Counterfeit buffalo nickels from Russia
ArizonaRareCoins
Posts: 679 ✭✭✭✭
The past few months, I've been seeing an increase of counterfeit buffalo nickels on eBay, coming from Russia. The sellers usually list 2 or 3 key-date counterfeit buffalos mixed in with $5 cheap foreign coins. Below are some pictures of the counterfeits and the eBay listings:
9
Comments
Thank you posting this.
Not only Russia, it's any place the Chinese and other counterfeit makes can dump their trash.
The blow-ups on eBay seems to show pitting like you would expect in a poured fake.
Thanks for posting!
I wonder if they are making these themselves or buying from others?
Sad thing is that they sold.
It's the fake holders that worry me the most.
100% Positive BST transactions
This seller has been known to sell counterfeits for 3 years.
I searched sellers name makhemil1 on another forum and they were showing images of makhemil1 listing fakes years ago.
For as much money numismatists have given ebay over the past 20 years, you would think they would want to be known as a fairly safe place to shop for coins and collectibles.
The seller has sold 7 1913S T2's the last 2 months for about $1500 along with another 1500$ or so in copies out of 48 sold items the past 60 days.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/makhemil1/m.html?item=323783246929&nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2046732.m1684
Why won't ebay help protect their innocent buyers? It is so blatantly obvious this is another intentionally criminal seller. Is it the $300 ebay made off of this defrauding of buyers that prevents them from even warning the seller? If Ebay knows, and allows it to continue, doesn't that make them at least morally if not legally, an accomplice? Amazon, Aiiexpress and Etsy are even worse, they just turn a blind eye and blame it all on the seller.
Why doesn't any Law Enforcement lift a finger? The CCPA/HPA where made into law, but the crooks have a 99.999% chance of no penalty because there is no one to enforce the law. If it were any other law being broken, some authority would have done something to stop it. Why won't they even try to stop this?
Those collectors and dealers that do care, don't want to and shouldn't have to waste their time playing Whack-A-Mole. It almost gets to the point of, "If someone gets burned for $300 to some guy in The Russian Federation or China, they deserve it." That is not how it is supposed to be. Who can blame them when they try and nothing happens because no one else helps?
The venues (eCommerce websites) just need to attempt to stop their vendors from committing crimes on their sites. Then those responsible for upholding the law would only need to occasionally prosecute a few repeat violators. That would certainly slow counterfeit sales way down. If that were to happen, then those that do care could spend more time catching the more advanced crooks.
It seems like if a guy walks into a coin store and steals $300 worth of coins, it's big news and everyone wants them caught and charged, yet if the same guy steals $300 from a buyer on the internet by giving them a $.99 copy, those same people just look away.
You can't buy a copy of a $30 movie on ebay, but you can buy a copy of a $30k or $.30 coin.
Is that because the companies that own the movie rights have lawyers or because ebay cares more about other corporations than people? It makes no sense to me.
Since no outside entity cares about looking out for those collectors who aren't well informed, it is our duty
to try to inform as many as possible how to look out for themselves.
The OP took the time to record the images, spread awareness and educate people like me that aren't experts.
I am very thankful for that.
http://www.silverstocker.com
Anyone can PM me Any Time about Any thing.
While the prevalence of these counterfeit coins is apparent to the collector community, it is a minor annoyance to the government. They will not get involved. It would be nice if online venues could police their sites, and there is limited effort, but not nearly as it should be. That being said, the con artists will just pop up on other sites or create their own.... I know this sounds as if there is no answer for the problem - and there is none to prevent the overall issue. We must do our best to educate other participants through efforts such as @ArizonaRareCoins has made above. We will not prevent it, nor will we stop it... we can just hope to minimize the effects. Cheers, RickO
Awareness and reporting are very important.
The following links do both:
Numismatic Crime Information Center
http://numismaticcrimes.org/
Industry Council for Tangible Assets
https://www.ictaonline.org/
And I offer that this forum is also a good place for information on counterfeits as people post what they find in real-time.
"If Ebay knows, and allows it to continue, doesn't that make them at least morally if not legally, an accomplice? "
The way I interpret the below quote from the US Hobby Protection Act, ebay has violated the law on many occasions. Their team of attorneys probably believes otherwise.
"It shall be a violation of the Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder for a person to provide substantial assistance or support to any manufacturer, importer, or seller of imitation numismatic items, or to any manufacturer or importer of imitation political items, if that person knows or should have known that the manufacturer, importer, or seller is engaged in any practice that violates the Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder."
