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Is it me or this coin too perfect and most likely a counterfeit?
goldrealmoney79
Posts: 417 ✭✭✭
This Carson city Morgan appears to be perfect, no marks, no ticks, nothing perfect surfaces.
However the fact that the seller is new, hasn't had a sold listing in a while and to boot the coin observe just doesnt look right.
Am I crazy is this coin really a ms69 or is this a counterfeit?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/393390899801?hash=item5b97ecc259:g:ONoAAOSwaihgxEx0
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It is definitely counterfeit.
"1879 cc morgan silver dollar carson city brand new condition"
Well he isn't lying - it literally is "Brand New" - LOL!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Gone. Would have been nice if a picture was saved.
Young Numismatist/collector
75 Positive BST transactions buying and selling with 45 members and counting!
instagram.com/klnumismatics
I’ve seen many other posters say the same in various threads. But there are countless counterfeits listed on eBay and elsewhere and more than enough opportunities to see pictures of them. I seriously doubt that being able to view the listing’s pictures would be of anymore benefit than viewing any one of a number of other options.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Wow! That was fast - I figured at $24,999 he would have left it up a little longer -
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
The seller didn’t end it, eBay did.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Oh good! Must have had some tags that it was BS and eBay knew they weren't getting their 10% cut from a ridiculous asking price.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Bravo to eBay for quickly ending this post.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
It has been pulled.... That is good... From the OP description, it certainly sounds as if it should have raised red flags.... and as @MFeld has mentioned... plenty of fakes on ebay. Cheers, RickO
It was an obvious fake. No bag marks, pristine, freshly minted surfaces and if I recall, some of the details were a bit soft...
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
You know, I can't disagree with the above, but I'd like to point out that these threads are completely useless without pictures. A "Ho-hum, this is yet another Chinese counterfeit someone tried to sneak through on eBay" thread is orders of magnitude more interesting than a "Someone tried to sneak a counterfeit through on eBay. It's completely gone now." thread.
Uninteresting, yes, but I don’t see such threads as useless. They frequently lead to counterfeits being removed from EBay and on occasion, unknowing sellers of counterfeits are made aware of what they have.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
With all due respect, this is a dumb comment. Then you follow that up with the post above. Huh? Is this National Contrarian's Day?
Coin collecting is a very visual hobby and people are curious what counterfeits look like so they can avoid them. It would be nice to have seen pictures of this fake rather than taking your word for it as being just another perfect-looking fake. Maybe that way MORE readers would recognize fakes better and report them to eBay so fewer people would be ripped off and then sour on the hobby.
I didn’t comment on the coin at all, so I have no idea how you concluded that I said it was “just another perfect-looking fake”.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
The OP's typical threads here reflect a crusade regarding counterfeits on eBay. It isn't surprising or news that there are many and will be many listed at any given moment. It is a quixotic effort to stem the tide, if that is his true purpose.
Sorry for putting words in your mouth but the point is you're discouraging posting pictures here of these coins. Why? Then you claim these threads are useful for removing these coins from eBay. Why not post pictures here so others may see them and learn how to recognize them? Others here want to learn and have asked to see them.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see where Mr. Feld was discouraging people from posting pictures.
I wasn’t trying to discourage people from posting pictures. I was just making the point that if people want to see pictures of counterfeit coins, sadly, there are countless opportunities to do so. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
MFeld wrote: I’ve seen many other posters say the same in various threads. But there are countless counterfeits listed on eBay and elsewhere and more than enough opportunities to see pictures of them. I seriously doubt that being able to view the listing’s pictures would be of anymore benefit than viewing any one of a number of other options.
Three posters (including a young collector and another who is relatively new to the board with only 260 posts) wanted pictures posted of the coin here, presumably so that they could learn how to recognize counterfeits and avoid them. These requests were dismissed by Mr. Feld by stating he doubts posting pictures here would be beneficial because there are "more than enough" pictures of fakes on eBay. One poster commented "the thread is useless without pictures", whereupon Mr. Feld counterargued that these threads are useful for stopping these fraudulent sales. Huh? So why dismiss posting pictures so that others can see these fakes. People want to see them. And they're not gonna find them and learn how to spot fakes by entering "Counterfeit coins" in the eBay search function, are they? No. Searching the CU forums for threads with links to auctions may be productive, but eBay auction pages are only maintained for three months.
For some reason, I snapped and posted my remarks. Unfortunately, I mixed his comments with those of the OP ("appears to be perfect, no marks, no ticks, nothing perfect surfaces"...but the coin "just doesn't look right"). Maybe I snapped because I have spent many, many hours trying to stop these sellers from screwing buyers, most of whom know the coins are fake. The back and forth arguments with crooked sellers, sending message after message to eBay to try to stop these auctions. I've helped stop dozens of these fake coin auctions on my own and with others here when "eBay fake" threads are posted. However, without enough feedback from knowledgeable collectors, these auctions can proceed to completion. It sucks to see people get taken for hundreds and even thousands of dollars by these pricks, then reading their positive remarks for the seller afterward, not knowing they've been screwed. The eventual disappointment when they learn they're fake sours people to this hobby forever.
Mr. Feld is a very knowledgeable numismatist and was a wonderful dealer to purchase fine coins from when he was selling coins. I simply felt, perhaps wrongly, that his remarks to a request from several posters were a bit dismissive, and that he may have assumed these posters would have recognized the coin as a fake if they saw the auction. If I'm wrong, then I apologize. Now back to the eBay wars...
I felt you were assuming that others here would automatically recognize the coin as fake. That a picture wouldn't be helpful, because as you say, there are so many fakes on eBay and this was just another one. From watching the results of these fraudulent auctions, I don't automatically assume young collectors, relatively new posters, or anybody else for that matter here can easily spot these fakes. I had to educate myself a bit when I resumed collecting after a long layoff by following threads here and purchasing books on how to spot fakes. So many fakes are sold on eBay and so many sellers I contact (some who claim to have been dealers for years) claim they themselves didn't know that they were counterfeit.
Maybe other things are on my mind right now. I apologize for beating this horse to death.
I was making no such assumption. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.
I just saw another post of yours that I had missed previously, so am adding to the above. I believe that I feel as strongly as you do about counterfeits and trying to stop them. I've been sending very large numbers of reports to eBay for many years and contacting sellers, as well, in order to try to combat the problem. I do the same when I see obvious scams.
Years ago, along with a small group of other experts, I spent considerable time as a group member, working with eBay to report counterfeits. I wasn't at liberty to disclose my involvement at that time. Unfortunately, eBay eventually put an end to the group.
I take this issue extremely seriously and frankly, wish I didn't care about it as much as I do. This will be my last post to this thread.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
There are currently a wide variety of counterfeits on the market. Seeing as many of them as possible doesn’t hurt. I know that I will never be fully up to speed in counterfeit detection. Given the volume of what’s out there, no one will even be able to say that they have mastered the science of counterfeit detection.
I have given a lot of programs on many topics to clubs over the years. Counterfeit detection is one topic that I can give repeatedly because the problem is forever expanding.