Ebay fakes! Two consecutive ones!

I bought a group of coins the other week, and when they arrived I saw a seam around the Nero!! Got a partial refund. Then won an auction for a large Justinian follis, the big ones that go for 80-100 and it turned out to be made of something brittle and silver- the “coin” looked just funny upon receiving, too light, and the edges too uniform. Was able to break it in half with my bare hands! I contacted seller, and will see what he says about the pics. I told him this coin is not copper/bronze!! Not sure about the rules on here, but if I can alert you about the seller, I will. So upset!

 

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Why only a partial refund? That's the big question, IMO.

 

It is considered good etiquette to provide the names of fake sellers so other people can avoid them. So by all means tell us who sold you those ridiculous fakes.

 

If you are not familiar with Byzantine bronzes, I suggest you start collecting through purchases from sellers listed on VCoins. You'll likely pay much more through VCoins than you would with the so-called "bargain" sellers on eBay (perhaps this is too nice a term for them), but you're getting coins backed by reputable dealers.

There's also MA Shops, but the vast number of dealers listed there are European, so there could be shipping delays and other issues, but MA Shops is another good source nonetheless.

 

Now, I'm not saying those aren't fakes but, why would anyone try to break an ancient coin thinking that if you break it is not ancient???

 

By now I recognize that Byzantine follis immediately, even with the fake weathering and not seeing the reverse: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/byzantine-fakes.350625/

I hoped those particular fakes had dried up, but I keep seeing new variations. They finally started making them out of actual crackers! At least the ones from the 2019/20 wave were metal. I guess the forgers now don't even care if you know it's fake on arrival, just as long as it can pass in a photo. (Now that we have metal paints you can make paper and plastic look like solid bronze.... just won't feel like it in hand, especially when it crumbles.)

That's quite brazen. Hope you get your refund! Don't let it get your hopes down. It's just time to readjust your buying strategy a bit. Onward and upward!

 

As far as eBay is concerned, you should get a full refund, period. Select "not as described" for the reason you're requesting a refund.

You have photos of the coins, so apply for a refund and provide the photos when you do.

 

after handling thousands of ancients so far, when you come across a fake like these, they scream at you fake. It was more than a hunch when I broke that sad puppy

 

Absolutely. Full refund, and file a complaint! Even though Ebay is notorious for allowing junk like this to be sold, you should still register a complaint. It's not about the money at this point.

 

I appreciate that. I’ve bought tons of coins on ebay and lucked out till these two came across. I’ll have to check vcoins out then, since ebay can run dry of good stuff sometimes

 

first pic is seller of Byzantine fake- as you can see he has great feedback. Second seller salted a lot of 7-8 coins with that Nero fake. I tried to leave negative feedback for the latter but it said i had to wait 7 days. I emailed him in the meantime and he responded i could get any single coin for a dollar, so i chose a 20 dollar one which seemed about fair. The other guy I’m waiting for his reply but will look into getting a full refund. Thanks everyone for your support and not ridiculing me outright

 

A fake of a fake! The versions of this that were around 30 years ago were bronze, attractively patinated and fairly convincing.

 

100% positive feedback on ebay means nothing....

There are good eBay ancients sellers, some even post here. There are threads listing the good ones if you search.

 

Yikes! I'll stick to graded coins; preferably NGC/PCGS (Gold Shield if possible).

 

There are fake PCGS & NGC slabs out there to. So, buyer beware.

 

The big problem with sellers like this isn't the fakes you recognize, but the fakes you don't know you have. Most large serious collections (whoever the collector buys from) will have at least one unrecognized fake, and ancient coin collectors have to make peace with that. But, the less professional your sources of coins, the more unrecognized fakes you'll end up with.

As this shows, sellers can easily have 100% positive feedback who are either grossly incompetent or acting in bad faith.

Sounds like fair resolution on the "Nero," albeit unorthodox, with the advantage you get to keep the fake for your "black cabinet" (I've been occasionally adding to mine over 20-30+ years).

 

Covered in thick black lacquer looks like. Yea, been there. Though mine was a cull/slug with a fake pic.

 

im guessing to pass the first-impression of a collector’s scrutiny means they only do that for higher-end Roman or Greek ancients? (i.e., in my opinion something over $100). I’d imagine it’d cost that much, or maybe less to allow some profit for the skilled artist! I’m a collector of all things numismatic jk, It’s illegal but not in China, sometimes elsewhere where they originate after our nation’s 1970’s law outlawing unmarked forgeries of coins and I believe other numismatic collectibles. Sorry, you probably know this, just wanted to vent a bit and share in the event you also buy on eBay. Maybe it’s bad in other auction sites, I don’t know. Thank you kindly for your time and please see my next post for yet another one that arrived today

 

Agreed.

 

@joecoincollect