Just bought this on Ebay.

Paid about $2.50 each for these. I bought them knowing that they are copper plated in Silver, however, I was dissappointed when they came in the face that they are labeled to make people think they are something they are not. I am simply wanting them to try to get a collection of all 50 states, however, i can see how some people would be misled by the pieces.

Do you think this is unethical?

 

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I have seen those World Treasures Mint silver-plated bars before. The reverse side of that bar should say "In Clad We Trust". Those are very deceiving because it is stamped "1 troy oz .999 silver" on the front but not every one is going to pay very close attention to what the reverse side says.

It is IMO very wrong for an ebay seller to sell these on ebay as real 1-troy oz. .999 silver bars when they are really silver-plated bars.

 

To form an opinion regarding the seller's intent, I think it would be best to give us a link to the auction you won. That way we can see for ourselves how the item was described, etc.

 

Not sure these misleading novelty items are related to Bullion Investing.

 

I apologize if I placed this in the wrong category. The seller did not try to pass them off as solid silver, however, I just thought the bars themselves are misleading. Just wanted to share with everyone and see what you guys thought. I put this here because it is solid copper under the silver plating... so it kinda IS Bullion if you wanted to invest in copper and not just stockpile pennies.

 

I wish eBay would create a seperate category for fake silver bars so I won't have to see page after page of this worthless junk while looking for coins. They are almost as annoying as the fantasy proof coins being hustled onto the unsuspecting.

 

Uh oh. You stepped into the "copper is bullion" controversy (http://www.cointalk.com/t206661/). My problem with these "bars" is that even if the seller discloses that they are fakes, the fact that they are labeled ".999 silver" just isn't right. If they were being produced to be inexpensive versions of actual state coin .999 silver bars, and they are sold as such, I wouldn't have as much of a problem. But, to my knowledge, there are no original, .999 versions of these bars, so deception steps to the front of the line in this case.

 

That is exactly the problem that I have with this and that is what will get an ebay buyer in a bad situation if that buyer buys it from an ebay seller who does not mention that it is plated.

Here is another silver-plated bar that is stamped "one ounce .999 fine silver":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAP...%2FDkq499dqDGy5BCSYp8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

That above ebay link is the same kind of deception that the OP was talking about.

EDIT: The real "U.S. Flag" silver art bar was minted by Silvertowne and the real one looks like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAP...%2FDkq499dqDGy5BCSYp8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

The front side of the silver-plated "U.S. Flag" bar has a proof-like mirror image while the front side of the real Silvertowne "U.S. Flag" silver art bar has a "frosted" look to it. That is the only way that I can tell the real one from the fake one.

 

WOW!!!! That's a crock! I'm glad you posted about these so I now know to stay far away from any of the flag bars.

 

I personally OP would not have bought them since what you are doing is allowing the fakers to profit.

If anyone sees them on Ebay I would encourage you to report the item. Saying they are 1 ounce silver and they are not I believe would qualify as fake merchandise, which is forbidden by Ebay policy.

Btw Op, I am not trying to be harsh in saying you shouldn't buy them. I am simply telling you why you shouldn't and the fact that to the extent Americans buy this junk, we are allowing the fakers to simply make more and more fakes to sell here. Also, the next seller may NOT disclose they are fake, and only show pics of the front of the bars.

Chris

 

Just out of curiosity, are those the seller's photos?

If they are, I wouldn't have just passed, I would have ran as fast as I could from the listing.

 

No, those are pictures I took of them when they arrived today. Here is a link to the auction one is from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110887799249?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Like I said, I purchased them knowing they were not pure silver, and the guy was very open about the fact they were clad. My concern, as many have stated, is that these could easily be resold to someone not paying attention and make a great profit. Personally, I want to try to get all 50 states and have them just as a display, I know they are worth about nothing, but I like the way they look.

 

Don't worry, I take no offense from it, everyone has their way of thinking, I respect that and I fully understand your point of view, which was my major concern, these could be resold to some unsuspecting person as pure silver. I just want to try to get all 50 states and display them. Thank you for your input.

 

To the OP, you have done nothing wrong. You know they're not silver and the Ebay Seller states in their auction they are not pure silver. The problem will be with the idiots that buy them thinking they are Pure Silver only to find out they are not and they resell them to someone else as pure silver. The problem I have with the bars is that it deceptively states on the bar 1 Troy Oz .999 Silver and does not state anywhere on any of the bars they sell that it is Silver clad. It just opens up a can of worms for the dishonest in this world to buy them for 10-15 bucks and go out and sell them for whatever Silver is at to the uninformed. It really ticks me off that people can have no conscience to go out and earn their money in an honest, hardworking way. Ok enough of my stupid rant, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

PS - The Ebay seller is
http://stores.ebay.com/World-Treasures-Mint-LLC

 

Actually, the flag bars that I know and trust that are legit are the "Silver Producing Nations" flag silver art bars that were minted in 1973 by the Silver Mint. Those are 20 grams of silver in weight. Here is an example of what one looks like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-SILVER-...00763838311?pt=Bullion_US&hash=item2ebe750f67

I have seen a local dealer do an acid test on one of those and it was real silver. I have no worries about those type of U.S. flag bars.

 

These items are allowed. The seller is not stating solid silver. When you bid on a plated item, eBay flags the auction with a large warning to the bidder:

Important!
It looks like you're purchasing or bidding on a plated item. We want to make sure you're going to be happy with your purchase, so we're providing some additional information to help avoid confusion.
Plated items are typically copper (or another metal) coated with a thin layer of a precious metal, such as gold or silver. There are many words that can mean an item is plated, for example, "clad," "mills," "covered," or "electroplated." Plated items aren't usually purchased for investment value.
If you're not sure whether an item is plated, please ask the seller before confirming your bid or making a purchase.

 

I agree with what you stated Med; however, the seller did state these are clad bars:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][h=1]New Release: [h=2]1 Troy Oz. Silver Bullion Clad [/h][h=2]Delaware State Quarter Design Art Bars[/h][h=2]

World Treasures Mint - 2012 First Strike Limited Edition​

[/h]
[h=2]

This silver clad series art bar weighs a total of 1 Troy Ounce (31.5 grams)​

[/h][/h][/FONT]

 

I saw that sir, but isn't it an oxymoron? Bullion clad? WTF is that? Bullion to me is bullion, pure metal. Clad means a mixture. Not quite as moronic as military intelligence or friendly fire, but still an oxymoron.

If the seller had described them as "Fake silver bars, in reality silver colored copper", it would have been more clear.

Plus, this still does not address the fact the bars themselves are lying, by stating on the obverse 1 ounce .999 silver, (when in fact it is not).

 

The way the headline is written, one could take away the idea that there is 1 oz of silver there.
It is not punctuated to separate the weight of the silver cladding and the weight of the entire bar.

Yeah, you and me know that this bar is not large enough to require a full oz of silver to coat it, but others, may not know it.
Those others might be your wife, mother, daughter, or other family member, and they might be looking for a gift to give you...

The headline for the auction is vague and improperly punctuated. Sorry.

 

I see what you're saying, but these were plated with silver(as far as anyone knows that is). Is silver not bullion?

Don't get me wrong I agree these are junk, and surely should not be labeled as 1 troy ounce of .999 anything, and I certainly would not bid on this garbage. On the other hand, the OP paid $.99 plus $2.50 shipping, so they're not really out anything major; like $35 plus shipping, if nothing else they have a nice conversation piece.