numismatist

Polished Coins were always considered " destroyed " as a Collectors item and a no-go area with serious collectors. Yet now I see on Ebay at least they seem to fetch roughly what a nicely toned coin would . I dont mean silver dipped coins, but coins that are burnished with brasso or similar. Who is buying these ?, is it new collectors who dont have a clue ? Or have Polished Coins suddenly become more desirable and accepted ?

I've been looking at what protection we get if buying from a reputable source ? seems very little in some cases It seems to be somewhere between 7 Days and an amazing 6 years Below is what I believe what we as buyers are offered if we buy a fake Coin. (Subject to correction if anyone knows better) BNTA Members ---Not able yet to find out Bonhams ---unsure but appears to be 6 years Sothebys--- 5 Years Morton and Eden---2 years Christies--- 1 year Ebay ( paid with paypal ) ---45 days (perhaps)_ DNW-- 15 Days Spinks --7 Days Baldwins--7 Days Other Auctions.. Anyone know who offers what ?

This is my FAKE , too big the add to last post

The outcome will be very interesting to know. Hopefully the latest Baldwin offering is okay as the second " G " is not broken which it is on the KNOWN !!! Fakes, though the the weak bottom milling is worrying . Makes me wonder why the BNTA like to keep all knowledge of fakes SECRET except perhaps to their members.? It would be nice if someone who is a BNTA member explained to us collectors just what steps are being taken and give us the reason for the hush hush approach they take ? This is a Fake that Baldwins Sold some time ago and I understand they are very active in taking steps to avoid them coming on to the market. It shows traces of the < coming from the kings mouth but that would be easy to rub away .

Great start and looking really good . Nice someone devotes all their time to such projects as it will be much appreciated by collectors later on , who could never hope to have access to such detailed information .

Collectors were generally able to take their pick before 1970, but by about 1975 many coins had risen perhaps three fold , and the large " English Gentlemen " type of dealers like Seabys were brought to their knees as their stock had been so depleted they could never hope to fill their cabinets again, as to buy their say 1960's stock would have taken perhps three times the capital investment. On top of that they were being attacked from within, by thefts of their coins and their clients data files were offered all around the world to dealers by the thiefs. Seabys were also slow to keep up with the prices rises and there were many bargains to be had. Baldwins were like a gentlemans club , and it took a lot of acceptance before you were allowed into the inner sanctom and they were also slow to adapt on current price , so their Cabinets housed many bargains which were taken by the handful to Spinks , who had tended to keep up with the price rises and were paying a more up to date price, and so they were great days to make money but even though that was so ,by the time prices flattened out very few who had been dealing in coins could never afford to buy the amount and quality of coins they could a few years earlier. So I think it was a good time for astute collectors and on the whole a bad time for dealers as many eventually went to the wall and only a relative few survived. The latest boom time has many differant factors at play so who knows what the outcome may be ? My feelings are that as the previous booms in Gold and Silver brought similar percentage price increases in Coins the same is happening this time, but this boom is stronger and seems to have taken hold this time.

It was London Coins ,( latest sale ) and they have a few 1905 Halfcrowns and that was the best one I think and it just looked very strange in wear and in colour, so I kept a photo and it would be interesting to know if they did pull it because doubts had been made about it .

Saw this, it was withdrawn from a Major Auction, to me it looks strange and makes me wonder if its a Chinese Fake. The letters forming BRITT seem to fade into the field at their bases and the colour looks abnormal and gives a flatness that I feel is seen on the Chinese Coins

Its listed as being sold on Ebay August 14th 2010 by laura_5268 from China (sometimes listed as from Hong Kong) She or he is the well known seller of the 1763 fake shillings. Nothing listed as at today but completed listing show a good aray of fake foreign crown size coins that look pretty good to me. Very worrying, and if you check where the Gothic Crown is shown there is a link to forgeries seen on Ebay !! They look very concerning !!

and the Reverse..sorry to large to add onto first page of post

This comes up as a FAKE on a Google Search..Spinks 2012 gives us a warning * "Beware of recent forgeries" Anyone know what the exact faults to look for are as I have great difficulty in spotting any ? It worries me not knowing

Looks to me to be well over double its sensible value ?

