The old, "My grandpa left me these coins" routine. Awesome...

i 100% agree I reporte\d the item

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Looking at a real coin can help you spot the differences. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will respond, but hallmarks would include grainy appearance from being cast rather than struck, differences in design (compare), "wear" that is designed in rather than struck, etc. Someone help the questioner and me out.

 

I'm surprised that none of these have been removed. Maybe the seller is related to one of the uppity-ups on SleazeBay.

Chris

 

We just need more people to report them, I guess.

 

I've reported numerous ancient fakes on eBay, along with a whole community of collectors at FORVM. We figured mass reports against some of the most notorious sellers of fakes would get eBay's attention. Guess what? Those sellers are still selling. eBay does not enforce it's own policies. Report if you will, but I doubt it'll do any good.

 

Thanks, Chris. I grabbed the photos from your link and will compare them to the counterfeit pics this evening.

 

Are counterfeits typically cast? Seems like that's a difference that would be glaring, but I suppose the counterfeiter "doctors" the cast coin to enhance the appearance of wear and aging?

 

Probably depends on how they were reported. If they used the "Report this item" link that appears in each auction they probably won't get pulled until after the auctions are over. Auctions reported that way just get put at the end of the line and they will get to them eventually. Auctions reported using the report coins link go to the head of the line and get handled a LOT faster.

http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...Listing+Policies+for+Sellers+>+Selling+Coins+

Forget categories, use the link I posted above. You can report up to ten auctions at a time and you have ten thousand characters to explain WHY the coins are fake. And explaining why is KEY to getting the auctions pulled.

 

Yeah, I just did a side-by-side comparison between the counterfeit and a genuine coin Chris (cpm9ball) linked me to earlier. When I look at them that way, the differences are obvious. Clearly an intimate familiarity with the coin being copied makes spotting a counterfeit considerably easier.

 

So it looks like the draped bust seller took down his original post and then put up a new post with a disclaimer "may or may not be authentic."

 

That is obviously a replica. Even rocks know that!

 

I put a 25000 dollar bid on the last one, and pushed it to 4000

 

Dear bkozak34,

My grandpa bought this coin for 2100 at auction years ago. I really doubt that this would be fake especially with that in mind that it must say replica stamped on it.

- georget1505




From: bkozak34
To: georget1505
Subject: Re: Details about item: bkozak34 sent a message about 1799 Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagle $1 Silver Dollar-FINE to VF-Authentic? #251500495867
Sent Date: Apr-08-14 16:38:01 PDT
Dear georget1505,

you cant sell replicas on ebay unless they are clearly marked. i would hate to see someone buy it, only to find out it is a fake. do the right thing and take it down
- bkozak34



I tried.

 

cpm9ball's suggestion of comparing the suspect coin to a known good coin is a good suggestion. If a coin appears strange to you, then that is a good indication that it may not be a real mint product. The genuine 1799 dollar was not struck in a collar and it has denticles all around the perimeter. The Ebay 1799 coin not only looks like it was struck in a collar but it just looks plain bad.

The ANA offers courses in counterfeit detection & grading where you can inspect hundreds of coins (both good & bad).

 

Frank Zappa - "Help, I'm a rock, help, I'm a rock".

 

Cast coins are more easily made than struck ones - pouring the metal into a mold vs making a blank, making dies and then striking the piece hard enough to make a good impression. The cast coins look grainy so they are worn down to hide that.

 

both items are gone

 

Another seller...this time a grandma story. Fake coins
Click here

 

Is this 1799 fake or the real deal?