Is this a reliable ebayer to buy raw gold from??

DeutscherGeist

I am into German gold, and assuming the following is off grade, is this authentic and could I trust this buyer? What should I be aware of with this purchase?

Prussian Gold 20 marks

He accepts paypal, so I think that is some added protection.

I like off grade stuff only if I can get it for close to melt price. I guess I like to collect gold, but also have some variety in my collection. Its more exciting staring into history than plain gold bars. I did buy a 10 mark coin that was MS66 with some helpful advice here. I don't regret that, but some off grade stuff is not bad once in awhile.

The spot price is $983.90. That means the coin is $226 at least. I am OK to pay that.

theboz11

Though the pictures are not great, it looks real to me and the seller has a 99.9 feedback on over a 1000 transactions. Why would you doubt his honesty? His grade looks right and anything close to bullion would be a very good deal.

CIVITAS

The lettering on the obverse looks wrong to me. Too small and close to the rim. The curve inside the Kaiser's ear doesn't look tight enough, the moustache appears to angle upwards a little too sharply and the whole coin has a generally soft look to it. I can't say for sure without seeing it person, but it looks a lot like known counterfeits of 1894 and 1895 from Prussia. The plus side is that the counterfeits are generally made of 83%+ gold and generally weigh between 7.6 and 8.1g. so it should contain at least .20oz AGW.

CIVITAS

I should also mention, there's a good chance that the seller believes the coin to be genuine. I don't know that we can tell enough from the photo to say for sure that it isn't.

DeutscherGeist

Thanks for the advice and input.

I don't know too much about these coins to really tell if its authentic or not. The seller may really believe it to be authentic, but I really don't want to get something and then battle to return it later. I have already accepted that it is off grade and I have no problem with that.

I guess I could buy it, but then I would need an expert to look at it. I am not close to anyone that can do this. I live in southern California--Los Angeles area.

The one dealer that is honest is the guy from Huntington Coin Exchange in Huntington Beach, CA. It is quite a drive just for appraisal if that's all I am going there for.

lordmarcovan

What Civitas said.

From the size of the picture, nothing on the obverse would've triggered my warning bells, but some of the reverse lettering looks "off" to me.

The seller probably doesn't know it's a counterfeit, if it is, and as mentioned previously, it's kinda hard to tell from those pics.

If you figure there's .2 oz. of gold in it, even as a fake, and you place your bid a little back of spot price, it might still be worth a shot?

PS- unless you're interested in it as a coin, rather than a bullion item. These are easily obtained in slabs, if you just want one for a collection. But your interest is mostly bullion-related, well, then... go for it if you like.

AUandAG

I guess I could buy it, but then I would need an expert to look at it. I am not close to anyone that can do this. I live in southern California--Los Angeles area.



I believe the best advice for you would be to drive over to PCGS in Newport Beach. Might want to give them a call and see if they will accept "walk in's".

bob