I've been victim to buying one of these before. Same broken wheat ear. And the planchet was the thickness of a modern Lincoln cent, not a true f.e. cent. Here is the link to the auction. I already messaged the seller with the info. We'll see what he says/does... Maybe everyone can help get this one removed by reporting if the seller doesn't pull it himself. Link to the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310765033649#ht_170wt_1160 Link to some info on the fake: http://coinauctionshelp.com/forum/fake-coins-on-ebay-everyone-please-read-t9126-50.html
Fakes on eBay are rampant... and don't think it's all China; many are being produced right here in the U.S. (with impunity I might add) as stated in the CH thread. It's up to the buyers (and eBay's self appointed policing group CFe) to weed out the fakes from the genuine. And lots of luck with that impossible task. For everyone coin identified and pulled, there are literally hundreds to take its place. Believe me, some battles are lost before they are even fought.
its back up again, heres the link http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-picture-/310765033649?#ht_170wt_1160 somebody bid 1 cent on it so far
What ever happened to 3 strikes and you're out? Can the person instead be reported as well as the item? You think there would have been some type of red flag for the seller already. I know they can just have someone else do it or make a new account but it's a lot harder selling anything at all with little or no positive feedback. Is Ebay just getting lazy or are there just uneducated collectors out there that buy a coin and then the same day give pos. feedback to the scammer? Or maybe just both.
Well the listing has been pulled by the seller now. He sent me a message saying that he got more than one message about it being a counterfeit. Hopefully he'll do the right thing and not try to sell it again on or off eBay.
Call me cynical, but it's entirely possible that the seller is selling to himself using a shill account to boost his feedback rating. I got into a beef with a bad seller from NM who had been doing exactly that a couple of years back.
I like the reason given for the item not selling . " The item is no longer up for bid because it was lost or broken .
Best way to know is to know what a real one looks like . Also mushiness in the details , pitting or bumps , toolmarks , bad reeding . Like anything it takes some experience and knowledge . A lot of the more popular coin dates like '16-D Mercs , '77 IH cents have markers that only the real pieces have . Also buy PCGSs Grading and Counterfeit detection book , it has a wealth of info .
