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Message:: [QUOTE="jloring, post: 1493886, member: 15518"]Unfortunately, that is the state of numismatics today. The population of umarked replicas far exceed the population of genuine coins, and serious collectors are well aware of the various pitfalls that face them. The "fake look" has become the norm, as the fakes themselves are now quite convincing.. and often difficult to distinguish from photos alone. The adage of "innocent until proven guilty" no longer applies to coins, but is basically reversed to read "fake until proven genuine." I think the OP may have taken our concern as a personal insult to his collection; believe me, it was not. The possibility of obtaining fakes that are sold as genuine coins exists in increasing numbers, even more so since eBay eliminated the "replica" category. On the surface, this decision looked like an effective way to eliminate counterfeits from being sold on their site, and was lauded by most CT members. I personally was vehemently opposed to this change... it does nothing except force the sellers to hawk their wares as genuine. All those unmarked replicas are now buried in the genuine categories, to be purchased by unsuspecting buyers. By the way Tom B.... an excellent post; thanks for sharing that info.[/QUOTE]