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Raptor48
Posts: 23 ✭✭✭
Listed this morning:
New 1952-D G$1 listing
Based on contents of posting plus pcgs verify information, this is a scam.
Phil
0
Raptor48
Posts: 23 ✭✭✭
Comments
The intent is appreciated but there are at least hundreds if not thousands of fake/scam eBay coin listings every single day. Posting them all will overrun this entire forum.
Rather than create a new post, follow these directions -> https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1116888/how-to-report-an-ebay-counterfeit-coin-2025
or put the listing in here if you wish -> https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/13993459
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Looks ok to me.
Thanks for advice lermish, I won't do it again. Perhaps the moderator will be nice enough to delete.
Just report.
Proud follower of Christ!
buy the coin, not the holder.
That has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
Proud follower of Christ!
Without even looking at the coin, the feedback is a dead giveaway.
If someone buys that, they need to learn more before spending their dollars on coins.
OP likely intended to flag this as a fake, but there is something more interesting going on here. This isn't someone trying to sell a fake coin, but rather evidence of a widespread money laundering scheme pervasive in the US Coins category on eBay. The fraudulent seller doesn't actually intend to sell a physical item, but instead convert a stolen gift card into cash. Notice how the seller has one other item for sale - a 1982 quarter for $2000. The network of scammers lists hundreds of identical auctions like this a day, only bidding on a few of them.
I'm convinced this is a coordinated criminal operation involving illicit funds and stealth eBay accounts bought in bulk from online sources. Here's how it works:
• Dozens of stealth seller accounts list bogus high-priced auctions
• Other stealth buyer accounts place the only bid
• Fraudulently-obtained eBay gift cards fund the transactions
• The seller "cashes out" before accounts are abandoned
• Both accounts vanish
• The cycle repeats
These suspicious auctions share common traits:
• New seller accounts with zero feedback
• Only one or two items listed per seller
• Usernames often random combinations of letters and numbers
• Round-number starting bids: $1000, $2500, etc.
• Vague, poorly written titles—often in all caps or lowercase
• Often common circulating coins listed at outrageous prices
• Low-quality or irrelevant photos
• Titles unrelated to the coin pictured
• Identical keyword patterns across many accounts
• Auctions ending in tight time clusters from supposedly unrelated sellers
• Rural, obscure item locations
• Listings receive one bid—from a zero-feedback buyer
A search for completed listings in the U.S. Coins category for items that sold for round figures - $1000, $1500, $2000, $2500, etc . - will yield a staggering amount matching this pattern. For every listing like this that "sells," there are hundreds of similar ones that close without any bids. This muddies the waters and makes the auctions ending with a sale seem organic.
I initially believed stolen credit credit cards to be the source of funds, but now believe gift cards, which are cleaner, less traceable and take longer to be reported than credit cards, are the vehicle. Gift card scams are one of the most common forms of consumer fraud in the United States, particularly involving imposters posing as government agencies, tech support, or family members. In 2024, the reported losses to gift card scams in the US was around $250 million. Certainly, some amount of this businees is being run through eBay.
I’ve tracked and reported this fraud to eBay for over five years, flagging hundreds of suspicious auctions. Yet, little to no action has been taken.
This raises an interesting question: is eBay choosing to ignore it due to the revenue these fraudulent sales generate? Yet one would hope their systems are advanced enough to detect these clear patterns (hell, you can't even send an email address through eBay messages).
Or not
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I always assumed it was to raise the sold prices of these coins so their main accounts could sell the coins at higher prices.
I've always assumed these scam listings are part of a money-laundering scheme, rather than people actually trying to sell cheap coins for a small fortune. In the end, a "coin" is bought and sold; now both parties have "money from sale of rare coin" on their books, that they can point to if the cops or tax agents ever come snooping.
Why do these scammers use coins? Because coin collectors are quite well known for paying extraordinarily large sums of money for coins that look, to the untrained eye, like perfectly normal coins just like the ones you'd get in change. The only people who know that these specific coins aren't actually worth their stated value are actual coin collectors, whose opinion is unlikely to be sought by anybody unless the crooks get caught for some other reason.
As for the question "why can't eBay stop it", well, being optimistic about the price you'll get for a coin isn't against eBay policy. EBay assumes overly-optimistic sellers will simply be ignored, and if something sells for an inflated price, well, it must actually be worth that price. So from eBay's perspective, nobody is doing anything wrong. The only way these scammers could get in trouble with eBay is if they fall afoul of eBay's particular rules regarding coins eg. the "no raw coins over $2500" rule. I have seen some of these bogus coin listings with a $2499.99 pricetag, which I can only assume is avoid breaking that specific rule.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.