Interesting that eBay saw fit to remove the recent 1913-s buffalo counterfeit, but didn't see fit to NARU the account.
hello
e-bay and many other sites are not caring about laws and such they are after $$$$ and these fake coin sellers net them
thousands of dollars in sale fees, listing fees and such, to them why stop this it's raking them in major $$$$
yes it maybe against the law but those laws are rarely enforced and scammers know this
graded silver coins (NEED TO SELL ASAP)
link below
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7bPCP787VCZCCKb67
I have posted several times the industry should offer to pay for dedicated USSS agents to go after this "trivial" stuff. To my knowledge, that approach has not been tried.
He's back again selling counterfeit buffs. EBay doesn't seem to care if he steals a few hundred every week selling this crap:
https://ebay.com/itm/1913-S-Type-2-Buffalo-Nickel-USA/323803427524?hash=item4b643032c4:g:aHMAAOSwLtxc1eSd
https://ebay.com/itm/1921-S-Buffalo-Nickel-USA/323803428617?hash=item4b64303709:g:8x4AAOSwhMJc1eUA
That's a pity party of buffalos
Pulled out the pics:
COLLUSION!!!!!!!!!
Why should they care? They are making money, and no one that is supposed to be enforcing the laws is. There are groups that are involved with "Numismatic Crimes" but they do not involve themselves with this type. There are groups that are "anti-counterfeit" yet I see no action from them regarding sales of counterfeits online.
I am a nobody in the coin collecting arena. Literally no one, I'm just a small time collector. Still I take my time, money and energy to do everything in my power to get listings like these two removed. I will do everything I can to have them removed before they end, which they will. Fortunately, there are others that care as much if not more than I do so these won't go to some less informed buyer.
Thank you @ArizonaRareCoins for taking the time to post this.
I decided that I would have to do something if I wanted more to be done. I bought a domain name and am going to build a website to document as many of these counterfeits as possible. I don't have the resources to pay someone to build it or the knowledge to create it. It is going to take me quite awhile to figure out how to do what I believe is needed. I am willing to accept any help that anyone wants to offer.
This is all I have so far besides a bunch of images of counterfeits. It isn't much, but it is something to start from.
http://counterfeitcoincatalog.com/
http://www.silverstocker.com
Anyone can PM me Any Time about Any thing.
Those would make some nice cufflinks.
The only way to get some attention would be in the political arena.
If I am properly informed, there will soon be Elections in the USA.... a good way to chime in.
Here is my idea which I already posted on this site some time ago. However, there was NO comment NOR interest!
Leaves a lot of unanswered questions, right?
ok, here it is again:
when one comes in to the US by ship or plane, one must fill out a customs declaration. there are a bunch of questions to be answered. depending on the answers, customs will or will not, further examine the traveler.
All, IMO, that will have to be done is this: add one more question like: did you obtain and bring back with you, any coins or Banknotes(currency) while out of the country?
This can be achieved by all collectors writing to ALL Congress men or women. A form letter will do it.
and write every month!
I know in Canada mail sent to our Members of parliament is FREE to send. I have no idea if it is the same in the US.
They will soon get fed up with all the mail and do something about it... we hope.
Somebody here has some pull with eBay as the (2) new counterfeit listings were taken down. Thanks to whoever that may be.
Too funny!!
Fixed it for you
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
What is going on with the "F" under the date on all of those buffs? "F" for fake?
Thank you for posting this! The good news is that the pieces aren't very good counterfeits. Let's hope they don't improve too much in the near future.
The "F" stands for Fraser, the designer of the coin. The rims, porous surfaces and simulated wear are dead giveaways to his coins being fakes. He gets away with this crime because buffalos are rarely counterfeited since their values , even for the key dates, are relatively cheap compared to other series.
Anyone can PM me about counterfeits on ebay. Diagnostics are required. The seller admitting they are copies counts.
http://www.silverstocker.com
Anyone can PM me Any Time about Any thing.
Forgers do what they do on the premise that the more they do the better they get the lesser the odds they'll get caught. Go figure. Peace Roy
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Thanks for the info, I guess I never ever noticed the "F" before, I do not collect buffs
Will have to check mind.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
This is like playing whack-a-mole, makhemil1 is determined to rip someone off:
https://ebay.com/itm/1913-S-Type-2-Buffalo-Nickel-USA/323810467871?hash=item4b649ba01f:g:R5cAAOSwPLtc4FNL