Trade Dollars, how do you know??

I really like the old U.S. Trade Dollars. From what I have read, these coins are notorious for being faked, copied or counterfeited. Since I do most/all of my trading on Ebay, how do you tell if its counterfeit? Of course I would be safe to buy a PCGS or NGC graded specimen, but I would like to buy them "raw", perhaps even start a collection. Any advice, comments? Thanks-Bob

 

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I would avoid ebay almost altogether for raw trade dollars. The best way to tell if one is authentic is to have it in-hand. Then, with permission from the owner, it may be weighed, measured and directly observed.

But, if you know and have dealt with a knowledgeable and honest ebay seller that you trust to make the determination for you, then you may buy one successfully.

 

got me by a second.

 

Best not to buy any from overseas, China in particular. Seems about 90% or more are counterfeit.

Has anyone seen any real U.S. coins offered on Ebay from China? I have not.

 

Satootoko has said that he has. I personally haven't seen any either, but I hate to lump all of those sellers together if he has seen some.

 

for example, what do you think of this?....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3951169449&fromMakeTrack=true

 

Thank you all so much.

 

Couldn't run away fast enough!

 

haha what I thought....he even have 2 bad feedbacks because of that item...both because of fakes...he refunds but still a BAD BAD BAD deal.........

 

also...how you really know they are fake? I know how people make fake currency....but coins?...I know is possible but how and why? I mean...SO MANY fakes? also what are the diffs from this and originals?

 

This line in the description was my first clue:
Made of 88% copper and 12% silver, Neat Date !!! 99.99% look gunine.
Assuming of course that "gunine" means "genuine".

 

ohhhhh yeah, I read that too and found it weird......trade's are 90% silver 10% copper...

 

Well, real ones are....

 

Actually, for a mere $3 a piece you would have a good example of what NOT to buy. At least he's honest about their inauthenticity.

 

talking about this "unsearched" things...anyone has bought to www.pennies.com ("Farmer's Collection of 500,000 Old Coins" and "250,000 Coins from old Mom & Pop store") they also sell on ebay that's how I found them...same as other but this ones have a website...just curious hehe, this should be some kind of official thread for this things...

 

Fake Trade Dollars...

Come on folks...

Here you have 50 U.S. Trade Dollars that are being offered for $3.00 each shipping included. Can any one of us believe that they are real..? I don't think so.

What bothers me is the person buying them. Who are they going to attempt to pass them on to..? Opps... they are now in our market. Only a few dealers can spot these. They are very good.

I once watched a man come into a coin store hand the dealer one of the Fake Trade dollars and wanted to sell it. The dealers eyes lite up like a Christmas tree. The coin looked like a AU-55 from where I was standing. The dealer fooled around a bit and told the man that it was a nice piece and graded a full Fine..! He gave the man $40.00 for the coin and the man left.

He said that was a heck of a deal what do you think as he tossed me the coin. I tossed it back to him and told him he overpaid for it because it was a fake..! His jaw dropped to the floor as he said it wasn't and asked How do you know.? I told him to drop the coin on a scale and that he would find the coin was too light to be 420 grains. I could tell by the weight of the coin in my hand.

catman

 

good story Catman, you're so right about it all....now they are all in out market, and as in the story, a lot of coin dealers are not able to recognize a fake...I don't have any dealers around here...so I have to deal with people on eBay mostly...so I'm always on the look for good stuff to buy, and for stuff like those fakes...just to know what's around the market...I found websites (Littleton etc...) overpriced...that's why I stick with eBay or any other Coin Auction website like (heritagecoins.com)

 

IvanV,

I keep three or four fakes around to use as comparsion. Like light weight one, a sand cast type and one of lead that had ground glass inside so it would ring right when dropped on a counter.

catman