This is the Kind of Stuff that REALLY hurts the Hobby

BuffaloIronTail · January 22, 2018 11:23AM

This was recently on E-Bay

Counterfeit Gold Buffalo (Had to re-post this picture)

Pete

Jimnight · January 22, 2018 11:33AM

I agree.

Crypto · January 22, 2018 11:38AM

while NGC holders do hurt the hobby they should get a pass for that one because it is fake

Treashunt · January 22, 2018 11:52AM

crap!

Yes, that is what it is.

AUandAG · January 22, 2018 11:55AM

I don't do modern gold so I'm really thrown off by this one. What makes anyone think it's a fake?
Seems to match this sold on ebay (photograph excluded): https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-W-American-Buffalo-Gold-50-One-Ounce-PF-70-Ultra-Cameo-NGC-9999-Fine-/362138685496?hash=item545125d038:g:7TsAAOSw6VRZ7U9N&nma=true&si=wji7V6%2F9A6K0WHMwtowhm%2F7UQFg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Treashunt · January 22, 2018 12:21PM

@AUandAG said:
I don't do modern gold so I'm really thrown off by this one. What makes anyone think it's a fake?
Seems to match this sold on ebay (photograph excluded): https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-W-American-Buffalo-Gold-50-One-Ounce-PF-70-Ultra-Cameo-NGC-9999-Fine-/362138685496?hash=item545125d038:g:7TsAAOSw6VRZ7U9N&nma=true&si=wji7V6%2F9A6K0WHMwtowhm%2F7UQFg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

look at his face, looks like a cartoon figure.

blitzdude · January 22, 2018 12:26PM

Looks like the one on the ngc site https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/2577873-026/70/

asheland · January 22, 2018 12:30PM

ugh

AUandAG · January 22, 2018 12:30PM

look at his face, looks like a cartoon figure.

That's just the photography in my opinion. I think it's the real deal.

bob

johnny9434 · January 22, 2018 12:53PM

ewwww,

ctf_error_coins · January 22, 2018 12:54PM

I was thinking also it is weird non flattering photography

BryceM · January 22, 2018 1:00PM

Huh. Looks ridiculous at first glance........ I thought it to be a poor fake. Then, possibly a real coin with goofy photography.

Either way I don’t understand the appeal of collectible bullion.

messydesk · January 22, 2018 1:02PM

@AUandAG said:

look at his face, looks like a cartoon figure.

That's just the photography in my opinion. I think it's the real deal.

bob

I don't think so. Spaghetti hair, anyone? It even looks worse than an authentic 2001 buffalo nickel silver dollar. The slab label is also off if you compare against the real one.

dcarr · January 22, 2018 1:32PM

Gold plated.
The hair details and facial details are off.

koynekwest · January 22, 2018 2:03PM

An obvious fake-just about everything is wrong with that one. Thanks for posting, Pete.

AUandAG · January 22, 2018 2:06PM

Okay, you convinced me.

bob :O

jwitten · January 22, 2018 2:10PM

The fact that it fooled anyone here is a little scary. Note that the fields seem smooth in this fake, and the real ones are textured. Terrible fake.

Goldbully · January 22, 2018 2:13PM

Very informative video on this coin.................fake NGC holder and 11 grams light for starters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0oO2CSSQv8

JBK · January 22, 2018 2:17PM

Even I could tell it was a fake, so that's pretty bad. (The coin, that is, the slab might have fooled me as I have so little experience with them).

NPD1078 · January 22, 2018 2:26PM

Thanks for posting the video!

messydesk · January 22, 2018 2:28PM

@Goldbully said:
Very informative video on this coin.................fake NGC holder and 11 grams light for starters.

I was hoping the video would end with the slab and coin being impaled on the business end of a drill press.

Goldbully · January 22, 2018 2:34PM

@messydesk said:

@Goldbully said:
Very informative video on this coin.................fake NGC holder and 11 grams light for starters.

I was hoping the video would end with the slab and coin being impaled on the business end of a drill press.

You should have been a coin film producer.......great idea.

blitzdude · January 22, 2018 4:05PM

@jwitten said:
The fact that it fooled anyone here is a little scary. Note that the fields seem smooth in this fake, and the real ones are textured. Terrible fake.

It's just a poor lighted picture on a computer screen. I don't care how much of an ''expert" someone around here self proclaims themselves to be, you cant authenticate a coin from a digital picture.

OPA · January 22, 2018 4:21PM

@blitzdude said:

@jwitten said:
The fact that it fooled anyone here is a little scary. Note that the fields seem smooth in this fake, and the real ones are textured. Terrible fake.

It's just a poor lighted picture on a computer screen. I don't care how much of an ''expert" someone around here self proclaims themselves to be, you cant authenticate a coin from a digital picture.

