Research Spanish Colonial and Ancient coin eBay sellers first

Of course it's always best to buy from known reputable dealers. But for those who still want to buy from eBay I suggest the following.

We see people buying fakes all the time on eBay. And I think why didn't they do some research first? There are some very good fakes on eBay that can fool a lot of people. But I feel that if buyers would at least research the sellers first, they could eliminate a large amount of fake buys. I'm talking about the sellers that are only and intentionally selling fakes. These sellers are mostly known and listed if you know where to look. Hence this post.

Much of this information is already well known. I'm posting it especially for new collectors, or collectors new to ancients or Spanish Colonial coins.



First, the Seller's eBay Feedback


Although 100% Positive feedback means nothing, (I see very bad and dishonest sellers that have 100% Positives), Negative feedbacks do mean something.

But eBay makes it hard to go through a seller's feedback history especially if it's large. But Toolhaus makes that easy.

To get an easy to read page of the seller's eBay feedback, go to Toolhaus.

Then for example, enter the seller's eBay ID under Negative/Neutral Feedback, hit enter, now see the seller's negative feedbacks in a easy to read form.




To research Latin American / Spanish Colonial coin eBay sellers


There's an unbelieveable amount of fake Pillars and other Spanish Colonials on eBay. And they're sold every week. And often by the same sellers, week after week. There is a forum on eBay itself that does a great job exposing and reporting this numistrash, the Latin Coin Discussion Board. It is a subgroup of Coin Forgery eBay.

This group really gets my respect.

This is a small group. The post frequency is low and there's not a lot of members. But they are constantly posting fake coin eBay auctions and exposing the sellers. Their policing and reporting gets a lot of the fake auctions canceled. There is a very small, but knowledgeable, core group of the forum that does this. But they are not just loose cannons. They strike me as careful in their accusations.

I thank them for their, often thankless, vigilance.

If buyers, especially those inexperienced in Spanish Colonial coinage, would do a search on this forum first for any seller's name they are considering buying from, I think many fake buys could be avoided.

NOTE: This is a private group. It's to prevent the fake seller's from coming in and causing trouble. If you want to join you have to be invited by a member. If you want to join PM me your eBay ID and I will recommend you. You also might have to register with eBay Groups in general first.



To research Ancient coin eBay sellers


As with Spanish Colonial coinage, every week their are many fake ancients sold. Not only are they constantly sold by the same sellers, these sellers often sell the exact same fake cast over and over. But these sellers are mostly known and listed if you know where to look.

First two Yahoo groups. I can't remember but you might have to join to join the group to see the posts. But it's worth it.

CoinForgeryDiscussionList The group's title is self explanatory. Daily posts discussing and exposing fake coins and sellers. I believe this is their latest Black List of Sellers.

Moneta-L Although not specifically a group about fakes and fake sellers, they are occasionally discussed. And if you collect ancients it's a group worth joining.


Fake Ancient Coin Reports and Discussion is a subforum of Forvm Ancient Coins. Some of the most experienced and knowledgeable collectors and dealers post there. If there is a coin you're not sure about post it on Fake Ancient Coin Reports and Discussion.

But here is their Notorious Fake Sellers List. It is updated often.

And here is their gallery of fakes Fake Ancient Coin Reports. I suggest looking through the fakes of your collecting area. It's a good education.


If buyers, especially those inexperienced in ancient coins, would do a search on the above forums and/or their Black Lists first for any eBay seller's name they are considering buying from, I think many fake buys could be avoided.



And last there is ForgeryNetwork Although not a site that you can search for seller's names. It is still a good place to look through and familiarize yourself with the fakes of your collecting area. Just go through and select your Class and Categories on the left.




One last time - The whole point of this post is that if prospective buyers of sellers unknown to them would just search for the seller's name on the above sources, the worst of the sellers would be exposed and avoided.

I'm just tired of seeing those fake sellers getting away with it week after week.

If this post saves one person from buying a fake I will be happy.

 

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As tenacious says above, there are people out there doing an enormous amount of work spotting Spanish colonial fakes on eBay and reporting them. And auctions get pulled because of this. But the real solution lies in the self-education of the buyer. The links above are extremely helpful.

 

What many may not realize is that some of these fake sellers can make not only hundreds of dollars per week, but sometimes even into the thousands of dollars per week. They're not just selling an occasional fake coin. It's a big thriving business, or businesses.

What really angers me is that even though you can report fake coins to eBay, and often get the auctions canceled, eBay allows the seller to continue selling. Even though that seller has a history of auction after auction being pulled because the coins were shown to be fake. And that it's obvious to anyone that these sellers are intentionally and constantly selling fakes.

I agree.

But I'm sure what often happens is that, for example, a collector wants an example of an 8 Reales Pillar Dollar for their collection. They're not interested in starting a Pillar Dollar collection, so they are not going to put in a lot time, (weeks?, months?, years?), learning to authenticate this type. They go to eBay. They're aware that there are fakes around. But they find a fake Pillar Dollar that "looks real" to them, and they buy it.

I completely understand that someone isn't going to put in a lot time learning to authenticate a type they only want one of.

But, if you're going to take a risk and buy it on eBay, at least research the seller first. You can weed out the worst offenders at least. This goes for any type of coin.


But in conclusion, and it's been said by many over and over and over:

The best way to avoid all of this is to only buy from reputable and recommended sellers.


And since there's new people coming to this hobby all the time, it needs to keep being said over and over.

 

This is a small group. The publication frequency is low and there are many members. But they are on the move false coin eBay auctions and sellers of display. Their reports of the police and get a lot of fake auctions canceled. There is a very small but well informed of the forum does that. But there are just snipers. It seems prudent in their accusations. I thank them for their often thankless surveillance. If buyers, especially those who have no experience in the Spanish colonial coins, do a search at the first forum for the name of any provider you are considering buying, I think a lot of false purchases could be avoided.

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