Hello "Oxford_Collector, not suggesting your Edwards are dipped, but in the 1960's period I was talking about 100 year Coins of that era, so thats 1860 or so and older , but certainly I did not see any BU 1887 Coins in the main london dealers and they had them by the thousand but most of the Country had not cottoned on to what there was in London, so those that bought them in large quantities, took them home , silver dipped them, took them around the dealers who paid on average double the London price, then doubled them again. Thats why the Coin Magazines of the time were full of adverts selling BU and BU Gem Silver Coins at about four times the London price ( though in London they were called GVF to EF )Those were the days !! Thats not to say UNC bright mint condition coins dont exist, but you have the be very carefully, as a lot of the 1960's Silver Dipped ones that have lain in Collections have re-toned through the years, some have gone very grubby looking, and are now ripe for the Silver Dip pot once again. In those days the average collector did not appreciate toned coins but now thankfully that has changed and many collectors can now see the beauty that lies in the different hues and shades of toning.

In the 1960's I did not see ANY BU 100 year old coins in the Stocks of Seaby , Spinks , Baldwins etc, they were all Toned GVF to EF, then they were bought by the hundred, taken out of London, Silver Dipped , sold to the Dealers all over the Country and sold as BU, BU Gem etc . Thats the true situation. No one wanted GVF and EF toned Coins so they were made into BU ones. The main London dealers did NOT grade Coins as BU in those days EF was about the limit. Now 50 years later most have toned again into a multitude of silver tarnish hues, some look wonderful other struggle !

Regret thats not so..Yes okay for 45 days after purchase.. I had long conversation with Ebay Trust and Safety Dept they said I must get Solicitor to write to Head Office in Luxembourg. Because of costs I wrote myself, they explained they would only ever give such details if an actual Court order was obtained ordering them to give those details.

In answer to Paulus question, NO cannot get my money back as its a year ago since I bought it, and Ebay refuse to tell me the sellers Name and Address (ebay name was anthony.0177 and he say he wont tell me his name but says he bought it from ebay name xxxcoinsxxx ) I think " azda " has the best advice if you paid by Paypal...start a claim with them, BUT make sure you are in a position to fax them a dealers headed paper saying they believe the coin is a fake BEFORE you start making a claim, because they only give you a few days and if they dont get it on time they close the case and you loose out.

This is my REVERSE..System would not let me post at the same time as the Obverse

Here is my fake I bought off Ebay.Their Legal Dept said I must get a Court Order if over 45 days and you want the sellers address . One thing I notice is that the FAKES seem to have a weak Obverse beading from about 4 o'clock to 7 o'clock

http://www.give-a-buck.com/closet/essay/editorial29.html Heres a bit about these Regards Michael

" Debbie " beat me to it with the posting details.. Just one other thing. I mentioned the tops of letters in GEORGIVS being missing and this does happen on genuine ones BUT, the FAKES I've seen have a missing part on the top of the SECOND "G" and I dont think I can find a photo anywhere of a known genuine one with the second G problem ?

Hello Paulus you need to go to bottom of this entire page.. then click on..Click here to show filter options..select "ALL" I started post 28th October 2011 and Asda last answered 7th November..Some photos there... i think yours looks wrong and very close to mine, I got stung on on Ebay. I should try sending photo of yours to BNTA..or maybe Spink or Baldwin Ive found them very helpful in the past, but some other " top " names I've found just ignor any questions about fakes. On another forum I got warned off and my post removed just because I said Spinks and Baldwins were very helpful but others just ignored me ( I did not mention any names !!)To me it seems some want to hush up things about fakes !!

Sold in Australia Ebay 3306 7947 4782, I kept photo of this, and on reading through the forums, it seems to be the one " Paulus " wrote about buying on 03/02/2012. I'm concerned as it seems to have many of the faults the fakes have, though I cannot see the < shape scratches coming from the Kings mouth ( though they could have been erased )Hope " Paulus " has not bought a duff one ? Interested in what others think. It has all the tops of lettering missing in GEORGIVS like my fake, the DNW fake and the Baldwin fake.. brought up in previous posts.

Thanks " azda " that something new I've learnt

p.s. How does " asda " know the number of " watchers " I thought only the seller could see that ?

Looks a strong price at £247.99, as obverse is really only a polished Fine Spinks 2012 rates it £120.00 fine and I would say the obverse condition holds far more weight than the reverse ( which is in better grade )