As the saying goes "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck"

BryceM · January 22, 2018 4:34PM

OK, so looking on a computer monitor instead of a teeny smartphone, it's obviously a fake. The real article has sculpted fields - not perfectly smooth flat mirrors as depicted here. The hair detail, eye detail, and overall "look" is off. It is difficult to photograph proof gold..... even on CoinFacts they look very different depending on the lighting technique, but this one just isn't OK. The distance from the hair to the rim is too great. The forehead and cheek profiles are off.......

dennis1219 · January 22, 2018 5:36PM

Buy from reputable sources. Put these crooks out of business... unfortunately not everyone pays attention. I can’t imagine buying fakes... putting them away for years and then discovering down the road you were duped.

Pokermandude · January 22, 2018 5:39PM

100% fake. Confirming if a piece is authentic can be tricky using images. But this one absolutely screams counterfeit.

COINS MAKE CENTS · January 22, 2018 6:08PM

Holder is a dead giveaway to me

BLUEJAYWAY · January 22, 2018 10:18PM

Terrible.

ChrisH821 · January 22, 2018 10:45PM

@blitzdude said:

@jwitten said:
The fact that it fooled anyone here is a little scary. Note that the fields seem smooth in this fake, and the real ones are textured. Terrible fake.

It's just a poor lighted picture on a computer screen. I don't care how much of an ''expert" someone around here self proclaims themselves to be, you cant authenticate a coin from a digital picture.

Seriously? The shape of the face isn't even right, no amount of "poor" light can hide that.
You may not be able to 100% authenticate a coin by a picture but you can surely tell when one is an obvious counterfeit.
Also note that the holder prongs are not touching the coin in the same locations as the NGC cert photo, the NGC logo in the official photo is completely covered by the holographic strip where the OP one is about 75%, among other discrepancies. NGC does a great service by photographing every coin in the holder.

jmlanzaf · January 22, 2018 11:28PM

You guys are being a bit merciless on @blitzdude. Yes, it screams fake to most of us. Everything from the printing on the slab to the coin itself. But photos can be deceiving IN GENERAL and he may not be that familiar with the original. Geez, show some people some mercy. I'm sure we could fool you with the right coin in the right photo.

MarkInDavis · January 22, 2018 11:37PM

@blitzdude said:

It's just a poor lighted picture on a computer screen. I don't care how much of an ''expert" someone around here self proclaims themselves to be, you cant authenticate a coin from a digital picture.

Absolutely true. You cannot absolutely authenticate from photo. You can sometimes, however, absolutely determine it to be a counterfeit from the photo.

ChrisH821 · January 23, 2018 12:00AM

@jmlanzaf said:
You guys are being a bit merciless on @blitzdude. Yes, it screams fake to most of us. Everything from the printing on the slab to the coin itself. But photos can be deceiving IN GENERAL and he may not be that familiar with the original. Geez, show some people some mercy. I'm sure we could fool you with the right coin in the right photo.

Perhaps so. The way I read his comment it came off as pretty snide, especially after someone posted an educational video concerning another counterfeit of the same coin, in the same certification number group even. No one here was proclaiming to be an expert.
You could absolutely fool me with a picture of a good counterfeit, I will readily admit that.

DoughDeo · January 23, 2018 1:02AM

@BuffaloIronTail said:
This was recently on E-Bay

Is the seller account still active?

BuffaloIronTail · January 23, 2018 5:18AM

@DoughDeo said:

@BuffaloIronTail said:
This was recently on E-Bay

Is the seller account still active?

I don't know. The coin I posted was posted here previously a while back. Because of all the "bad coin" threads lately I reposted it.

Seems like it got a better "reception" this time around.

EDITED TO ADD: I looked in my files and found the time stamp on when it was downloaded: April 25, 2017

Pete

ricko · January 23, 2018 6:51AM

That coin is a blatant fake and the picture makes it clear to anyone with a modicum of experience. Now, authenticating from a picture can be very tricky with many counterfeits, such as gold Indian 2 1/2 and 5 dollar coins - and in most cases should not be relied on. However, when you get what clearly is a caricature of the original, then it is easy to call it from a picture, three feet away. Cheers, RickO

oih82w8 · January 23, 2018 9:08AM

If it looks like crap and smells like crap...do you really need to taste it?

Terrible fake.

TwoSides2aCoin · January 23, 2018 2:10PM

Not sure if it hurts the hobby, but this type of ______ sure permeates it.

keets · January 23, 2018 2:41PM

why doesn't someone just post a picture of a genuine NGC holdered coin side-by-side with the OP coin? that should settle things, right??

ChrisH821 · January 24, 2018 9:05PM

@keets said:
why doesn't someone just post a picture of a genuine NGC holdered coin side-by-side with the OP coin? that should settle things, right??

OK we're gonna test this. Was a PITA to make.

Paradisefound · January 24, 2018 9:37PM

Thank you for sharing.

This is the Kind of Stuff that REALLY hurts the Hobby

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