Grr.....

secondrepublic

Someone's about to get taken to the cleaners.

They should have checked out the seller's other auctions selling obviously fake copies of rare Polish coins.

Sheesh.

Aethelred

A very poor cast copy, it has the look of this Chinese stuff we are seeing so much of!

secondrepublic

A lot of these seem to be sold out of Germany, though they may well be made in China (or Ukraine or Russia, for that matter). It really angers me to see this kind of dishonesty.

1jester

YUK!!!

secondrepublic

Believe it or not, I e-mailed the seller and he claims the coin is real ! Unbelievable. Is there anything that can be done -- like reporting him to Ebay? It's just scandalous that he can rip people like this.

Zoins

<< <i>A lot of these seem to be sold out of Germany, though they may well be made in China (or Ukraine or Russia, for that matter). It really angers me to see this kind of dishonesty. >>

Does Germany have any laws against counterfeits like the US Hobby Protection Act?

kimon1230

How can you tell it's a fake?

I know nothing about Polish coins but was wondering if there was a tell-tale mark that's independent of one's knowledge of a particular type of coin

secondrepublic

Some diagnostics for why it's a fake: The uneven, grainy photo, which if it were more detailed would probably show bubbles from the casting process; the lifeless, flat appearance of the coin - which in the original is struck in high relief; the fact that the original is a $5,000-plus coin any day of the week, and an $8,000 coin on a good day, with only 100 examples struck, and he's starting at $1.99 on Ebay along with some other fakes; the fact that these fakes are being sold every day of the week on German Ebay.... and the fact that I've seen a ton of these fakes and I know what a real one looks like (i.e., I know it when I see it).

Edited to add: if you get a large-size scan of the coin you will be able to see the tell-tale bubbles from the casting. You can also tell from the lack of a good edge inscription on the fakes.

Here is what an original should look like.

kimon1230

<< <i>Some diagnostics for why it's a fake: The uneven, grainy photo, which if it were more detailed would probably show bubbles from the casting process; the lifeless, flat appearance of the coin - which in the original is struck in high relief; the fact that the original is a $5,000-plus coin any day of the week, and an $8,000 coin on a good day, with only 100 examples struck, and he's starting at $1.99 on Ebay along with some other fakes; the fact that these fakes are being sold every day of the week on German Ebay.... and the fact that I've seen a ton of these fakes and I know what a real one looks like (i.e., I know it when I see it).

Edited to add: if you get a large-size scan of the coin you will be able to see the tell-tale bubbles from the casting. You can also tell from the lack of a good edge inscription on the fakes.

Here is what an original should look like. >>


Thanks!

Now that I've see what an original should look like, all I can say is wow! What a huge difference!
I also noticed the bubbles on the fake