I’m looking to buy one of these on EBay, and there seems to be a lot of variation in price, which makes me wary of counterfeits and knock-offs. Given that these particular coins are cupronickel and not especially valuable, I would be surprised if anyone took the time and effort to counterfeit them. Anyone know how concerned about buying a fake I should be for this coin? Thanks
Minimal concern. Never seen a fake of this type, but if they are out there I'd bet they are not very high quality.
JTL - Welcome to you, as a New Member. We're talking about Vietnam, which was at war with paranoid-against-Communists USA, from 1955-1975. But before then, the French were at war with the same country, then called French Indochina, 1946-1954. Would it be worth faking the Indochina Piastre ? Questionable. Unless to get revenge on the French or Americans. My guess is that it would hardly be worth the trouble to counterfeit such a coin - but I could be wrong. If I were you, I wouldn't pay an arm or a leg for that coin. I would expect a reasonable, i.e. cheap, price.
IIRC (and off the top of my head), there are a couple varieties of this coin with regard to the edge (reeded or not and the reeded had a vastly larger mintage). Also, finding a truly gem one is a bit of a challenge (again, with the 'IIRC' caveat). Some sellers may be setting asking prices based on a 'sold' item, while not meeting the same grade level (or type).