish my train of thought...

In both scenarios, someone was trying to take advantage of someone else. Who do you think it was?

 

He's too busy promoting video games.

 

Okay..... then Rambo!

 

hes getting to old !!! :hail:

 

Send the Enterprise

 

I wonder how Chuck Norris would fare against Jackie Chan.

But I think I'm going to stick with stores for my coins instead of flea markets from now on.

 

There are lot of middleman in America deserve as much blame for chinese couterfiets as the manufacturers themselves, these middleman orginating from US are responsible for ordering fake coins which they contract out to the lowest bidder from china. Places like Alibaba provide serve as a portal to find such suppliers. This was always an issue but thanks to internet it is now become a lot easier.

 

Remember you can verify NGC and PCGS certification numbers on their websites. And buying from dealers you know or online sites that are reputable are good ways to avoid counterfeits.

 

Don't you know Chuck Norris is just hiding behind the curtain of Bruce Lee? When Chuck Norris kicks you, what you don't see is chuck Norris lifting his leg in the air, Bruce Lee comes, uses his 3-inch punch, and sends you flying, then disappears into thin air. Bruce Lee isn't dead, he's just too quick for your eyes to see or comprehend.

 

Fake slabs have correct certification numbers.

 

Any coin being sold online located in China might as well be a flashing red NO

 

there's nothing wrong with buying coins at a flea market, as long as you're careful and do your research. I have purchased many common date coins for my collection from a couple vendors. First, I would not blindly buy a high-end coin from a flea market, any more than I would buy a rolex from the trunk of somebody's car. I won't go into how I started collecting (inheritence) but I frequent the local flea market every weekend. I usually have breakfast at the small kitchen inside (they start cooking my order when I walk through the door), then make my rounds. I made friends with one vendor, a nice guy in his 60's, retired mail carrier, and long time collector. I purchase from him pretty much every week. He knows what I want, and will look for this stuff. He also knows most of the other vendors, and will steer me to the one who has what I may want, and has already checked it out (they have a system, like coin shows, where the vendors visit each other and buy and selll at "dealer prices" before the crowd gets there). I have discussed items sold by other vendors, and even outside vendors, with him before I purchase. Point is, it took me a while to develop these relationships. This, I think, is the key. I am lucky in that I found this resource, but as always, you can find some good deals if you know what your're looking at. And the old adage still holds true: If it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't.

 

Been meaning to go to the market to see whats up.

 

I made a bad assumption in thinking these coins were on a US website, sold by someone who bought them originally from a Chinese counterfeiter.

 

This happened to me once. There was some old people sitting out on their front lawn with a bunch of tables set up. I was passing by and happened to see a few old coins which were worth "quite a lot". I asked how much they were and the guy said "$20 apiece". I decided to buy two of them and thinking I had made a pretty good deal gaining what I thought was a $1000+ profit. Got home, did some research online...what do you know? THEY'RE COUNTERFEIT. Went back to them they next day and tried to return them, and they basically stared me down and said with a smile "Sorry, no refunds". Later I found out that they rented the house that they did their lawn sale on. So when their sale is done, they pack up and move out so you can't track them. They're a bunch of smooth customers alright.

Yeah, it was their fault for selling counterfeit coins and swindling me out of $40. Then again, it's MY FAULT even more for trying to swindle THEM out of what I thought to be really rare, old coins. I still have both coins today as a reminder of what mindless greed can do to me.

And honestly, do you really think old people are that stupid (to be blunt)? I remember when I was a kid, my mother told me stories of how her father owned a supermarket. She would work there as a cashier, and would always pick out the Mercury dimes and old coins that were in the change that people gave her. Even today, she raves about how a lot of stuff will become "collectors items". These people know what they're doing. Like others have said, people set up a section with real coins that cost a bundle, and another section of supposedly "rare" coins that cost $5 a pop.

Moral of story: Do your research; chances are in that one hour you spend at home researching the coin(s) you want to buy, no one is going to buy it. Even if someone does, you're not out of any money.