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Source for key date hobby copies?
TurtleCat
Posts: 4,685 ✭✭✭✭✭
I am looking for some hole fillers in circulated albums where the key dates are just not a financially worthwhile option nor ones I would have outside of a certified holder. For example on mercs: 16d, 42/41 and on the Lincolns the 09svdb, 14d, etc. I am hoping someone makes these at a reasonable price with the required copy notice somewhere but not obnoxiously large. Does anyone know any sources? Maybe also for the old US stuff like chained cents, flowing hair, etc.
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Ebay (no pun intended) might be a start if you'd like
Why ruin the integrity of your collection with that kind of stuff?
I understand the desire to fill holes in albums/complete sets, but I kind of beg you and other folks with genuine interest in the hobby not to make purchases that encourage the counterfeiters out there……..or perhaps lend the counterfeiters with nefarious intentions paths to claim legitimacy in their operations.
I do genuinely hope you can achieve the satisfaction of seeing your project through one way or another.
Edited for grammar
Agree. Sellers on eBay from China.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I really don't think Gallery Mint copies that are properly labeled per the HPA represent any threat. It's the unmarked copies that are a problem.
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I thought that would be implied but I certainly agree with you.
The OP requested sources for marked coins.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Because I will never buy them raw or crack them out and I do not like empty holes in my album.
I have looked periodically and have not found anything remotely close to what I am looking for.
Getting coins marked “copy” as the hobby protection law requires does not encourage counterfeiters.
It might be oddly difficult to find ones with the proper "COPY" stamped into them.
However, have you ever thought of simply adding another legitimate US mint product into the slot of the "unobtainable"? That is, put another 1916 Merc into the 1916-D slot or another 1955 Lincoln into the 1955 DDO slot. In this way you have filled the hole in the album and have done it with a real coin that is pretty close to what you are missing.
Good luck!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
etsy, ebay, temu, are loaded with all the fakes you would wish, but why in the world support that industry? I prefer a low grade filler coin, but actual or a small disc of cardboard stamped with date and mm as needed. I would not wish anyone to support the counterfeit market. Trust me, I understand the need for saving money, but not at the expense of ruining a whole album. Your album's trust factor would fall drastically, if the key is fake, what about the semi keys? Jus sayin.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
You could save yourself a lot of time and money buying copies of everything.
As I was getting some of my higher end album coins certified, I had to decide what to do with the empty space... I took two different roads here. At first, I'd put a details coin or a lower grade coin in the space where my (now) certified coin used to be. I'd put them in the album "reverse first" as an indication that I had a slabbed version. As I expanded my set to include varieties with a different reverse, I stopped that practice. I went with a plastic "proxy coin" to let me know which are certified...
Proxy Coin
Details Coin
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I don’t see eBay being loaded with counterfeits marked “Copy”, which is what he said he’s looking for. And I’ve heard reports that some sellers who show pictures of coins marked “Copy’” end up shipping coins without it.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
The Landis coins, if you can find them, are really beautiful, and hand engraved. They are generally marked "copy" on the reverse. I've got a few and they are enjoyable in their own right.
I would call up local coin shops. They get counterfeits in all the time and surely have a stash of counterfeits they would be willing to part with.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
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Completely agree and I missed that part of your original post. Apologies.
Consider placing a photograph in place of the real thing.
Haven't really looked on ebay, but I typed in U.S. Coins copy and it listed 342 but some did not say copy that I could see, yet I found 10 that did on first page. I know that etsy and temu and shein(I believe) all have them.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Buy whatever copies/counterfeits you want on ebay or Temu or Alibaba and then mark them COPY with your own punch, available from EverStamp Marking Devices.
Here is an auction for a "COPY" stamp, but they also sell them outright. The listing has lots of information about the HPA and the marking requirements.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/158117224520?
He wants them HPA compliant.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Same answer.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
I recently thought about doing exactly that... buying replica examples of key dates and varieties... but ultimately decided against it, and here's why.
Most of the coins I'm currently pursuing are early coppers. The first page of my Wayte Raymond album has spaces for the 1793 Chain, 1793 Wreath, and 1793 Liberty Cap cents. All of those are readily available as replicas on Etsy, and many of them aren't even stamped "COPY" in compliance with the Hobby Protection Act (unless I'm just not seeing it). If I were to put those replicas in my album as-is, they could create unnecessary confusion if something happened to me and my heirs had to sort through my collection. Even if I punched "COPY" into the reverse myself, what's to stop the next person from trying to disguise the punch mark and selling it as a damaged genuine coin?
For me, the only logical conclusion is that the fewer of these things we buy, the fewer that end up in circulation. Hopefully, if enough collectors take that approach, the market for this fake Chinese cr@p eventually dries up.
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Sure, although those aren't technically counterfeits.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Dan Carr fantasy dates are another suggestion besides some of the good ideas already in the thread.
A fantasy date doesn't fill a hole any better than a coin with a legitimate (but different) date and costs a whole lot less.
This is why I avoid date/mm collecting and pre- defined sets.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Actually I have thought about that but when I look at it I would think it is more like a mistake than a placeholder of sorts. It’s just how my brain processes things
Of course but I have every merc, for example, raw except for those few I mentioned. Not sure why this concept seems so alien to some people?
It’s not the same thing, though.
I have seen those in the past but lost track of who did it and whether the ones I’m looking for would be available.
I’m glad you understand where I’m coming from. I’ve sold most of my best stuff already so I’m not too concerned with inheritors right now. I am not a fan of the scam copies either. It’s why I want proper copies but preferable where the copy mark is not obliterating key parts of the design.
That was my initial thought when I started looking a few months ago on his site. But he has not made any more in a while (I did comment on the long running thread of moonlight mint) and I would prefer not to get a certified example at double the price to get it.
It’s like me parking a toy Bentley in my garage.
OK, well clearly this thread isn't of interest to you then
Search EBay under the terms "Gallery Mint Museum Landis" He made some great coins. I've got one of his 1804 dollars and it's really nice!
It's a forum rule that you must join a thread and chastise people when they are having fun wrong.
Especially when they aren't hurting anyone.
Shame on the OP.
(End sarcasm)
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Pretty true. Aside from a few years between two forum handles I've been on this forum for about 23 years and definitely can attest to that
It would have been a lot wilder back then, though.