Fake raw 2008 platinum eagles on the Bay?

kiyote

I'm seeing a crazy amount of 2008 non-burnished, non-proof eagles on eBay... WAY more for that date than any other date. One guy says he took them out of a mint tube. Something just doesn't seem quite right about this...

Typical somewhat suspicious auction

I might be way off my mark here, but it just strikes me as odd.

Check out this guy's feedback. He's got a house full of 2008 platinum coins, apparently.

Wowzers!

RBinTex

Gosh. Can they all be fake?!?!

Doogy

can't say if these are fake, but i've seen fakes Plats from 2008 in fake PCGS holders. thus, i wouldn't be surprised if the fake raw ones are coming in too.

percyb

One more example of why I shy away from doing business with people who sell on Ebay.

fc

pics are not good enough to tell.

all i know is that the chinese go to extreme lengths to copy anything
and it is on the bay from american sellers. i got burnt once... never
again on crap stuff.

erroid

"One more example of why I shy away from doing business with people who sell on Ebay."

Geeze, we're not "all" bad....

FloridaBill

<< <i>"One more example of why I shy away from doing business with people who sell on Ebay." >>



For some of us, eBay is the only retail window we have.

FloridaBill

greghansen

I might be way off my mark here, but it just strikes me as odd.
Check out this guy's feedback. He's got a house full of 2008 platinum coins, apparently.

I don't find it all that suspicious. First, it is always the case that you see a lot more of the most recent year bullion coins than prior years. Plus with the little run than Platinum has made since late fall until now, lots of sellers are in good position with these and have some nice profits to take by selling at these levels. That will draw more numbers. Especially if somebody owns a mint tube of these things. They may want to sell enough to recover their costs and hold the rest.

Secondly, the seller has feedback over 500 and has a 100% rating.

The second seller whose feedback you linked is at 100% with over 1,000 transactions. I know you didn't say anything suspicious about his auctions, but it just goes to show that some people like a lot of Platinum! He has Credit Suisse bars with matching certificates of authenticy and many different denominations of Platinum eagles.

i've seen fakes Plats from 2008 in fake PCGS holders. thus, i wouldn't be surprised if the fake raw ones are coming in too.

These I have not seen and would be interested in learning more about that. Sounds a bit disturbing to me.

Maybe I'm a sucker but I just don't see the indicia of a scam here.

RareSov

Umm 2008 with that reverse ? I thought it was the great seal or whatever. Looks completely fake to me.

mbogoman

<< Umm 2008 with that reverse ? I thought it was the great seal or whatever. Looks completely fake to me. >>

Yes, 2008 with that reverse, just like all of the previous years of BULLION Platinum Eagles. You are confusing the regular, bullion issue with the Burnished and Proof "W" issues with annual changing reverse themes. They are night and day, apples and oranges, not the same thing.

7Jaguars

As per above, I do not see how these are definitively fake based on the pictures. They may be but certainly not clear.

fc

with matching certificates of authenticy

just to throw this out there... if the chinese can fake a coin... what
does a piece of paper hopefully mean at that point? not much.

i am not saying the rounds/bars are fake.. due to the lousy pics... but a piece
of paper or packaging means nothing to the chinese in the way of effort to fake
this stuff.

Schmitz7

Perhaps you could buy a few of these and pay with fake dollars that the Chinese just finished printing.

CaptHenway

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the coin in those pictures.
TD

garsmith

No negs; so either they have a boat load of platinum or there are a bunch of fools that have been parted from their money

OPA

<< <i>No negs; so either they have a boat load of platinum or there are a bunch of fools that have been parted from their money >>



I tend to agree with your "boat load" ..... The plats up for sale are the common business strikes and not the W's .. was there ever a shortage for the business strikes?

fishcooker

Aside from the counterfeit issue, which I don't know...My understanding is that the mint required a substantial minimum when ordering the coins in question. Thus, I would expect that anyone who actually got them, has a whole pile of them.

jmski52

The regular bullion Plats come in Mint tubes. The pics look real, and the feedback is unquestionable. The reverse is accurate. There is no great seal on most Plats.

I don't see any issues with the auction or the seller. jmho

CaptHenway

<< <i>

<< <i>No negs; so either they have a boat load of platinum or there are a bunch of fools that have been parted from their money >>



I tend to agree with your "boat load" ..... The plats up for sale are the common business strikes and not the W's .. was there ever a shortage for the business strikes? >>



Early in the year you could buy all you wanted. During the runup to $2200+, many people did. Now that platinum is circa $1050, some of these people are bailing out.

telecoin

I dunno...looks funny to me. Here's a side by side with a NGC coin and the coin in question.

DocMortar

Another reason why I quit EBAY

19Lyds

<< <i>I dunno...looks funny to me. Here's a side by side with a NGC coin and the coin in question.
>>



You may be onto something here!

I couldn't help but notice that the reverse of the coin is smaller than the obverse as well!

adamlaneus

Seems to me that it would be very difficult to replicate the density of Platinum with any metal. So, the counterfeit coin would either not weigh right or measure right. And, thus, it seems to me that the best home for such a coin is inside of a plastic slab where you cannot weigh or measure it properly without cracking it out. A coin in a flip? Wouldn't that be instantly detectable with a coin scale and a caliper?

This is one of those paranoia threads.

greghansen

I couldn't help but notice that the reverse of the coin is smaller than the obverse as well!

Now THAT's funny! Thanks for the laugh before I leave for the day. I think the forum police are on a cold trail with this one.

jmski52

Pictures of two different 1 ozers that I know to be real:

telecoin

Very funny....but also note that the coin with the white background is not the coin you will receive. The one with the color background is the one he is offering. Just look at the two faces. They are definitely different. There's a reason that faces are used on currency. The human face recognition facility is very keen. Even the slightest difference is detected by the human eye. If the seller's coin isn't fake, then the mint has produced two varieties of the issue.

zeebob

I dunno about the coin on Ebay being real or fake... But I do think the obverse has Liberty looking something between "sad" and "pissed off." What a poor choice for a portrait.

19Lyds

<< <i>Very funny....but also note that the coin with the white background is not the coin you will receive. The one with the color background is the one he is offering. Just look at the two faces. They are definitely different. There's a reason that faces are used on currency. The human face recognition facility is very keen. Even the slightest difference is detected by the human eye. If the seller's coin isn't fake, then the mint has produced two varieties of the issue. >>



Woo Hoo!

A new variety! And discovered via eBay photographs! Wow! We're good!

jmski52

A new variety! And discovered via eBay photographs! Wow! We're good!

I will say that the "open-eyed" coin (on the right) does look different, but I think that I've seen the same thing before. I'm not so sure that the lighting and angle of the photo isn't the culprit.

I do think the obverse has Liberty looking something between "sad" and "pissed off." What a poor choice for a portrait.

I thought the same thing when these first came out, and then they started showing actual photos of the statue's face - and the coins seemed to be a fair representation of the expression on the statue.