Copies of coins

[TomGoodheart 373]

This is the second time I have looked at a coin on ebay and thought .. 'looks OK. Maybe if it's cheap' only to subsequently feel a slight warning vibe, poddle off to look in my pics of fakes and go 'Ooops!'

Bloody cast copies are getting to be a real pain.

[HistoryTreasures 0]

I don't know, they might fool me! Such nice copies

[TomGoodheart 373]

I don't know, they might fool me! Such nice copies

And this one?

[TomGoodheart 373]

Or these? Which is the point really. They are nice copies. Or at least when photographed carefully. Nice enough to fool me at least. Very worrying ...

Edited February 10, 2011 by TomGoodheart

[Peter 615]

Or these?

Tom

How obvious are these copies (pewter?) or actual silver.I've come accross a copy Liz 3d...the picture was blurred but the portrait looked good.

I was refunded..the lady had found it her late husbands belongings.

[TomGoodheart 373]

Or these?

Tom

How obvious are these copies (pewter?) or actual silver.I've come accross a copy Liz 3d...the picture was blurred but the portrait looked good.

I was refunded..the lady had found it her late husbands belongings.

That depends on how they are photographed and made. The attached groat looks rather like it's cast. The shilling? You tell me. (It's a fake by the way).

Replica coins are made from lead free pewter and will be under weight. But the only way to really tell I suspect, is to have the coin in your hand. And if it's a modern counterfeit made from silver and designed to fool collectors, I suspect even that may not be enough.

And as a point of interest, most of these are sold as 'inherited from a relative' or as detector finds. That way the seller can feign ignorance should the coin turn out to be less than genuine. Which I admit maligns a few honest but uninformed sellers unfortunately. The most worrying thng is that these things are being resold later on by buyers who bought as genuine. In many cases they may be quite unsuspecting but the more times something is sold as the real deal the more likely it is to be accepted as such I suspect.

Edited February 10, 2011 by TomGoodheart

[HistoryTreasures 0]

I don't know, they might fool me! Such nice copies

What about it? Apart from the strangely placed XII?

Edited February 14, 2011 by HistoryTreasures

[HistoryTreasures 0]

Or these? Which is the point really. They are nice copies. Or at least when photographed carefully. Nice enough to fool me at least. Very worrying ...

The last one, does look obvious. The first of these two, not bad...

I have to say 'it is very, very worrying indeed!

[Hussulo 6]

Some you can just about notice casting bubble's on and some are pretty scary. Mind you the pictures don't help but they are typical ebay ones.

As soon as they start casting them in silver and the weight is close to a genuine one then things will be getting very hard for many collectors.

[TomGoodheart 373]

Seller claims it's silver. But also says the weight is 3.9g which is about 2g light.

Unfortunately it looks a lot like these ...

[TomGoodheart 373]

Edited February 11, 2012 by TomGoodheart

[TomGoodheart 373]

And also ..

And in case anyone was wondering if they haven't seen all this before, I've retitled and bumped this thread in light of the discussion in "Coin aquisition of the week .."

And if anyone wishes to add known modern replicas of coins that might help our members to avoid buying a duff coin, please go ahead. Just make sure you're satisfied they aren't the real deal or contemporary counterfeits of numismatic interest, and please don't slander any sellers in the process!

Edited February 11, 2012 by TomGoodheart

[Coinery 926]

I guess this thread is as good a place as any to bring to your attention that Blackpool trading standards are in the final stages of gathering evidence against an ebay seller who was selling lots of hammered, and 'other' coins, up to the 1k bracket, around 2010/11 apparently. So, a good time to check your seller lists, and start testing your hammered 'and others' with Silver Testers, etc.

LAVENDERBLUE42, ring any bells? I personally bought a cleverly 'poor' imaged Henry VIII groat.

As you probably know by now I have to use an alternative address which, in the case of the groat, I couldn't get to for around 3 weeks, enough time for lavenderblue to no longer exist!

If anybody feels they may have been affected, I can provide the case officer's email address.

[seuk 85]

I feel this topic requires a separate section like the 'Confirmed unlisted varities' section. We have at least 3 threads on chinese George III forgeries:

http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6086&st=0&p=55626&fromsearch=1entry55626 + http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6260&st=0&p=57677&fromsearch=1entry57677 + http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6172&st=0&p=56997&fromsearch=1entry56997 - and there's probably a lot more similar posts on the forum.

[TomGoodheart 373]

I feel this topic requires a separate section like the 'Confirmed unlisted varities' section. We have at least 3 threads on chinese George III forgeries:

http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6086&st=0&p=55626&fromsearch=1entry55626 + http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6260&st=0&p=57677&fromsearch=1entry57677 + http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6172&st=0&p=56997&fromsearch=1entry56997 - and there's probably a lot more similar posts on the forum.

Unfortunately I don't think I have the admin powers to open a new sub-forum. I'll message Chris and see what he thinks.

[moneyer12 0]

i hold my hands up and admit i have bought a forgery thinking it was genuine. it was an american trade dollar dated 1872 and looked to be legit and my little knowledge of usa coins made me a little naive, i only found out it was fake after i asked my american friend and he told me the coins were only minted from 1873. i may be absolutely shit hot on uk coins but the usa coins still leave me a little confused.

[Generic Lad 25]

I too have bought a forgery in thinking it was genuine, it was a Trade Dollar dated 1873-S so I figured, common date, selling for around melt, how could I go wrong. It looked a bit worn too. It wasn't until after I got home that I realized... the die rotation was wrong for a US coin!

I did buy an interesting Japanese yen forgery (knowing quite well that it was one) for a few bucks at an antique mall, its an interesting curiosity.

[Peter 615]

I bought a Liz 1 from Ebay.It was cast so I returned it and got my money back.

I also bought a 1775 1/4d from an antique fair knowing it wasn't currency.The stall holder became quite hostile when I said it was an evasion/copy.So I punched him on the snout,he fell over and broke some of his ming vase's.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Peter